This Knowledge Base Article (KBA) aims to organize all Wireless Hardware related technical documents and related individual KBAs for EFR32 Series 1 SoCs and Wireless modules together in one place.

The KBA organizes all technical documents into categories for a better and convenient way to refer to the contents while designing a custom application based on these parts. The categorized RF hardware contents are as follows:-

[A] EFR32 Series 1 Wireless Modules:

Application Notes:

• AN1048: Regulatory RF Module Certifications
• AN1223: LGA Manufacturing Guidance
• AN928.1: EFR32 Series 1 Layout Design Guide
• AN958: Debugging and Programming Interfaces for Custom Designs
• AN0016.1: Oscillator Design Considerations
• AN1088: Designing with an Inverted-F 2.4 GHz PCB Antenna
• AN1128: Bluetooth® Coexistence with Wi-Fi®
• AN1017: Zigbee® and Silicon Labs® Thread Coexistence with Wi-Fi®
• INS12840: Case study for Z-Wave usage in the presence of LTE

Knowledge Base Articles:

• Design and Assembly guidelines when using xGM parts based System in Package (SiP)
• Antenna tuning for BGM12x (coin-cell usage example)
• BGM12x SiP Module Layout Recommendations.
• GND plane shaping when using E variant of modules
• What is a STEP file and how to obtain a STEP file for Silicon Labs IOT products?

[B] EFR32 Series 1 Wireless SOCs:

[1] Matching Networks

Application Notes:

• AN930.1: EFR32 Series 1 2.4 GHz Matching Guide
• AN923: EFR32 sub-GHz Matching Guide
• AN1180: EFR32 Series 1 sub-GHz Discrete Matching Solutions
• AN1275: Impedance Matching Network Architectures
• AN1081: Integrated Passive Devices for EFR32 Series 1 Sub-GHz RF Matching

Knowledge Base Articles:

• How to insert a SAW filter / RF switch / FEM into the EFR32 Series 1 sub-GHz reference matching networks.
• Discrete matching solutions for EFR32 Series 1 sub-GHz designs
• Overview of EFR32 series 1 matching networks for 2.4Ghz frequency band
• EFR32 Series 1 sub-GHz single-ended operation
• Recommended external antenna matching network
• EFR32 2.4GHz discrete RF match
• EFR32 optimum load impedance at 2.4GHz

[2] RF

Application Notes:

• AN928.1: EFR32 Series 1 Layout Design Guide
• AN933.1: EFR32 Series 1 Minimal BOM

Knowledge Base Articles:

• Comparison of EFR32 series 1 pin connections for standard versus non-radio based applications
• RF Range Calculator
• Range improvement calculation for a given extra link budget
• RF range factors
• 2G4RF_ION pin connection on EFR32
• Maximum allowed power for ZigBee applications under ETSI EN 300 328
• EFR32 Minimal BOM filtering
• Purpose of SAW filters
• Z-Wave 700: SAW filter recommendations
• Recommended routing technique for more-layer RF designs

[3] Antenna

Application Notes:

• AN1088: Designing with an Inverted-F 2.4 GHz PCB Antenna
• AN853: SINGLE-ENDED ANTENNA MATRIX DESIGN GUIDE

Knowledge Base Articles:

• PCB antenna with wider bandwidth
• Whip antenna parameters
• Whip antenna Length and Size
• Do loop antennas require a ground plane?
• Design tip for dipole antennas

[4] MCU, Power Supply and Peripherals

Application Notes:

• AN0002.1: EFM32 and EFR32 Wireless Gecko Series 1 Hardware Design Considerations
• AN0948: EFM32 and EFR32 Series 1 Power Configurations and DC-DC
• AN0016.1: Oscillator Design Considerations
• AN958: Debugging and Programming Interfaces for Custom Designs

Knowledge Base Articles:

• EFR32 VDD rail relations
• EFR32 Series 1 PA DC feed
• EFR32 Series 1 DC-DC to PAVDD
• How do I use the CTUNE token for EFR32?
• Powering External Circuits from EFR32 DC-DC
• Using a TCXO with an EFR32
• Enhanced filtering of EFR32 Series 1-based designs for XO reference spur suppression
• How to enable voltage scaling in EM2 mode for EFR32MG12 and later devices
• EFR32xG1 SW changes if 4.7uF DC-DC capacitor is used
• EFR32 Maximum External Pull-up / down Resistor Values

[6] Antenna Diversity

Knowledge Base Articles:

• Recommended distance between antennas in an antenna diversity application
• How can I implement antenna diversity for EFR32MG?

[7] General

Application Notes:

• AN1128: Bluetooth® Coexistence with Wi-Fi®
• AN1017: Zigbee® and Silicon Labs® Thread Coexistence with Wi-Fi®
• AN700.1: Manufacturing Test Guidelines for the EFR32
• AN1162: Using the Manufacturing Library for EmberZNet
• AN972: EFR32 RF Evaluation Guide
• APL10045: Antennas for Short Range Devices
• INS14284: Prepare for Z-Wave Certification Tests

Knowledge Base Articles:

• How to maximize the isolation of coexistence antennas on the same PCB
• Board-level ESD protection of RF devices
• Tips for FCC certification on Silicon Labs' 2.4GHz 802.15.4-based solutions
• Hardware Design Review submission expectations for EFR32MGxx based designs
• KBA_BT_1301: How to find schematics and other documentation for radio boards?
• Layout design practices around the output of an on-chip DC-DC converter
• Are all EFR32 parts of the same package variant pin-compatible?
• Where can I find BSDL file for EFR32 Wireless Gecko devices?
• PCB number of layers vs Output power
• Custom design PCB number of layers
• Key Dimensions of the Main Board BRD4001A
• How do I determine the PCB and schematic version of kit boards?
• Data rate, deviation, modulation index for 2GFSK modulated signals
• Modulation choice
• Calculation of the occupied bandwidth for digital frequency modulation
• Calculation of the modulation index for digital frequency modulation
• EFR32xG devices inside BGM/MGM modules
• RF shield vs. RX immunity
• My EFR32 is not outputting the power I'm expecting for my zigbee (EmberZNet) application. How do I improve it?
• How to Manually Set-up the Arb Waveform Generator for functional test