Power Management & Optimization
Techniques and strategies for minimizing power consumption in battery-powered embedded devices, from sleep modes to radio duty cycling.
Techniques and strategies for minimizing power consumption in battery-powered embedded devices, from sleep modes to radio duty cycling.
Key Topics
- Sleep modes (System ON/OFF)
- Radio duty cycling
- Peripheral power gating
- Current profiling tools
- Power state machines
- Battery life estimation
Supported Hardware
nRF52832
Cost-effective Bluetooth 5.4 SoC with 512KB Flash and 64KB RAM, ideal for wearables, beacons, and low-power sensor applications.
nRF52840
Advanced multiprotocol SoC with 1MB Flash, 256KB RAM, and USB support. The go-to chip for Bluetooth 5.4, Thread, Zigbee, and 802.15.4 applications.
nRF5340
Dual-core Bluetooth 5.4 SoC with dedicated application and network processors. 1MB Flash + 512KB RAM on the application core, with hardware security via ARM TrustZone.
nRF54L15
Next-generation ultra-low-power Bluetooth 5.4 SoC with RISC-V and ARM Cortex-M33 cores. Designed for ultra-constrained battery-powered devices.
nRF9160
Cellular IoT SiP with integrated LTE-M/NB-IoT modem and GPS. Perfect for asset tracking, remote monitoring, and any application requiring wide-area connectivity.
nRF52805
Ultra-compact, cost-optimized BLE 5.4 SoC with 192KB Flash and 24KB RAM. The smallest, most affordable chip in the nRF52 series for simple BLE applications.
nRF52810
Cost-optimized BLE 5.4 SoC with 192KB Flash and 24KB RAM, featuring hardware SWI and NFC-A tag. Ideal for high-volume BLE peripherals and beacons.
nRF52811
BLE 5.4 SoC with optional 802.15.4 and ANT support plus long-range mode (Coded PHY). Extends nRF52810 with Thread and extended-range BLE capability.
nRF52820
BLE 5.4 and 802.15.4 SoC with USB 2.0 Full Speed and 256KB Flash. Bridges BLE/Thread wireless with USB at lower cost than the nRF52840.
nRF52833
Full-featured BLE 5.4 + 802.15.4 SoC with 512KB Flash, 128KB RAM, USB, and NFC. Offers extended-range BLE (Coded PHY) and mid-range capability between nRF52832 and nRF52840.
nRF54H20
High-performance multicore SoC with dual Cortex-M33 (application + radio) plus a RISC-V VPR core. 2MB Flash and 1MB RAM, designed for complex multiprotocol BLE + 802.15.4 applications.
nRF54L05
Entry-level nRF54L series SoC with ARM Cortex-M33 and RISC-V co-processor. Ultra-low-power BLE 5.4 with 512KB Flash — the most affordable chip in the nRF54L family.
nRF54L10
Mid-range nRF54L series SoC combining ARM Cortex-M33 with a RISC-V co-processor. 1MB Flash and 128KB RAM with BLE 5.4, targeting wearables and connected sensors.
nRF54LM20
The flagship nRF54L series SoC built on a 22nm process, featuring a 128 MHz ARM Cortex-M33 + RISC-V co-processor with 2MB Flash and 512KB RAM — the largest memory in the nRF54L family. Supports Bluetooth LE, Matter, Thread, Zigbee, and 2.4 GHz proprietary protocols up to 4 Mbps. The nRF54LM20A variant adds 66 GPIOs and high-speed USB; the nRF54LM20B adds an integrated Axon NPU for hardware-accelerated Edge AI inference. Security includes TrustZone, CRACEN cryptographic engine with side-channel protection, and tamper detection.
nRF9131
Ultra-compact LTE-M/NB-IoT SiP (System-in-Package) with DECT NR+ support and GNSS. The smallest form-factor nRF91 series chip for space-constrained cellular IoT designs.
nRF9151
LTE-M/NB-IoT SiP with integrated GNSS, DECT NR+, and extended temperature support. An improved nRF9160 successor with lower power consumption and industrial-grade temperature range.
nRF9280
DECT NR+ and LTE-M/NB-IoT SiP designed for the unlicensed 1.9 GHz DECT band. Enables high-speed, low-latency local-area wireless for industrial automation and smart factory applications.
Use Cases
BLE Fitness Tracker
Wearable fitness device that tracks activity, heart rate, and sleep patterns over Bluetooth Low Energy, syncing data to a companion mobile app.
Cellular Asset Tracker
GPS-enabled asset tracking device using cellular connectivity (LTE-M/NB-IoT) for real-time location monitoring of vehicles, shipments, or equipment.
BLE Beacon
Bluetooth Low Energy beacon for indoor positioning, proximity marketing, and asset presence detection. Optimized for years of battery life on a coin cell.
Smart Agriculture Sensor
Solar-powered field sensor monitoring soil moisture, temperature, light levels, and weather conditions with long-range cellular or LoRa connectivity.
Medical Wearable
Clinical-grade wearable device for continuous health monitoring including ECG, SpO2, and body temperature, with secure data transmission to healthcare systems.
Secure Boot & Security
Hardware-rooted security mechanisms ensuring only authenticated firmware runs on the device. Essential for protecting against unauthorized code execution and tampering.
Edge AI on Nordic
On-device machine learning with Nordic Semiconductor's Axon NPU, the nRF54LM20B SoC, and the Edge AI Add-on for nRF Connect SDK.