Developing with the nPM2100 PMIC
The nRF Connect SDK provides support for development with the nPM2100 Power Management IC (PMIC), using the nPM2100 Evaluation Kit (PCA10170).
nPM2100 features
nPM2100 is a PMIC designed for primary (non-rechargeable) batteries in an extremely compact form factor. It has an ultra-efficient boost regulator, a dual purpose LDO/load switch, two GPIOs, an ADC, and other features.
nPM2100 is the perfect companion for nRF52, nRF53, and nRF54 Series SoCs. It is ideal for compact and advanced IoT products that uses primary cell batteries.
For additional information on the nPM2100 PMIC and associated kits, see the nPM2100 product website technical documentation, especially the nPM2100 EK product page.
Boards compatible with nPM2100
The following boards in the Zephyr open source project and in the nRF Connect SDK are supported in the PMIC samples. These boards represent a subset of the boards that are compatible with nPM2100.
DK or Prototype platform |
Companion module |
PCA number |
Board target |
Documentation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
nPM2100 EK |
PCA10156 |
|
||
nPM2100 EK |
PCA10095 |
|
||
nPM2100 EK |
PCA10056 |
|
PMIC samples and libraries
The nRF Connect SDK provides several PMIC samples that demonstrate the features and capabilities of nPM2100 using the nPM2100 EK.
The nRF Connect SDK also provides the nRF Fuel Gauge library that processes battery measurements made by PMICs and provides a state-of-charge (SOC) prediction, along with other metrics. nRF Fuel Gauge library also includes battery models for a number of common primary cell battery types, such as Alkaline AA, AAA, LR44, and Lithium-manganese dioxide coin cell CR2032 batteries. You can use these generic models directly in your application to calculate the state of charge of the battery connected to the PMIC.
See Using the nPM2100 Fuel Gauge for more information on how to use the nRF Fuel Gauge library in your application.
PMIC tools
The nRF Fuel Gauge library is supported by the nPM PowerUP app in nRF Connect for Desktop. See Connect and use the nPM2100 EK section of the nPM2100 EK product page for more information.
Importing an overlay from the nPM PowerUP app
The nPM PowerUP app from nRF Connect for Desktop supports exporting a full configuration of the nPM2100 EK in devicetree overlay format. You can use this exported overlay file to quickly configure the nPM2100 EK in your application.
If there is no overlay file for your project, include the file directly in your application folder with the name app.overlay.
If an overlay already exists, append the contents of the generated overlay to the existing file.
For more information about devicetree overlays, see Use devicetree overlays.
Building and programming for nPM2100
There is no firmware for nPM2100 EK that you can build and program onto the PMIC. Instead, you need to connect a compatible development kit to the nPM2100 EK and program the DK with the firmware.
Connecting the development kit to nPM2100
If you are using the nRF52840 DK, nRF5340 DK, or nRF54L15 DK, follow the steps in Connect and use the nPM2100 EK in the nPM2100 EK product page. For other Nordic Semiconductor kits, use the wiring steps in the documentation for PMIC samples as reference (wiring for the Fuel gauge sample and wiring for the One button sample, respectively).
If you are using custom hardware, the wiring process is similar to the ones for the nRF5x DKs, but board-specific steps will be different.
Note
Logic levels on the nPM2100 EK follow the nPM2100 boost regulator output voltage. There is no voltage level translation on the nPM2100 EK headers. To ensure proper communication between the nPM2100 EK and the development kit, the DK must be powered by the nPM2100 EK. Appropriate wiring for supported DKs is provided in the PMIC samples documentation.
Programming the development kit with nPM2100-compatible firmware
Follow the detailed instructions in the building and programming sections of the PMIC samples documentation to build the sample and flash it to a compatible DK.