LimeSDR Micro v1.1 Board

LimeSDR Micro board is small form factor mini PCIe expansion card Software Defined Radio (SDR) board. It provides a hardware platform for developing and prototyping high-performance and logic-intensive digital and RF designs based on NXP Semiconductors LA9310X7S11AA baseband processor and Lime Microsystems transceiver chipsets.

LimeSDR Micro M.2 is a building block for any Massive MIMO configuration for very high data rate applications. Hence, it could be used in conjunction with any digital processors (ASICs, GPPs and GPUs) of varying level of performance in terms of speed, power dissipation and cost to fit any air interface from narrowband to broadband signals. The board is designed for maximum scalability in terms of the following parameters:

• Frequency and Bandwidth: The heard of the board is the Lime Transceiver RFIC (LMS7002) providing frequency flexibility up to 3.8GHz and bandwidths of over 100MHz.

• Baseband Interface: A significant level of digital circuitry resides within the LMS7002 and accompanying NXP Semiconductors for the implementation of the key physical layer radio functions including filtering, decimation, interpolation and flexible interface such as PCIe and SerDes to name a few.

Figure 1 LimeSDR Micro v1.1 top

Figure 2 LimeSDR Micro v1.1 bottom

LimeSDR Micro M.2 board features:

• RF and BB parameters:

  • Configuration: MISO (1xTX, 2xRX)

  • Frequency range: 30 MHz – 3.8 GHz

  • Bandwidth: 30.72 MHz

  • Sample depth: 12 bit

  • Sample rate: 30.72 MSPS

  • Transmit power: max 10 dBm (depending on frequency)

• Baseband processor: board is designed based on NXP Semiconductors LA9310X7S11AA BB processor in 157-ball LFBGA package. NXP Semiconductors LA9310X7S11AA features are:

  • 157-pin LFBGA package (8mm x 8mm, 1.25mm)

  • Core type Arm Cortex-M4.

  • 307 MHz Operating frequency

  • Integrated ADC/DAC (160 MSPS)

  • 66 kB SRAM

  • Configuration via JTAG

• RF transceiver: Lime Microsystems LMS7002M

• EEPROM Memory: 128Kb EEPROM for LMS MCU firmware (optional); 512Kb EEPROM for BB processor data (optional)

• Temperature sensor: TMP1075NDRLR

• General user inputs/outputs:

  • 2x Green LEDs

• Connections:

  • Coaxial RF (U.FL female) connectors

  • BB processor JTAG connector (unpopulated)

  • Mini PCIe edge connector

  • RF Baseband 15-pin FPC connectors

• Clock system:

  • 30.72 MHz on board VCTCXO

  • VCTCXO may be tuned by on board DAC

  • Reference clock input and output connectors (U.FL and mPCIe)

• Board size: 50.8mm x 29.7mm (PCIe Mini card form factor)

• Board power sources: mPCIe (3.3V)

For more information on the following topics, refer to the respective documents:

• Lime Microsystems LMS7002M transceiver resources

• NXP Semiconductors LA9310X7S11AA base band processor resources

Board Overview

One of the key elements of LimeSDR Micro board is Semiconductors LA9310X7S11AA base band processor. It’s main function is to transfer digital data between LMS7002M RF transceiver and PC through a mPCIe edge connector. The block diagram for LimeSDR Micro board is presented in the Figure 3.

Figure 3 LimeSDR Micro v1.1 board block diagram

This section contains component location description on the board. LimeSDR XTRX board picture with highlighted connectors and main components are presented in Figure 4 and Figure 5, respectively.

Figure 4 LimeSDR Micro v1.1 board top connectors and main components

Figure 5 LimeSDR Micro v1.1 board bottom connectors and main components

Description of board components is given in the Table 1.

Table 1. Board components

Featured Devices
Board Reference	Type	Description
IC1	RF transceiver	Lime Microsystems LMS7002M
IC6	BB processor	NXP Semiconductors LA9310X7S11AA
Miscellaneous devices
IC9	IC	Temperature sensor TMP1075NDRLR
IC15	IC	I2C I/O expander MCP23017-E/ML
Configuration, Status and Setup Elements
X9	JTAG header	FPGA programming connector on the PCB bottom side (compatible with Molex 788641001 connector)
LED1, LED2	Status LEDs	User defined BB processor indication green LEDs
RF Circuitry
IC5	IC	SPDT RF switch
IC3, IC4	IC	SP4T RF switch
X1, X2, X3, X4	U.FL connector	RF connectors
X8	FPC connector	LMS7002 base band TX DAC BB 15-pin FPC connector
X13	FPC connector	RX obeservation external BB 15-pin FPC connector
Memory Devices
IC2	IC	I²C EEPROM Memory 128Kb (16K x 8), connected to LMS7002M RF transceiver I2C bus
IC14	IC	I²C EEPROM Memory 512Kb (64K x 8), connected to BB processor I2C bus
Communication Ports
X10	mPCIe	Mini PCIe Edge connector
Clock Circuitry
XO1	VCTCXO	30.72 MHz Voltage Controlled Temperature Compensated Crystal Oscillator
IC23	IC	ADF4002 phase detector
IC21	IC	16 bit DAC for VCTCXO (XO1) frequency tuning (default)
IC11	IC	M10578-A3 GNSS Receiver module
IC19, IC22	IC	Analogue switches
IC16, IC17, IC18, IC20	IC	SN74AVC1T45DRLR level translators
J3	U.FL connector	Phase detector reference clock input
J1	U.FL connector	Reference clock output/output
J2	U.FL connector	1PPS input
J4	U.FL connector	1PPS output
X5	U.FL connector	GNSS (active) antenna connector
Power Supply
IC26, IC30	IC	Four-output switching regulator LP8758A1E0YFFR
IC24, IC27, IC28, IC29	IC	Linear regulator LD39100PUR
IC31	IC	Linear regulator AP7330

LimeSDR Micro Board Architecture

More detailed description of LimeSDR Micro board components and interconnections is given in the following sections of this chapter.

LMS7002M RF transceiver digital connectivity

The interface and control signals are described below:

• Baseband Signals: LMS7002 is using baseband signals (I and Q) to transfer data to/from the NXP Baseband processor:

  • TX signals LMS_TX1_BB_I/Q_P/N where I/Q indicates in-phase and quadrature signals and P/N indicates differential positive and negative pairs.

  • RX signals LMS_RX1/2_BB_I/Q_P/N where RX1/2 indicates RF channel 1 or 2, I/Q indicates I and Q signals and P/N indicates differential positive and negative pairs.

• LMS Control Signals: these signals are used for the following functions within the LMS7002 RFIC:

  • LMS_RXEN, LMS_TXEN – receiver and transmitter enable/disable signals connected to FPGA Bank 14 (3.3V).

  • LMS_RESET – LMS7002M reset is connected to FPGA Bank 14 (3.3V).

• SPI Interface: LMS7002M transceiver is configured via 4-wire SPI interface: LA_SPI_SCLK, LA_SPI_MOSI, LA_SPI_MISO, LA_SPI_LMS_SS. The SPI interface is connected to BB processor via level converter IC8.

• LMS I2C Interface: can be used for LMS EEPROM content modification or debug purposes. The signals LMS_I2C_SCL and LMS_I2C_DATA are connected to EEPROM. They can be also connected to BB processors LA_I2C_SCL and LA_I2C_SDA.

All signals connected to LMS7002 are listed in table 2.

Table 2. LMS7002M RF transceiver signals

Chip pin (IC1)	Chip reference (IC1)	Schematic signal name	BB processor pin (IC6)	BB processor reference (IC6)	Comment
AB34	MCLK1	LMS_MCLK1	F1	DCS_CLK_P	DCS_CLK_P
			F2	DCS_CLK_N	DCS_CLK_N
D28	SEN	LA_SPI_LMS_SS	P7	SPI_CS0_B	SPI signals connected via level translator
C29	SCLK	LA_SPI_SCLK	P8	SPI_CLK
F30	SDIO	LA_SPI_MOSI	R9	SPI_MOSI
F28	SDO	LA_SPI_MISO	P8	SPI_MISO
D26	SDA	LMS_I2C_SDA	P6 (NC)	IIC1_SDA	BB processor and LMS7002M I2C signals are not connected by default
C27	SCL	LMS_I2C_SCL	R6 (NC)	IIC1_SCL
T4	tbbip_pad_1	LMS_TX1_BB_I_P	A7	TX_I_P	RF channel 1 TX baseband I data
R5	tbbin_pad_1	LMS_TX1_BB_I_N	B7	TX_I_N
R3	tbbqp_pad_1	LMS_TX1_BB_Q_P	A9	TX_Q_P	RF channel 1 TX baseband Q data
P2	tbbqn_pad_1	LMS_TX1_BB_Q_N	B9	TX_Q_N
V2	tbbip_pad_2	LMS_TX2_BB_I_P			Connected toX6 pin 2 (RF2 TX NC)
T6	tbbin_pad_2	LMS_TX2_BB_I_N			Connected to X6 pin 3 (RF2 TX NC)
U3	tbbqp_pad_2	LMS_TX2_BB_Q_P			Connected to X6 pin 5 (RF2 TX NC)
U1	tbbqn_pad_2	LMS_TX2_BB_Q_N			Connected to X6 pin 6 (RF2 TX NC)
Y6	rbbip_pad_1	LMS_RX1_BB_I_P	B4	RX0_I_P	RF channel 1 RX baseband I data
AB2	rbbin_pad_1	LMS_RX1_BB_I_N	A4	RX0_I_N
AB4	rbbqp_pad_1	LMS_RX1_BB_Q_P	A6	RX0_Q_P	RF channel 1 RX baseband Q data
AA5	rbbqn_pad_1	LMS_RX1_BB_Q_N	B6	RX0_Q_N
AD2	rbbip_pad_2	LMS_RX2_BB_I_P	A10	RX1_I_P	RF channel 2 RX baseband I data
AC3	rbbin_pad_2	LMS_RX2_BB_I_N	B10	RX1_I_N
AC5	rbbqp_pad_2	LMS_RX2_BB_Q_P	B12	RX1_Q_P	RF channel 2 RX baseband Q data
AB6	rbbqn_pad_2	LMS_RX2_BB_Q_N	A12	RX1_Q_N
E5	xoscin_tx	LMS_CLK			Connected to 30.72 MHz clock
AM24	xoscin_rx
E27	RESET	LMS_RESET			I/O expander GPA0
U29	TXEN	LMS_TXEN			Pulled-up by R11
V34	RXEN	LMS_RXEN			Pulled-up by R12
U33	CORE_LDO_EN	LMS_CORE_LDO_EN			Pulled-up by R13
V30	LOGIC_RESET				GND

LMS7002M baseband connectors

Baseband signals can be accessed via 0.3mm pitch 15 pin FPC connectors (X8 and X13). NXP base band processors RX observation external connector pinout is shown in Table 3. LMS7002M TX DAC connector pinout is shown in Table 4.

Table 3. Basedand processors RX obeservation external BB 15-pin FPC connector (X13)

Pin	Schematic signal name	Description
1	GND	Ground
2	LA_RO0_EXT_I_P	Channel 1 in-phase signal differential positive
3	LA_RO0_EXT_I_N	Channel 1 in-phase signal differential negative
4	GND	Ground
5	LA_RO0_EXT_Q_P	Channel 1 quadrature signal differential positive
6	LA_RO0_EXT_Q_N	Channel 1 quadrature signal differential negative
7	GND	Ground
8	VCC3P3	Power (3.3 V)
9	GND	Ground
10	LA_RO1_EXT_I_P	Channel 2 in-phase signal differential positive
11	LA_RO1_EXT_I_N	Channel 2 in-phase signal differential negative
12	GND	Ground
13	LA_RO1_EXT_Q_P	Channel 2 quadrature signal differential positive
14	LA_RO1_EXT_Q_N	Channel 2 quadrature signal differential negative
15	GND	Ground

Table 4. LMS7002 base band TX DAC BB 15-pin FPC connector (X8)

Pin	Schematic signal name	Description
1	GND	Ground
2	LMS_TX2_BB_I_P	Channel 1 in-phase signal differential positive
3	LMS_TX2_BB_I_N	Channel 1 in-phase signal differential negative
4	GND	Ground
5	LMS_TX2_BB_Q_P	Channel 1 quadrature signal differential positive
6	LMS_TX2_BB_Q_N	Channel 1 quadrature signal differential negative
7	GND	Ground
8	VCC3P3	Power (3.3 V)
9	GND	Ground
10	NC	No connection
11	NC	No connection
12	GND	Ground
13	NC	No connection
14	NC	No connection
15	GND	Ground

RF network control signals

LimeSDR Micro RF network contains matching networks, RF switches and U.FL connectors (X1 - TX and X2, X4 - RX) as shown in Figure 6.

Figure 6 LimeSDR Micro v1.1 RF diagram

LMS7002M RF transceiver TX and RX ports has dedicated matching network which determines the working frequency range. More detailed information on LMS7002M RF transceiver ports and matching network frequency ranges is listed in the Table 5.

Table 5. LMS7002M RF transceiver ports and matching networks frequency ranges

LMS7002M RF transceiver port	Frequency range
TX1_1	3.3 GHz - 3.8 GHz
TX1_2	0.03 GHz - 1.9 GHz
RX1_H, RX2_H	3.3 GHz - 3.8 GHz
RX1_W, RX2_W	0.7 GHz - 2.6 GHz
RX1_L, RX2_L	0.3 MHz - 2.2 GHz

RF network switches are controlled via 2.4V logic signals. This is achieved by resistor dividers connected between I2C GPIO expander (TX_SW, RX_SW2, RX_SW3) and switch control pin (TX_SW_DIV, RX_SW2_DIV, RX_S3_DIV). RF network control signals are described in the Table 6.

Table 6. RF network control signals

Component	Schematic signal name	I/O standard	I2C I/O expander pin	Description
SKY13330-397LF(IC5)	TX_SW/TX_SW_DIV	3.3V	GPB1	3.3V logic level signal divided to 2.4V logic level.
SKY13414-485LF(IC3 and IC4)	RX_SW2/RX_SW2_DIV	3.3V	GPB0	3.3V logic level signal divided to 2.4V logic level.
	RX_SW3/RX_SW3_DIV	3.3V	GPB2	3.3V logic level signal divided to 2.4V logic level.

Indication LEDs

LimeSDR Micro board comes with two green indicator LEDs. These LEDs are soldered on the top of the board near rigth edge.

Figure 7 LimeSDR Micro v1.1 indication LEDs (top)

LEDs are connected to baseband processors GPIOs hence their function may be programmed according to the user requirements. Default LEDs configuration and description are shown in Table 7.

Table 7. Default LEDs configuration

Board Reference	Schematic name	Board label	BB processor pin	Description
LED1	LA_LED1	LED1	R11 (GPIO_17)	User defined
LED2	LA_LED2	LED2	P12 (GPIO_18)	User defined

Low speed interfaces

Baseband processors SPI (LA_SPI) pins, schematic signal names and I/O standards/levels are shown in Table 8.

Table 8. LA_SPI interface pins

Schematic signal name	BB processor pin	I/O standard	Comment
LA_SPI_SCLK	P8	3.3V	Serial Clock (LA output)
LA_SPI_MOSI	R9	3.3V	Data (LA output)
LA_SPI_MISO	R8	3.3V	Data (LA input)
LA_SPI_LMS_SS	P7	3.3V	IC1 (LMS7002) SPI slave select (LA output)
LA_SPI_ADF_SS	P11	3.3V	IC23 (ADF4002) SPI slave select (LA output)

Baseband processors I2C (LA_I2C) interface slave devices (temperature sensor, EEPROM, I/O expander, CLK DAC and switching regulators) and related information are given in Table 9.

Table 9. LA_I2C interfaces pins

I2C slave device	Slave device	I2C address
IC9	Temperature sensor	1 0 0 1 0 1 1 RW
IC14	EEPROM	1 0 1 0 0 0 0 RW
IC15	I/O expander	0 1 0 0 0 0 0 RW
IC21	XO DAC	1 0 0 1 1 0 0 RW
IC26	Switching regulator	1 1 0 0 0 0 0 RW (I2C_SDA_SEL = 0)
IC30	Switching regulator	1 1 0 0 0 0 0 RW (I2C_SDA_SEL = 1)

Switching regulators (IC26 and IC30) share identical I2C address, switching between them is done by I2C_SDA_SEL signal connected to I2C I/O expanders GPB3.

To debug Baseband processors JTAG (X9) connector is used. It is located on the PCB bottom side (see Figure 5 LimeSDR Micro v1.1 board bottom connectors and main components) and is compatible with Molex 788641001 connector. JTAG connector pins, schematic signal names, FPGA interconnections and I/O standards are listed in Table 10.

Table 10. JTAG connector J1 pins

Connector pin	Schematic signal name	BB processor pin	I/O standard	Comment
1	LA_TDO	N12	1.8V	Test Data Output
2	LA_TDI	M10	1.8V	Test Data Input
3	LA_TMS	M12	1.8V	Test Mode Select
4	VCC1P8			Power (1.8V)
5	LA_TCK	N10	1.8V	Test Clock
6	JTAG_RST	N8	1.8V	Reset

Clock Distribution

LimeSDR Micro board clock distribution block diagram is as shown in Figure 8.

Figure 8 LimeSDR Micro v1.1 board clock distribution block diagram

LimeSDR XTRX board features an on board 30.72 MHz VCTCXO as the reference clock for LMS7002M RF transceiver.

Rakon E6245LF 30.72 MHz voltage controlled temperature compensated crystal oscillator (VCTCXO) is the clock source for the board. VCTCXO frequency may be tuned by using 16 bit DAC (IC19). Main VCTCXO parameters are listed in Table 12.

Table 12. Rakon E6245LF VCTCXO main parameters

Frequency parameter	Value
Calibration (25°C ± 1°C)	± 1 ppm max
Stability (-40 to 85 °C)	± 50 ppb max
Long term stability (first year)	± 1.5 ppm max
Control voltage range	0.5V .. 2.5V
Frequency tuning	± 5 ppm
Slope	+7.5 ppm/V

Analogue switch (IC19) gives option to select clock source for LMS7002M from onboard VCTCXO clock XO1 (CLK_XO) and external U.FL (J1)/mPCIe (X10) sources (CLK_IN). Buffered clock signal (CLK_OUT) can also be fed to other board using U.FL (J1)/mPCIe (X10) connectors.

The board clock lines and other related signals/information are listed in Table 13.

Table 13. LimeSDR Micro main clock lines

Source	Schematic signal name	I/O standard	Description
External (J2)	CLK	3.3V	External reference clock input/ouput (U.FL)
Clock buffer (IC17)	CLK_OUT	3.3V	Reference clock output (U.FL)
Analog switch (IC22)	PCIE_CLK_IN	3.3V	Reference clock output (mPCIe)
mPCIe (X10)	PCIE_CLK_OUT	3.3V	Reference clock input (mPCIe)
Analog switch (IC19)	LMS_CLK	1.8V	Reference clock connected to LMS (RX and TX)
Clock buffer (IC16)	ADF_RF_IN	3.3V	Reference clock connected to ADF (phase detector)
VCTCXO (XO1)	CLK_XO	3.3V	Onboard reference clock
External (mPCIe)	PCIE_REF_CLK_P	1.8V (diff)	PCIe reference clock
	PCIE_REF_CLK_N
RF tranceiver (IC1)	LMS_MCLK1	3.3V	Reference clock connected to BB processor
GNSS Receiver (IC11)	GNSS_1PPS	3.3V	PPS output from GNSS receiver for BB processor
External (J2)	EXT_PPS_IN	3.3V	External PPS input (U.FL)
External (mPCIe)	PCIE_PPS_IN	3.3V	External PPS input (mPCIe)
BB processor (IC6)	PCIE_PPS_OUT	3.3V	PPS output (mPCIe)
	EXT_PPS_OUT	3.3V	PPS output (U.FL)(J4)

Mini PCIe (mPCIe) edge connector

LimeSDR Micro board communicates with the host system via mPCIe edge connector. LimeSDR Micro mPCIe connector pinout and signals according to the specification is given in Table 14.

Table 14. Mini PCIe x1 edge connector pinout

Pin	Mini PCIe x1 Specification	LimeSDR XTRX Schematic Signal Name	Description
1	Wake#	NC	Not connected
2	3.3 Vaux	VCC3P3_MPCIE	Main power input 3.3V (VCC3P3_MPCIE)
3	COEX1	PCIE_PPS_IN	External 1PPS input
4	GND	GND	Ground
5	COEX2	PCIE_PPS_OUT	GPS 1PPS output
6	GND	NC	Not connected
7	CLKREQ#	CLK_REQUEST#	PCIe clock request tied to GND through resistor 330 Ohm
8	UIM PWR	NC	Not connected
9	GND	GND	Ground
10	UIM_DATA	NC	Not connected
11	REFCLK-	PCIE_REF_CLK_N	PCI Express Reference clock differential pair negative signal
12	UIM_CLK	NC	Not connected
13	REFCLK+	PCIE_REF_CLK_P	PCI Express Reference clock differential pair positive signal
14	UIM_RESET	NC	Not connected
15	GND	GND	Ground
16	UIM_VPP	NC	Not connected
17	Reserved	TDD0_GPIO	TDD TX Enable output or BB processor GPIO7
18	GND	GND	Ground
19	Reserved	PCIE_CLK_IN	External clock input 3.3 V
20	W_DISABLE#	TDD1_GPIO	TDD TX Enable ouput or BB processor GPIO12
21	GND	GND	Ground
22	PERST#	PCIE_PERST#	PCI Express interface reset
23	PERn0	PCIE_PER0_N	PCI Express interface output differential pair negative signal
24	3.3Vaux	NC	Not connected
25	PERp0	PCIE_PER0_P	PCI Express interface output differential pair positive signal
26	GND	GND	Ground
27	GND	GND	Ground
28	1.5Volt	NC	Not connected
29	GND	GND	Ground
30	SMB CLK	PCIE_CLK_OUT	Clock output (CLK_OUT)
31	PETn0	PCIE_PET0_N	PCI Express interface input differential pair negative signal
32	SMB Data	LA_I2C_SDA	No connection
33	PETp0	PCIE_PET0_P	PCI Express interface input differential pair positive signal
34	GND	GND	Ground
35	GND	GND	Ground
36	USB_D-	NC	Not connected
37	GND	GND	Jumper to GND. Connected by default
38	USB_D+	USB_D_P	USB 2.0 data differential pair positive signal
39	3.3Vaux	PCIE_TX1_N	Not connected
40	GND	GND	Ground
41	3.3Vaux	PCIE_TX1_P	No connection
42	LED_WWAN#	LED_WWAN#	Output for LED WWAN (Negative)
43	GND	GND	Jumper to GND. Connected by default
44	LED_WLAN#	LED_WLAN#	Output for LED WLAN (Negative)
45	Reserved	PCIE_RESERVED	Connected to I2C GPB7 pin
46	LED_WPAN#	LED_WPAN#	Output for LED WPAN (Negative)
47	Reserved	PCIE_RX1_N	Not connected
48	1.5Volt	NC	Not connected
49	Reserved	PCIE_RX1_P	Not connected
50	GND	GND	Ground
51	Reserved	PCIE_W_DISABLE2#	BB processors ASLEEP/GPIO19 (input)
52	3.3Vaux	VCC3P3_MPCIE	Main power input 3.3V (VCC3P3_MPCIE)

Power Distribution

LimeSDR Micro board is powered via mPCIe edge connector (3.3V). LimeSDR Micro board power delivery network consists of different power rails/voltages and filters. LimeSDR Micro board power distribution block diagram is presented in Figure 9.

Figure 9 LimeSDR Micro v1.1 board power distribution block diagram