STMicroelectronics STM32WBA Nucleo 64 Board

Specifications

• 1 Mbyte of flash memory
• 128 Kbytes of SRAM
• UFQFPN48 package
• Three user LEDs
• Three user and one reset push-buttons
• Flexible power-supply options: ST-LINK USB VBUS or external sources
• On-board STLINK-V3MODS debugger/programmer with USB re-enumeration capability
• Comprehensive free software libraries and examples available with the STM32CubeWBA MCU Package
• Support of a wide choice of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs)

Development Environment
System Requirements
Development toolchains: STMicroelectronics – STM32CubeIDE

Demonstration Software
The demonstration software, included in the STM32Cube MCU Package corresponding to the onboard microcontroller, is preloaded in the STM32 flash memory for easy demonstration of the device peripherals in standalone mode. The latest versions of the demonstration source code and associated documentation can be downloaded from www.st.com.

Conventions
Table 3 provides the conventions used for the ON and OFF settings in the present document:

Introduction

NUCLEO-WBA52CG is a Bluetooth® Low Energy wireless and ultra-low-power board embedding a powerful and ultra‑low‑power radio compliant with the Bluetooth® Low Energy SIG specification v5.3.
The ARDUINO® Uno V3 connectivity support and the ST morpho headers allow the easy expansion of the functionality of the STM32 Nucleo open development platform with a wide choice of specialized shields.

Features

• Ultra-low-power wireless STM32WBA52CG microcontroller based on the Arm® Cortex®‑M33 core, featuring 1 Mbyte of flash memory and 128 Kbytes of SRAM in a UFQFPN48 package
• MCU RF board (MB1863):
  • 2.4 GHz RF transceiver supporting Bluetooth® specification v5.3
  • Arm® Cortex® M33 CPU with Arm® TrustZone®, MPU, DSP, and FPU
  • Integrated PCB antenna
• Three user LEDs
• Three user and one reset push-buttons
• Board connectors:
  • USB Micro-B
  • ARDUINO® Uno V3 expansion connector
  • ST morpho headers for full access to all STM32 I/Os
• Flexible power-supply options: ST-LINK USB VBUS or external sources
• On-board STLINK-V3MODS debugger/programmer with USB re-enumeration capability: mass storage, Virtual COM port, and debug port
• Comprehensive free software libraries and examples available with the STM32CubeWBA MCU Package
• Support of a wide choice of Integrated Development Environments (IDEs) including IAR Embedded Workbench®, MDK-ARM, and STM32CubeIDE

Arm and TrustZone are registered trademarks of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the US and/or elsewhere.

Ordering information

To order the NUCLEO-WBA52CG board, refer to Table 1. Additional information is available from the datasheet and reference manual of the target microcontroller.

Table 1. List of available products

1. Mezzanine board
2. MCU RF board

Codification
The meaning of the codification is explained in Table 2.

Table 2. Codification explanation

Development environment

System requirements

• Multi‑OS support: Windows® 10, Linux® 64-bit, or macOS®
• USB Type-A or USB Type-C® to Micro-B cable

Note
macOS® is a trademark of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries and regions. Linux® is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.
Windows is a trademark of the Microsoft group of companies.

Development toolchains

• IAR Systems® – IAR Embedded Workbench®(1)
• Keil® – MDK-ARM(1)
• STMicroelectronics – STM32CubeIDE

1. On Windows® only.

Demonstration software
The demonstration software, included in the STM32Cube MCU Package corresponding to the on-board microcontroller, is preloaded in the STM32 flash memory for easy demonstration of the device peripherals in standalone mode. The latest versions of the demonstration source code and associated documentation can be downloaded from www.st.com

Conventions

Table 3 provides the conventions used for the ON and OFF settings in the present document.

Table 3. ON/OFF convention

Safety recommendations

Targeted audience
This product targets users with at least basic electronics or embedded software development knowledge like engineer, technician, or student.
This board is not a toy and is not suited for use by children.

Handling the board
This product contains a bare printed circuit board and as with all products of this type, the user must be careful about the following points:

• The connection pins on the board might be sharp. Be careful when handling the board to avoid hurting yourself
• This board contains static‑sensitive devices. To avoid damaging it, please handle the board in an ESD‑proof environment.
• While powered, do not touch the electric connections on the board with your fingers or anything conductive. The board operates at voltage levels that are not dangerous, but components could be damaged when shorted.
• Do not put any liquid on the board and avoid operating the board close to water or at a high humidity level.
• Do not operate the board if dirty or dusty.

Quick start

This section describes how to start development quickly using NUCLEO-WBA52CG.
To use the product, you must accept the Evaluation Product License Agreement from the www.st.com/epla webpage.
Before the first use, make sure that no damage occurred to the board during shipment:

• All socketed components must be firmly secured in their sockets.
• Nothing must be loose in the board blister.

The Nucleo board is an easy-to-use development kit to evaluate quickly and start development with an STM32 microcontroller in a UFQFPN48 package.

Getting started
Follow the sequence below to configure the STM32WBA52CG board and launch the demonstration application (refer to Figure 3 and Figure 5 for component location):

1. Check jumper positions on board: JP2 ON, JP1 on USB_STLK [1-2].
2. Check that switch SW1 is on the 3V3 power supply.
3. Install ST Bluetooth® Low Energy sensor mobile application on a Bluetooth® Low Energy compatible mobile device from the App Store or Google Play.
4. Connect the Nucleo board to a PC with a USB cable Type-A or USB Type-C® to Micro-B through a USB connector (USB_STLK). Once connected the green LED (LD2) lights up. Refer to the user manual STLINK-V3MODS and STLINK-V3MINI debugger/programmer tiny probes for STM32 microcontrollers (UM2502) available at www.st.com.
5. Use ST Bluetooth® Low Energy Sensor mobile application to detect the STM32WBA P2P server (P2PSRV) and connect it. The smartphone application displays the service and characteristics of the device.
6. Pushing the button (B1) on the board toggles the alarm on the smartphone display. On the smartphone, push the lamp to switch ON/OFF the Nucleo board blue LED (LD1).

Hardware layout and configuration

NUCLEO-WBA52CG is designed around the STM32WBA52CG. The design includes a mezzanine board and an MCU RF board. The hardware block diagram in Figure 2 illustrates the connection between STM32WBA52CG and peripherals (ARDUINO® Uno V3 connectors, ST morpho connector, and embedded ST-LINK).
Figure 3 and Figure 5 help users locate these features on the NUCLEO-WBA52CG board. The mechanical dimensions of the NUCLEO-WBA52CG product are shown in Figure 6.

Figure 2. Hardware block diagram

NUCLEO-WBA52CG (MB1801+MB1863)

Note: The USB-C® connector footprint (CN9) is not available on the MB1801-NoUSB variant.

Figure 6. NUCLEO-WBA52CG mechanical dimensions (in millimeters)

Power supply
General description
By default, the STM32WBA52CG embedded on this Nucleo board is supplied by 3V3 but the board proposes a lot of possibilities to supply the module. In fact, at first, the 3V3 can come from ST-LINK USB, ARDUINO®, or ST morpho connectors. Moreover, STM32WBA52CG can be supplied by an external source (between 1.8 and 3.3 V). Thanks to level shifters, debugging by embedded STLINK is always possible even if the supply voltage of the target is different than 3V3 (ST-LINK supply). Figure 7 shows the power tree. Moreover, this figure also shows the default state of the jumpers and the solder bridges.

7 to 12 V power supply
A 7 to 12 V DC power source can power NUCLEO-WBA52CG. There are three accesses for this type of level:

• Pin VIN of the ARDUINO® connector (CN5-8). It is possible to apply until +12 V on this pin or use an ARDUINO® shield, which can deliver this type of voltage on the VIN pin
• Pin VIN of the ST morpho connector (CN3-24). It is possible to apply until +12 V on this pin like for the ARDUINO® connection
• External input (CN10). Be careful, in this case, the states of the jumpers and solder bridge are very important. Verify these states in Table 4.

These sources are connected to a linear low‑drop voltage regulator (U2). The output of this regulator (5 V) is a potential source of the 5V signal (refer to details in the next section).

5 V power supply
A 5 V DC power source can power NUCLEO-WBA52CG. The 5 V can come from several connectors:

• External input (CN10). Be careful, in this case, the states of the jumpers and solder bridge are very important. Refer to Table 4.
• 5V_EXT from ST morpho connector (CN5-6)
• 7-12 V input through the voltage regulator (U2) (refer to Section 7.1.2 7 to 12 V power supply).
  The jumper (JP1) allows selecting the 5V source. Table 4 shows the configuration to apply the selected source.

Depending on the current needed on the devices connected to the USB port, and the board itself, power limitations can prevent the system from working as expected. The user must ensure that NUCLEO-WBA52CG is supplied with the correct power source depending on the current needed.
Table 4. Power supply selector (JP1) description

When 5V_USB_STLINK is used, JP1 is set to [1-2]. The sequence is specific. In the beginning, only STLINK-V3MODS is supplied. If the USB enumeration succeeds, the 5V_USB_STLINK power is enabled by asserting the PWR_EN signal from STLINK-V3MODS. This pin is connected to a power switch (TPS2041C) which supplies the rest of the board. This power switch also features a current limitation to protect the PC in case of currents exceeding 300 mA.

Current measurement
As the device has got low power features, it can be interesting to measure the current consumed by NUCLEO-WBA52CG. To do this measurement easily, there are two possibilities:

1. Measure the supply current of the SoC using an amperemeter in place of the jumper (JP2). In this case, all supply sources can be used except the AVDD coming from the ARDUINO® connector. Figure 8 shows the configuration.
2. Use an external power supply with current measurement capability. In this case, the jumper (JP2) must be removed and the supply connected to pin 2 of JP2 (refer to Figure 9). The supply voltage should be between 1V8 and 3V3. AVDD input (CN1-8) must not be used during this measurement.
   

Clock sources
HSE clock references
The accuracy of the high‑speed clock (HSE) of the MCU RF board is committed to a 32 MHz crystal oscillator. The HSE oscillator is trimmed during board manufacturing.

LSE clock references
The accuracy of the low‑speed clock (LSE) of the MCU RF board is committed to a 32.768 kHz crystal oscillator.

Reset sources
The reset signal of NUCLEO-WBA52CG is active LOW. The internal PU forces the RST signal to a high level. The sources of reset are:

• Reset push-button (B4)
• Embedded STLINK-V3
• ARDUINO® connector (CN5 pin 3), reset from the ARDUINO® board
• ST morpho connector (CN3 pin 14)

Embedded STLINK-V3
The STLINK-V3 programming and debugging tool is integrated into NUCLEO-WBA52CG.

The features supported on the STLINK-V3 are

• USB 2.0 high-speed interface
• Probe firmware update through USB
• JTAG communication support up to 21 MHz
• SWD and SWV communication support up to 24 MHz
• 3.0 to 3.6 V application voltage support and 5 V tolerant inputs
• Virtual COM port (VCP) up to 16 Mbps
• Optional drag-and-drop flash memory programming binary files
• Multipath bridge USB to SPI/UART/I2C/CAN/GPIOs

For all general information concerning debugging and programming features common between V3 and V2-1 versions, refer to the user manual ST-LINK in-circuit debugger/programmer for STM8 and STM32 microcontrollers (UM0627) at www.st.com.

Drivers
STLINK-V3 requires a dedicated USB driver, which, for Windows 7® and Windows 8® is available from www.st.com. For Windows 10®, it is not necessary to install the driver. ST-LINK is automatically identified.
In case the NUCLEO-WBA52CG board is connected to the PC before the driver is installed, some board interfaces might be declared as Unknown in the PC device manager. In this case, the user must install the dedicated driver files and update the driver of the connected device from the device manager, as shown in Figure 10. USB composite device.

It is preferable to use the USB Composite Device to handle a full recovery.
Figure 10. USB composite device

STLINK-V3 firmware upgrade
STLINK-V3 embeds a firmware mechanism for the in‑place upgrade through the USB port. As the firmware might evolve during the lifetime of the STLINK-V3 product (for example new functionalities, bug fixes, support for new microcontroller families), visiting the www.st.com website is recommended before starting to use the NUCLEO-WBA52CG board, then periodically to stay up-to-date with the latest firmware version.

STLINK-V3 USB connector (CN15)
The main function of this connector is the access to STLINK-V3 embedded on the NUCLEO-WBA52CG for the debugging as explained above. It allows supplying the board (refer to Section 7.1 Power supply). The connector is a standard USB Micro-B connector.

Table 5. ST-LINK USB Micro-B connector (CN15)

Virtual COM port USART1
STLINK-V3 offers a USB Virtual COM port bridge. This feature allows access to the USART1 of NUCLEO-WBA52CG by the USB_STLNK connector. By default, this USART1 interface of NUCLEO-WBA52CG is connected to the VCP1 of the STLINK-V3 MCU (STM32F723IE).
An intermediate connection allows the use of this VCP differently. On the CN14 connector, both signals (TX and RX) are available, and two solder bridges allow disconnecting the UART coming from the SoC.

Table 6. UART interface pinout description

Virtual COM port LPUART1
It is possible to replace the mass storage interface with a second Virtual COM port. To do so, the solder bridges SB7 and SB8 must be ON. It is also necessary to do a firmware upgrade through STM32CubeProgrammer (refer to the technical note Overview of ST-LINK derivatives (TN1235) at www.st.com.

Level shifter
NUCLEO-WBA52CG has a system for supplying STM32WBA52CG with a different voltage than the ST-LINK. The ST-LINK is always supplied by 3V3 sources. By default, the STM32WBA52CG is supplied by the same voltage value as ST-LINK, but it is possible to supply the SoC with another value. It accepts voltage between 1.8 and 3.3 V trust to a specific component (level shifter). This level shifter assures the voltage conversion between ST-LINK and the SoC. It drives SWD and UART signals connected to the VCP on the ST-LINK.

LEDs
Description
Four LEDs on the top side of the Nucleo board help the user during the application development.

• LD1: This blue LED is available for user application.
• LD2: This green LED is available for user application.
• LD3: This red LED is available for user application.
• LD4: This LED turns green when a 5V source is available (to select the 5V source, refer to Section 7.1.3 5 V power supply).

LEDs are also available on the ST-LINK on the bottom side of the MB1801 mezzanine board. Refer to the user manual STLINK-V3MODS and STLINK-V3MINI debugger/programmer tiny probes for STM32 microcontrollers (UM2502) at www.st.com

Push-buttons

Description
NUCLEO-WBA52CG provides two types of buttons:

• USER1 push-button (B1)
• USER2 push-button (B2)
• USER2 push-button (B3)
• Reset push-button (B4), used to reset the Nucleo board.

Reset push-button
B4 is dedicated to the hardware reset of the NUCLEO board.

User push-buttons
There are three push-buttons available for the user application. They are connected to PA0, PE4, and PA6. It is possible to use with GPIO reading or to wake up the device (only B1).
Note that PA0 is also connected to ARDUINO® and ST morpho connectors as GPIO, depending on the use case that can generate conflict with B1. In this case, it is possible to remove the connection of B1 (SB11 OFF).

Table 7. I/O configuration for the physical user interface

RF I/O stage
The RF output stage is configured by default to use a PCB antenna. The components before the antenna are used for two functions: low-pass filtering the signal and matching the impedance of the circuit and the antenna.

The components C12, L1, C13, L2, and C14 build the output filter and matching network of the PCB antenna.

ARDUINO® connectors
Description
On the bottom side of the board, there is an ARDUINO® Uno V3 extension socket. It is built around four standard connectors (CN5, CN6, CN7, and CN8). Most shields designed for ARDUINO® can fit with the Discovery kits to offer flexibility in small form factor applications.

Figure 14. ARDUINO® Uno connectors and ARDUINO® shield location 

Operating voltage
The ARDUINO® Uno V3 connectors support 5 V, 3.3 V, and VDD for I/O compatibility.

Caution: Do not supply 3.3 V or 5 V from the ARDUINO® shield. Supplying 3.3 V or 5 V from the ARDUINO® shield might damage the Nucleo board.
Furthermore, if it is necessary to supply the Nucleo board by the ARDUINO® connector, a dedicated pin is available. VIN allows supplying the board directly. To use this feature, refer to Section 7.1.2 7 to 12 V power supply.

ARDUINO® interface and pinout
Figure 15 shows the position of the ARDUINO® shield when it is plugged into NUCLEO-WBA52CG with the pinout. The pinout shown in Figure 15 corresponds to standard ARDUINO® naming. To see the correspondence with the STM32, refer to Table 8.

Table 8. Pinout of the ARDUINO® connectors

1. Optional need to change the state of solder bridges.

ST morpho connectors
ST morpho interface and pinout
The ST morpho connectors (CN3 and CN4) are male pin headers accessible on both sides of the board. All signals and power pins of the MCU are available on the ST morpho connectors. An oscilloscope, logical analyzer, or voltmeter can also probe these connectors.

Table 9. Pinout of the ST morpho connectors

MCU RF board interface and pinout
The ST-MCU RF board connectors (CN1 and CN2) are accessible on the top side of the board. They are used to plug the MCU RF board into the mezzanine board.

Table 10. Pinout of the MCU RF board connectors

MIPI10/STDC14 connector pinout
The MIPI10 and STDC14 connectors are compatible as STDC14 is an extension of the MIPI10 connector.

Table 11. Pinout of the MIPI10/STDC14 connector (CN3 of the MCU RF board)

NUCLEO-WBA52CG product information

Product marking
The stickers located on the top or bottom side of all PCBs provide product information:

• First sticker: product order code and product identification, generally placed on the main board featuring the target device.
  Example:

• Second sticker: board reference with revision and serial number, available on each PCB.
  Example:

On the first sticker, the first line provides the product order code, and the second line the product identification.
On the second sticker, the first line has the following format: “MBxxxx-Variant-yzz”, where “MBxxxx” is the board reference, “Variant” (optional) identifies the mounting variant when several exist, “y” is the PCB revision, and “zz” is the assembly revision, for example B01. The second line shows the board serial number used for traceability.
Parts marked as “ES” or “E” are not yet qualified and therefore not approved for use in production. ST is not responsible for any consequences resulting from such use. In no event will ST be liable for the customer using any of these engineering samples in production. ST’s Quality department must be contacted prior to any decision to use these engineering samples to run a qualification activity.

“ES” or “E” marking examples of location:

• On the targeted STM32 that is soldered on the board (for an illustration of STM32 marking, refer to the STM32 datasheet Package information paragraph at the www.st.com website).
• Next to the evaluation tool ordering part number that is stuck, or silk-screen printed on the board.

Some boards feature a specific STM32 device version, which allows the operation of any bundled commercial stack/library available. This STM32 device shows a “U” marking option at the end of the standard part number and is not available for sales.
To use the same commercial stack in their applications, the developers might need to purchase a part number specific to this stack/library. The price of those part numbers includes the stack/library royalties.

NUCLEO-WBA52CG product history

Board revision history

Table 13. Board revision history

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and ISED Canada Compliance Statements

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and ISED Canada Compliance Statements

FCC Compliance Statement
Identification of products: NUCLEO-WBA52CG.

FCC ID: YCP-MB1863000

Part 15.19
This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause harmful interference, and
2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Part 15.21
Any changes or modifications to this equipment not expressly approved by STMicroelectronics may cause harmful interference and void the user’s authority to operate this equipment.

Part 15.105
This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instruction, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this equipment does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct interference by one or more of the following measures:

• Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
• Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
• Connect the equipment into an outlet on circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
• Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help.

Warning: The demonstration on the board has an RF output power of 0 dBm by default. It is possible to change the RF output power through ST software. However, this certification is only valid for a maximum RF output power of +7.5 dBm (programmed). This board does not meet the requirement to be considered compliant beyond this power.

Responsible party (in the USA)
Terry Blanchard

• Americas Region Legal | Group Vice President and Regional Legal Counsel, The Americas
• STMicroelectronics, Inc.
• 750 Canyon Drive | Suite 300 | Coppell, Texas 75019
• USA
• Telephone: +1 972-466-7845

ISED Compliance Statement
This radio transmitter (8976A-MB1863000) has been approved by ISED Canada to operate with the antenna types listed below with the maximum permissible gain and required antenna impedance for each antenna type indicated. Antenna types not included in this list, having a gain greater than the maximum gain indicated for that type, are strictly prohibited for use with this device.
Compliance Statement

Notice: This device complies with ISED Canada licence-exempt RSS standard(s). Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

1. This device may not cause interference, and
2. This device must accept any interference, including interference that may cause undesired operation of the device.

ISED Canada ICES-003 Compliance Label: CAN ICES-3 (B) / NMB-3 (B).

RF exposure statement
This device complies with ISED radiation exposure limits set forth for general population. This device must be installed to provide a separation distance of at least 20cm from all persons and must not be co-located or operating in conjunction with any other antenna or transmitter.

Warning: The demonstration on the board has an RF output power of 0 dBm by default. It is possible to change the RF output power through ST software. However, this certification is only valid for a maximum RF output power of +7.5 dBm (programmed). This board does not meet the requirement to be considered compliant beyond this power.

Simplified EC compliance statement

Hereby, STMicroelectronics declares that the radio equipment type “NUCLEO-WBA52CG” is in compliance with Directive 2014/53/EU.
Frequency range used in transmission and maximal radiated power in this range:

• Frequency range: 2400-2483.5 MHz (Bluetooth®)
• Maximal power: 4 mW e.i.r.p

Revision history

Table 14. Document revision history

IMPORTANT NOTICE – READ CAREFULLY

Documents / Resources

STMicroelectronics STM32WBA Nucleo 64 Board [pdf] User Manual STM32WBA Nucleo 64 Board, STM32WBA, Nucleo 64 Board, 64 Board, Board

References

• User Manual