Functional Description

Overview

As going by the word “mono” & “Zero”, monoZero represents monoZ`s first thing in IoT space. monoZero is a compact and powerful cellular connectivity enabled development kit loaded with several peripherals allowing users to easily connect and control their sensors or other devices. This board is stackable with other add-on boards of the monoZero ecosystem and can be configured with monoZ: SDK libraries to reduce go to market time. monoZero BG96 variant hosts globally available Quectel BG96 modem that supports internet service protocols like TCP, UDP, and PPP.

Features

• Quectel BG96 modem
  • LTE Cat M1 and LTE Cat NB1,1.4MHz RF bandwidth for LTE Cat M1, 200KHz RF bandwidth for LTE Cat NB1
  • Global connectivity supporting B1/B2/B3/B4/B5/B8/B12/B13/B18/B19/B20/B25①/B26*/B28, B39 (For Cat M1 Only)
  • Support 3GPP E-UTRA Release 13
  • Supports PSM
• STM32L4 MCU
  • ARM Cortex M4 32-bit processor @ 80MHz
  • 1MB flash, 320KB RAM
  • Ultra-low-power with FlexPowerControl
  • RTC with HW calendar, alarms and calibration
• Mixed signal GPIOs, UART, I2C, SPI, CAN
• SWD Connector
• RGB status LED
• Reset buttons
• Nano SIM
• SMA connector for external antenna

Board layout

• Micro USB port - USB 2.0 Micro B port for power and debug input
• Power selector - Toggle the power input between USB and V_EXT input pin
• LEDs - RGB LED
• Connector-J4 - 40 pin connector
• Connector-J3 - 40 pin connector
• STM32 MCU - STMicroelectronics 32 bit processor based on the Arm® Cortex®-M4
• Nano SIM slot - Slot for Nano SIM cards coming in at 8.8 x 12.3mm
• Antenna port- Female connector for RP SMA Male type antennas that can be used for high frequency from 2.4GHz - 2.6GHz
• SWD - Serial Wire Debug is used for binary flashing
• Input selector switch - Switch to toggle the modem input between STM32 and External

• SD card slot - External SD card slot
• LTE-M / NB-IoT modem – Quectel BG96 modem

Interfaces

Block diagram

SWD

monoZero has a dedicated 3-pin (SWDIO/SWCLK/GND) debug connector that exposes the SWD interface of the MCU. SWD uses an ARM CPU standard bi-directional wire protocol, defined in the ARM Debug Interface v5. This enables the debugger to become another AMBA bus master for access to system memory and peripheral or debug registers. This interface can be used to access MCU to program your monoZero to perform required function using any standard SWD tool.

Antenna

Provision for Cellular antenna has been provided through an SMA female connector. Any corresponding Antenna (RP SMA Male) adhering to the following specification can be used to enable cellular connectivity.

• Impedance 50 ohm
• Input power > 23dBm Average power
• VSWR absolute max ≤ 10:1 (limit to avoid permanent damage)
• VSWR recommended ≤ 2:1 (limit to fulfill all regulatory requirements)

Power Supply

Standard 5V input voltage is to be supplied via micro-USB port or via external voltage input in connector J3 or J4. The power selector toggle switch is used to toggle between micro-USB port or external voltage input.

Peripherals and GPIO

Type	Qty	Input(I)/Output(O)
GPIOs	23	I/O
USB	1	I/O
LPUART	1	I/O
UART	2	I/O
I2C	3	I/O
SPI	3	I/O
CAN	1	I/O

Pinout and Description

• Connector J3

Pins	Pin No.	Description
V EXT	p1	External voltage supply
VIN	p2,p7,p9	Input voltage supply
3V3	p4,p6,p11	3.3V output supply
1V8	p8	1.8V output supply
GPIOs	p14,p20,p21,p22,p23,p25,p27,p29,p31,p32,p34,p36,p38,p40	I/O pins
LPUART1	p24,p26,p28,p30	Provides UART communication
SPI2	p33,p35,p37,p39	Synchronous communication
I2C1	p16,p18	Supports 100KHz-400KHz communication speed
I2C4	p17,p19	Supports 100KHz-400KHz communication speed
CAN1	p13,p15	Communication for external devices
GND	p3,p5,p10,p12	Ground connection for circuit

• Connector J4

Pins	Pin No.	Description
V EXT	p1	External voltage supply
VIN	p2, p7, p12	Input voltage supply
3V3	p4,p6	3.3V output supply
1V8	p8	1.8V output supply
GPIO	p13,p19,p21,p23,p25,p27,p33,p35,p37,p39	I/O pins
I2C2	p9,p11	Supports 100KHz-400KHz communication speed
QUAD_SPI_CLK/QUAD_BK1_NCS	p29/p31	Quad SPI pins
UART4	p15,p17	Bidirectional communication with moderate speed
USART3	p26,p28,p30,p32	Bidirectional communication with high speed
SPI3	p18,p20,p22,p24	synchronous communication
SPI1	p34,p36,p38,p40	synchronous communication
GND	p3,p5,p10,p14	Ground connection for circuit

Mechanical Specifications

• Operating Temperature: -20 °C to 70 °C
  
• Dimensions : 65 mm x 65 mm
  
• Weight : *40 grams
  

Schematic

MCU

Modem and SIM

Power supply