Support Resources for JN516x MCUs

JN516x Wireless Microcontrollers

The JN516x wireless microcontrollers each comprise an ultra-low power, high-performance MCU together with an IEEE802.15.4-compliant 2.4GHz radio transceiver.

They share a number of common features and benefits, including:

  • Enhanced 32-bit RISC processor offering high coding efficiency through variable-width instructions, a multi-stage instruction pipeline, and low-power operation with programmable clock speeds and various sleep modes
  • On-chip Flash memory for non-volatile storage of application, networking stack and software libraries
  • On-chip RAM and EEPROM, allowing the device to run a wireless networking stack together with an embedded application, or to run in a co-processor mode
  • A rich mix of analogue and digital peripherals
  • Low-current solution for long battery-life, allowing operation directly from a coin cell

The JN5169 device is the flagship of the JN516x range, providing up to 10dBm of transmit power, a generous amount of internal Flash memory and is part of the complete ZigBee Smart Energy v1.4 solution.

The available chips, their memory sizes and supported protocols are summarized below.

Note: K32W061/41 or JN5189/88T are preferred for any new Zigbee®, Thread and Bluetooth® LE 5.0 design. No new software releases planned

Chip RAM EEPROM Flash Max Tx Power Supported Protocols Literature
JN5169-001 32KB 4KB 512KB +10dBm ZB3, ZHA, ZLL, ZGP, IEEE
JN5168-001 32KB 4KB 256KB +2.5dBm ZB3, ZHA, ZLL, ZSE, ZGP, IEEE
JN5164-001 32KB 4KB 160KB +2.5dBm ZB3, ZLL, ZGP, IEEE
JN5161-001 8KB 4KB 64KB +2.5dBm ZGP, IEEE

ZB3 = ZigBee 3.0, ZHA = ZigBee Home Automation, ZLL = ZigBee Light Link, ZSE = ZigBee Smart Energy, ZGP = ZigBee Green Power, IEEE = IEEE 802.15.4

JN516x Evaluation Kits

Evaluation kits are available containing components based around the JN516x microcontrollers, allowing simple wireless networks to be constructed.

The kit components are pre-programmed with demonstration applications that can be run 'out of the box'. Example applications and templates that can be used with these kits are available in Application Notes, which are provided on the web pages for the relevant wireless network protocols (see JN516x Support Software below). The evaluation kit contents can be used as a platform for developing custom JN516x applications in your chosen network protocol.

The available evaluation kits and their features are summarized below.

Evaluation Kit Chip(s) Supported Protocols Literature
JN516x-EK001 JN5168-001 IEEE802.15.4, ZigBee Home Automation, ZigBee Light Link, ZigBee Smart Energy Product Brief
JN516x-EK004 JN5169-001 ZigBee Home Automation, ZigBee Light Link Product Brief

"Internet of Things" Gateway

The NXP® JN5168-RD6040 "Internet of Things" (IoT) Gateway is an Ethernet gateway for wireless networks operating on IEEE 802.15.4-based protocols such as ZigBee PRO. It is used with a conventional IP router to connect a wireless network to an IP-based network, such as the Internet, allowing the control and monitoring of wireless nodes from everyday IP-connected devices, such as smart phones, tablets, PCs and the Cloud.

The IoT Gateway is designed around NXP's JN5168 wireless microcontroller and Arm9-based LPC3240 microcontroller, which runs the OpenWRT distribution of the Linux operating system, providing an easy-to-use platform for system development.

The JN5168-RD6040 IoT Gateway is available to buy as a product. Full technical details are provided in the Application Note ZigBee IoT Gateway (JN-AN-1194). Design resources for custom builds of the IoT Gateway are provided in the Reference Design JN5168-RD6040 IoT Gateway (JN-RD-6040).

JN516x Support Software

Comprehensive software support for the development of custom applications on the JN516x wireless microcontrollers is provided in a free-to-download Software Developer's Kit (SDK) for each of the supported wireless network protocols. The SDKs and associated resources are available via the web pages for the following protocols:

ZigBee 3.0 and ZigBee Home Automation are enabled for ZigBee Green Power.

Each SDK includes APIs for controlling the hardware:

  • Integrated Peripherals API, comprising functions that can be used to control the on-chip peripherals of the JN516x devices
  • Board API, comprising functions for controlling resources on the evaluation kit boards

An SDK must be installed on top of a JN516x toolchain (JN-SW-4041 or JN-SW-4141, depending on the protocol stack), which contains the software tools required to develop JN516x applications (see Toolchains below).

Toolchains

NXP provide toolchains for JN516x application development, based on the Eclipse Integrated Development Environment (IDE). The required toolchain (JN-SW-4041 or JN-SW-4141) depends on the wireless network protocol stack – for example, the ‘BeyondStudio for NXP’ toolchain (JN-SW-4141) is used for ZigBee 3.0, Home Automation and Light Link. The relevant toolchain is available on the web page for each protocol (see JN516x Support Software above).

A JN51xx Flash programmer utility is supplied in the toolchains. In addition, a separate command-line JN51xx Flash programmer utility (JN-SW-4107) is available.

Software, Documentation and Support Resources

A wide range of user resources are provided to aid in the development of custom JN516x solutions, including Software, Datasheets, User Guides, Reference Manuals, Reference Designs and Application Notes. The resources that are relevant to the JN516x hardware are listed below (note that SDKs and toolchains are provided on the web pages for the wireless network protocols).

Note: Compliance information for the JN516x devices and related products is provided on the page JN516x/7x Product Compliance and Certification.

Part Number Title Description Version
Software
JN-SW-4107 JN51xx Production Flash Programmer Utility for loading built applications into JN51xx devices in a production environment. For details, refer to the Release Notes and User Guide JN-UG-3099. 1365
Datasheets
JN5169 JN5169 Datasheet Details the JN5169 microcontroller 1
JN5169M0x JN5169-001-M0x-2 Datasheet Details the JN5169-001-M0x series of modules 3.0
JN-DS-JN516x JN516x Datasheet Details the JN516x series of microcontrollers. 1.3
JN-DS-JN5168-001-MO JN5168-001-Myy Datasheet Details the JN5168-001-Myy series of modules. 1.4
User Guides
JN-UG-3087 JN516x Integrated Peripherals API User Guide Details the JN516x Integrated Peripherals API, used in application code to interact with JN516x on-chip peripherals. 1.4
JN-UG-309> JN516x-EK001 Evaluation Kit User Guide Describes the contents of the JN516x-EK001 Evaluation Kit, and how to set up and run the pre-loaded demonstration. 1.5
JN-UG-309 JN51xx Production Flash Programmer User Guide Describes use of the JN51xx Production Flash Programmer (JN-SW-4107). 1.1
JN-UG-310 JN516x-EK004 Evaluation Kit User Guide Describes the contents of the JN516x-EK004 Evaluation Kit, and how to set up and run the pre-loaded demonstration. 2.0
Reference Manuals
JN-RM-2003 LPRF Board API Reference Manual Details the Board API, used in application code to interact with components on the boards supplied in the evaluation kits. 2.4
JN-RM-2013 JN516x/7x AES Coprocessor API Reference Manual Details the API functions for accessing the AES Coprocessor, used for data encryption/decryption, on the JN516x wireless microcontrollers. Required when explicitly encrypting/decrypting data outside the security provided by the protocol stacks. 2.0
JN-RM-2027 Production Test API Reference Manual Details an API that can be used to program tests to be performed on the JN51xx devices during product design and production. 1.6
Reference Designs
JN-RD-6021 USB Programming Dongle Describes a design for a USB dongle that can be used to program the Flash memory for a JN51xx wireless microcontroller. 1.1
JN-RD-6036 Carrier and Expansion Boards Details the designs for carrier boards and expansion boards with which JN516x devices can be used. 1.4
JN-RD-6038 JN516x Module Reference Design Describes low-cost designs for modules based around the JN516x wireless microcontrollers. 1.1
JN-RD-6039 JN516x USB Dongle Reference Design Describes a design for a USB dongle which can act as a wireless network node based around a JN516x microcontroller. 1.1
JN-RD-6040 JN5168-RD6040 IoT Gateway Contains design resources for the JN5168-RD6040 'Internet of Things' (IoT) Gateway. 1.3
JN-RD-6048 JN5169 ZigBee CCTW Bulbs Contains design resources for JN5169-based boards for Color Changeable Tunable White (CCTW) light bulbs in ZigBee smart lighting networks. Includes 120V and 230V Large Signal Boards as well as a Small Signal Board. 1.0
Application Notes
JN-AN-1001 Calculating JN516x Power Consumption Describes how to calculate the power required by a JN516x wireless microcontroller running an IEEE802.15.4-based application. 1.6
JN-AN-1003 JN51xx Boot Loader Operation Describes the functionality of the boot loaders for the JN51xx wireless microcontrollers. 1.13
JN-AN-1035 Calculating 802.15.4 Data Rates Describes how to calculate the data rates in an IEEE802.15.4-based wireless network containing JN516x-based nodes. 1.2
JN-AN-1059 Wireless Network Deployment Guidelines Provides basic RF guidelines for the deployment of an IEEE802.15.4-based wireless network. 1.2
JN-AN-1079 Co-existence of IEEE 802.15.4 at 2.4 GHz Highlights the issues affecting the performance of IEEE 802.15.4-based systems in the presence of interferers such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. 1.1
JN-AN-1166 Smart Lamp Drivers Application Note Provides and describes NXP software drivers for 'smart lamps', allowing an application that runs on a JN516x device to interact with the hardware driver of a lamp. 1.2
JN-AN-1170 RF Remote Control Unit (DR1159) Application Note Describes a software algorithm that can be used with the capacitive-touch keypad on the RF Remote Control Unit (DR1159). Includes an example application. 1.1
JN-AN-1186 JN516x Temperature-Dependent Operating Guidelines Describes software functions that can be used to deal with variations in radio and 32-MHz crystal oscillator operation on the JN516x devices due to temperature changes. 1.0
JN-AN-1228 Multiple Image Support on JN51xx Demonstrates methods to select and run one of two applications stored in JN51xx internal Flash memory. 1.1
AN11662 High-performance PCB Antennas for ZigBee Networks Describes three designs of printed antenna for use with JN516x wireless microcontrollers in IEEE802.15.4-based systems, such as ZigBee networks. 1.0
AN11659 JN5169/001 RF System Tests Report AN11659 JN5169 RF tests 2.0