STMicroelectronics AN3213 St7570 s-fsk power line networking system-on-chip Datasheet

AN3213
Application note
ST7570 S-FSK power line networking system-on-chip
design guide for AMR
Introduction
The ST7570 demonstration board has been realized as a useful tool which exploits the
performance capability of the ST7570 S-FSK power line networking system-on-chip
(References 1).
With this demonstration board, it is possible to evaluate the ST7570 features and its
transmitting and receiving performance directly on the power line.
The coupling interface is designed to allow the ST7570 device to transmit and receive on the
mains using a spread-spectrum FSK signal with 63.3 and 74 kHz tone frequencies, within
the European CENELEC EN50065-1 standard A-band, specified for automatic meter
reading (References 4).
Figure 1.
ST7570 demonstration board with outline dimensions
As can be seen from Figure 1, special effort has been made to make the demonstration
board as compact as possible, while including all the features which enable the ST7570 to
perform at its best.
Note:
October 2010
The information provided in this application note refers to the EVALST7570-1 demonstration
board.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
1/64
www.st.com
Contents
AN3213
Contents
1
Abbreviations used in this document . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2
Electrical characteristics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3
Safety recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
4
ST7570 S-FSK power line networking system-on-chip description . . 12
5
Demonstration tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
6
Test and measurement tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
7
ST7570 demonstration board description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
7.1
7.2
7.3
8
2/64
Line coupling section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
7.1.1
Transmission active filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
7.1.2
Reception passive filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
7.1.3
Power line coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
7.1.4
Zero crossing coupling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
7.1.5
Input impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Conducted disturbances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7.2.1
Conducted emission (CE) measurements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
7.2.2
Noise immunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
7.2.3
AWGN tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
7.2.4
NBI tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
PCB layout guidelines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
7.3.1
Thermal performance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
7.3.2
Ground connections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
7.3.3
Oscillator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
7.4
Thermal impedance and power dissipation calculation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
7.5
Oscillator section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
7.6
Surge and burst protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
7.7
Power supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Application ideas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
9
Contents
8.1
Three-phase architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
8.2
Received signal strength indication (RSSI) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
FAQs and troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
9.1
FAQs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
9.2
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56
10
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
11
Normative references . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
Appendix A Board layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
Revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
3/64
List of tables
AN3213
List of tables
Table 1.
Table 2.
Table 3.
Table 4.
Table 5.
Table 6.
Table 7.
Table 8.
4/64
Electrical and thermal characteristics of the ST7570 demonstration board . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
TX_OUT level vs. TX_GAIN - typical values. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
BOM list . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
ST parts on board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Line coupling transformer specifications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Noise level SN0 and SN1 during AWGN tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Narrow-band interferer immunity test settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Document revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
List of figures
List of figures
Figure 1.
Figure 2.
Figure 3.
Figure 4.
Figure 5.
Figure 6.
Figure 7.
Figure 8.
Figure 9.
Figure 10.
Figure 11.
Figure 12.
Figure 13.
Figure 14.
Figure 15.
Figure 16.
Figure 17.
Figure 18.
Figure 19.
Figure 20.
Figure 21.
Figure 22.
Figure 23.
Figure 24.
Figure 25.
Figure 26.
Figure 27.
Figure 28.
Figure 29.
Figure 30.
Figure 31.
Figure 32.
Figure 33.
Figure 34.
Figure 35.
Figure 36.
Figure 37.
Figure 38.
Figure 39.
Figure 40.
Figure 41.
ST7570 demonstration board with outline dimensions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
I(VCC) vs. I(PA_OUT) curve - typical values . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
ST7570 block diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Board drawing with indication of the various sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Global view of the ST7570 demonstration board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
ST7570 schematic circuit (part 1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Power supply section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
UART interface section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
External microcontroller connection section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
ST7570 schematic circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Reset circuit section . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
JTAG lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Current limit setting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Non-isolated zero crossing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
USB to UART connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Reception and transmission filter schematics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Measured frequency response of the transmission active filter (typical) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Montecarlo simulation of the transmission active filter frequency response . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Measured frequency response of the reception passive filter (typical) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Montecarlo simulation of the reception passive filter response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Measured frequency response of the Tx active + passive filter loaded with the EN50065-1
LISN impedance (typical) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Montecarlo simulation of the transmission line coupling response loaded with the
EN50065-1 LISN impedance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Non-isolated zero crossing coupling circuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
ZC_IN_A vs. mains voltage - delay measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
ZC_IN_A vs. mains voltage - jitter measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Measured input impedance modulus of the line coupling - reception mode (typical) . . . . . 35
Measured input impedance modulus of the line coupling - transmission mode (typical) . . 35
Conducted emissions test setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Conducted emissions: transmission spectrum, quasi-peak measurement, 3 kHz - 150 kHz,
line-to-earth, as per EN50065-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
Conducted emissions: transmission spectrum, quasi-peak measurement, 3 kHz - 150 kHz,
neutral-to-earth, as per EN50065-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Conducted emissions: transmission spectrum, quasi-peak measurement, 150 kHz - 30 MHz,
line-to-earth, as per EN50065-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Conducted emissions: transmission spectrum, quasi-peak measurement, 150 kHz - 30 MHz,
neutral-to-earth, as per EN50065-1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Noise immunity test setup. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Measured BER vs. SNR curve (typical), white noise . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
Example of stencil openings for the QFN48 package. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
PCB copper dissipating area on top layer for the ST7570 demonstration board . . . . . . . . 42
PCB copper dissipating area on bottom layer for the ST7570 demonstration board . . . . . 42
Packet-fragmented transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Measured ST7570 thermal impedance curve (typical) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Simulation model of the thermal impedance ZthJA of the ST7570 mounted on the
demonstration board . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
Carrier frequency deviation vs. crystal tolerance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
5/64
List of figures
Figure 42.
Figure 43.
Figure 44.
Figure 45.
Figure 46.
Figure 47.
Figure 48.
Figure 49.
Figure 50.
Figure 51.
Figure 52.
Figure 53.
Figure 54.
Figure 55.
6/64
AN3213
Delay between mains zero crossing and transmission start: jitter vs. crystal tolerance . . . 46
Common mode disturbance protection - positive disturbance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Common mode disturbance protection - negative disturbance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Differential mode disturbances protection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Example of power supply EMI input filter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Scheme of principle for non-switched three-phase architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Scheme of principle for switched three-phase architecture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
SNR0 estimator at 1200 bps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
SNR1 estimator at 1200 bps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
SNR0 estimator at 2400 bps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
SNR1 estimator at 2400 bps. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
PCB layout - component placing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
PCB layout - top view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
PCB layout - bottom view . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
1
Abbreviations used in this document
Abbreviations used in this document
●
AC = alternate current
●
AFE = analog front end
●
AMR = automated meter reading
●
AWGN = additive white gaussian noise
●
BER = bit error rate
●
BOM = bill of material
●
CE = conducted emissions
●
DC = direct current
●
EMC = electro-magnetic compliance
●
EMI = electro-magnetic immunity
●
GUI = graphical user interface
●
MAC = medium access control layer (as per IEC61334-5-1 protocol stack definition References 5)
●
NBI = narrow-band interferer
●
LISN = line impedance stabilization network
●
PA = power amplifier
●
PCB = printed circuit board
●
PHY = physical layer (as per IEC61334-5-1 protocol stack definition - References 5)
●
PLC = power line communication
●
PSU = power supply unit
●
RBW = resolution bandwidth
●
SBW = signal bandwidth
●
S-FSK = spread frequency shift keying
●
SNR = signal-to-noise ratio
●
SSD = start subframe delimiter (as per IEC61334-5-1 physical layer definition References 5)
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
7/64
Electrical characteristics
AN3213
2
Electrical characteristics
Table 1.
Electrical and thermal characteristics of the ST7570 demonstration board
Parameter
Value
Min
Notes
Typ
Max
Thermal data
Ambient operating
temperature
-40 °C
85 °C
ST7570 thermal
resistance
50 °C/W ((1))
Measured on the
ST7570 demonstration
board 2-side PCB with
thermal pad and 4x4
thermal via array
Transceiver section
Transmitting specifications (Tx mode)
Transmitted signal
Tone “1” frequency
63.3 kHz
Transmitted signal
Tone “0” frequency
74 kHz
Transmitted signal
-20 dB bandwidth
19 kHz
2400 BAUD
Transmitted output
current limit
1 A rms
R15 = 130 Ω
Receiving specifications (Rx mode)
Minimum detectable
received signal
46 dBµV rms
Reception filter -3 dB
bandwidth
50 kHz
1200 BAUD, BER<10-3,
SNR > 20 dB
Mains coupling specifications
Transformer isolation
4 kV ((2))
Power supply requirements
AC mains voltage range
85 V AC
Mains frequency
VCC power supply
voltage
VCC power supply
current absorption – RX
mode
8/64
265 V AC
50-60 Hz
8V
13 V
12 mA
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
18 V
DL1 on (7 mA typ.)
AN3213
Electrical characteristics
Table 1.
Electrical and thermal characteristics of the ST7570 demonstration board (continued)
Parameter
Value
VCC power supply
current absorption – TX
mode
20 mA
VDDIO digital supply
voltage
-10 %
Notes
500 mA
3.3 V
VCC = 8 to 18 V,
I(PA_OUT) = 0 to 1 A
rms
+10 %
VDDIO digital supply
current absorption
40 mA
DL2 on (5 mA typ.),
no external
microcontroller
connection through J1
Maximum required
power (typical
application)
7W
VCC = 13 V
1. Measured over a continuous transmission period of 3000 seconds (steady-state thermal dissipation).
2. Note that STMicroelectronics does not guarantee transformer isolation. STMicroelectronics assumes no responsibility for
the consequences that may arise from that risk.
Table 2.
TX_OUT level vs. TX_GAIN - typical values
TX_GAIN
TX_OUT
[dBµV rms]
[V rms]
31
123
1.420
30
122
1.265
29
121
1.128
28
120
1.005
27
119
0.896
26
118
0.798
25
117
0.712
24
116
0.634
23
115
0.565
22
114
0.504
21
113
0.449
20
112
0.400
19
111
0.357
18
110
0.318
17
109
0.283
16
108
0.252
15
107
0.225
14
106
0.201
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
9/64
Electrical characteristics
Table 2.
AN3213
TX_OUT level vs. TX_GAIN - typical values (continued)
TX_GAIN
Figure 2.
TX_OUT
13
105
0.179
12
104
0.159
11
103
0.142
10
102
0.127
9
101
0.113
8
100
0.101
7
99
0.090
6
98
0.080
5
97
0.071
4
96
0.063
3
95
0.057
2
94
0.050
1
93
0.045
I(VCC) vs. I(PA_OUT) curve - typical values
, 9&& >P$@
, 3$B287 >P$@
10/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
!-V
AN3213
3
Safety recommendations
Safety recommendations
The board must be used by expert technicians only. Due to the high voltage (85-265 VAC)
present on the non-isolated parts, special care must be taken in order to avoid electrical
risks regarding user safety.
There is no protection against accidental human contact with high voltages.
After disconnecting the board from the mains, no live parts must be touched immediately
because of the energized capacitors.
It is mandatory to use a mains insulation transformer to perform any tests on the high
voltage sections, using test instruments such as, spectrum analyzers or oscilloscopes.
Do not connect any probe to high voltage sections if the board is not isolated from the mains
supply, in order to avoid damaging instruments and demo tools.
Warning:
STMicroelectronics assumes no responsibility for the
consequences arising from any improper use of this
development tool.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
11/64
ST7570 S-FSK power line networking system-on-chip description
4
AN3213
ST7570 S-FSK power line networking system-on-chip
description
The ST7570 is a powerful power line networking system-on-chip, combining a highperforming PHY processor core and a protocol controller core with a fully integrated analog
front end (AFE) and line driver, for a scalable future-proof, cost effective single chip narrowband power line communication solution based on IEC61334-5-1 S-FSK technology
(References 5).
The ST7570 comes with a dedicated FW implementing full PHY and MAC protocol layers
and services compliant with the open standard IEC 61334-5-1, mainly developed for smart
metering applications in EN50065-1 A band, but also usable for other command and control
applications and remote load management in B band (References 4).
The on-chip analog front end, featuring analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion
and automatic gain control, plus the integrated power amplifier delivering up to 1 A rms
output current, makes the ST7570 the first complete system-on-chip for power line
communication.
The line coupling network design is also simplified, leading to a very low cost BOM. Safe
performance operations are guaranteed while keeping power consumption and distortion
levels very low, therefore making ST7570 an ideal platform for the most stringent application
requirements and regulatory standard compliance.
For further details, please refer to References 1 and 2.
Figure 3.
ST7570 block diagram
3$B,1
3$B287
3$B,1
&/
7KHUPDO
0DQDJHPHQW
3$
21&+,3
0HPRULHV
2XWSXW&XUUHQW
&RQWURO
21&+,3
0HPRULHV
/LQH'ULYHU
7;B287
'$&
*$,1
&75/
7;$)(
:$7&+'2*
7,0(56
%3)
''6
3URWRFRO
&RQWUROOHU
8$57
3+<3URFHVVRU
7B5(4
5;'
7;'
%5
5;B,1
3*$
9&&
9
5;$)(
9'',2
9
$'&
%3)
%5
35(6/27=&76%,7
3RZHU0DQDJHPHQW
9&&$
9
9''
9
=HUR&URVVLQJ'HWHFWLRQ
&ORFN0DQDJHPHQW
=&B,1B$
=&B,1B'
9''B3//
9
;,1
;287
!-V
12/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
5
Demonstration tools
Demonstration tools
The minimum set of evaluation tools required to test the ST7570 power line communication
is two communication nodes, each made up of the following elements:
●
A PC running the ST7570 GUI software tool
●
One EVALST7570-1 board
●
One ALTAIR04-900 demonstration board as the power supply unit (PSU).
For further details regarding the ST7570 GUI software and the available evaluation tools,
please visit http://www.st.com/powerline.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
13/64
Test and measurement tools
6
Test and measurement tools
●
●
Spectrum/network/impedance analyzer
–
Agilent 4395A: 10 Hz - 500 MHz
–
Agilent 43961A Impedance test kit
Differential active probe
–
●
●
1000 VA, 0 - 250 V variable output
Oscilloscope
–
●
Rohde&Schwarz ENV216
Isolation transformer
–
●
Agilent E7402A: 100 Hz - 3 GHz
Two-line V-network (LISN)
–
●
DC reject 0.05 Hz
EMC analyzer
–
●
Agilent 1141A differential probe: 1 MΩ, 7 pF
Agilent 1142A probe control and power module:
–
Tektronik TDS 754D: 500 MHz, 2 GS/s
Surge/burst generator
–
14/64
AN3213
Volta UCS 500-M
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
The ST7570 demonstration board is made up of the following sections:
●
ST7570 supply and digital connections
●
Line coupling section, including four subsections:
–
Transmission active filter
–
Reception passive filter
–
Power line coupling
–
Zero crossing coupling.
The board has also four external connections:
●
AC mains (line and neutral) on CN1 connector
●
VCC (8 to 18 V) and VDDIO (3.3 or 5 V) supply voltages on CN2 connector
●
USB interface for PC connectivity on CN3 USB type B connector
●
Digital interface on J1 7x2 connector, collecting all the signals required to interface an
external microcontroller board.
Figure 4.
Board drawing with indication of the various sections
/LQHFRXSOLQJ
VHFWLRQ
±9
9&&±
9'',2
6XSSO\FRQQHFWLRQ
$&PDLQV
FRQQHFWRU
86%
FRQQHFWRU
'LJLWDO,QWHUIDFHFRQQHFWRU 7
ST7570 demonstration board description
67VXSSO\DQGGLJLWDO
VHFWLRQ
86%8$57LVRODWHGLQWHUIDFH
!-V
Figure 5 gives a global view of the demonstration board. Figure 6 shows the ST7570 and
the line coupling circuits, while Figure 10 represents the USB to UART connection circuit.
Table 3 lists the components chosen to realize the demonstration board. All the parts have
been selected to obtain good performance in a real case application.
The layout of the printed circuit board is given in Appendix A: Board layout - Figure 53,
Figure 54 and Figure 55.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
15/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
Figure 5.
AN3213
Global view of the ST7570 demonstration board
86%
+($'(5..
3
1
9&&
9
9'',2
7;'
966
3/0
9'',2
7;'
5;'
5;'
7B5(4
7B5(4
*1'
*1'
3/0
86%
Figure 6.
+($'(5..
&1
&1
!-V
ST7570 schematic circuit (part 1)
9'',2
5
N
5
N
5
N
5
N
5
N
5(6(59('
5(6(59('
5(6(59('
5(6(59('
5(6(59('
9'',2
5
73
=&B,1B'
9''
'/
/('5('
-3
&/26(
9'',2
Q)
&
5(6(59('
Q)
&
X)
9'',2
9''B5(*B9
3$B287
966
9''B5(*B9
9''
&
&
Q)
)%
X)
966$
9''B3//
&
Q)
9'',2
9''
&
)%
73
=&76%,7
*5281'3/$1(
%(/2:7+('(9,&(
73
9''B3//
)%
%/03*61
=&76%,7
966$
9'',2
*1'
5
;287
966
9&&
73
&
X)
9&&$
966
73
9''
8
;287
*1'
966$
9''B3//
9&&$
=&B,1
5;B,1
7;B287
3$B,1
3$B,1
&/
9&&
<
0+]
67
;,1
=&76%,7
966$
9'',2
*1'
1&
5(6(59('
1&
1&
9'',2
9''B5(*B9
3$B287
966
5
7;'
5;'
9'',2
75671
706
*1'
7&.
7'2
7',
5(6(71
9''
;,1
(3
7;'
5;'
9'',2
75671
706
*1'
7&.
7'2
7',
5(6(71
9''
;,1
5(6(59('
5(6(59('
9''
*1'
5(6(59('
5(6(59('
5(6(59('
5(6(59('
%5
%5
7B5(4
=&B,1B'
&
Q)
5
N
;287
*1'
966$
9''B3//
9&&$
=&B,1B$
5;B,1
7;B287
3$B,1
3$B,1
&/
9&&
9'',2
Q)
5(6(59('
9'',2
9''
*1'
5(6(59('
5(6(59('
5(6(59('
*1'
%5
%5
7B5(4
=&B,1B'
&
966$
&
Q)
&
X)
9&&$
73
966$
&
Q)
966$
966$
16/64
&
X)
!-V
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Figure 7.
Power supply section
9&&
9&&
)%
9
9'',2
%/03*61
966
-3
&/26(
9&&
9
-3
&/26(
5
.
5
'/
/('*5((1
'/
/('<(//2:
!-V
Figure 8.
UART interface section
!-V
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
17/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
Figure 9.
AN3213
External microcontroller connection section
!-V
18/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
N
1&
N
5
5
Q)
&
9&&
&
1&
&
966$
9&&$
7;B287
7;B287
73
Q)
N
N
&
5
5
&
N
5
&
Q)
N
5
S)
S)
&
3$B,1
73
3$B,1
3$B,1
3$B,1
73
N
5
3$
S)
S)
&
73
5;B,1
5;B,1
73
3$B287
3$B287
X+
/
Q)
&
9&&
&
966$
Q)
&
'
6736/$
X)
&
'
6736/$
7$
%
%
/
X+
7'.(3:(
7%
1
9$&;
'
6079&$
5
$
$
'
607&$
Q)<
&
1
3
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Figure 10. ST7570 schematic circuit
!-V
19/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Figure 11. Reset circuit section
!-V
Figure 12. JTAG lines
!-V
20/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Figure 13. Current limit setting
!-V
Figure 14. Non-isolated zero crossing
!-V
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
21/64
AN3213
Figure 15. USB to UART connection
9&&B86%B/9
9&&B86%B/9
5
9&&B86%B/9
9&& B86%B/9
86%'0
5
5
86%'3
&76
'75
567287
'65
'&'
;7,1
5,
<
9&& B86%B/9
0+]
7;'(1
5
N
5(6(7
3:5& 7/
9&&B86%B/9
7;/('
((&6
5;/('
7;'B/9
7B5(4B/9
73
(('$7$
7(67
8
6/((3
287
'
,1
287
&
287
,1
287
,1
7(6732,17
9&& B86%B/9
1& 1&
*1' *1' 7;'
73
7(6732,17
*1'
'/
/('
8$577;
'/
/('
8$575;
5
5
'
&
-3
5;'
7B5(4
+($'(5;
((6.
*1' B
*1' B
5
N
$*1'
7B5(4B/9
7;'B/9
*1' &
Q)
86%B8$57B5(6Q
./4 %
/0% . *5 -0%2 3
)& 5!24 ).4 %2&! #% . /4 # /.42/ ,,%$ 6)! 53"
-3
3:5(1
86%B8$57B5(6Q
;7287
*1' 9'',2
,1
5;'B/9
9'' 5;'
9'' 7;'
5
5
9287
5;'B/9
9&&B
9&& B
9&&,2
&
Q)
8
+& 3/
&
Q)
576
23(1
&
Q)
)7%0
22/64
!-V
ST7570 demonstration board description
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
6+
6+
&1
&186%
&
Q)
&
Q)
&
Q)
5
N
)(55,7(%($'
&
X)
)%
9&& B86%B/9
$9&&
9&&B86%B/9
AN3213
Table 3.
ST7570 demonstration board description
BOM list
Part
Value
Description
CN1
Connector 2x1
Molex KK 100, 3-pole, right angle, p=2.54 mm (central pin
removed)
CN2
Connector 3x1
Molex KK 100, 3-pole, right angle, p=2.54 mm
CN3
USB connector
USB type B
C1
22 nF
SMD 0805 X7R 50 V
C2
10 µF
SMD 1206 X5R 25 V
C3
10 nF
SMD 0805 X7R 50 V
C4
220 nF Y2
Epcos B32023-B3224K p=22.5 mm
C5
10 µF
SMD 3528 Tantalum 16 V
C6, C12
120 pF
SMD 0603 NP0 50 V
C7
10 nF
SMD 0603 X7R 50 V
C8, C14, C18, C21, C22,
C24, C26, C28, C29,
C31:C37
100 nF
SMD 0603 X7R 50 V
C9
1 nF
SMD 0603 X7R 50 V
C10
4.7 pF
SMD 0603 NP0 50 V
C11
100 pF
SMD 0603 NP0 50 V
C13
27 pF
SMD 0603 NP0 50 V
C15
47 µF
SMD 6032 Tantalum 16 V
C16, C17
NC
SMD 0603
C19
33 nF
SMD 0603 X7R 50 V
C20, C23, C30
10 µF
SMD 0805 X7R 10 V
C25
10 µF
SMD 0603 X5R 6.3 V
DL1
Green LED
SMD 0805
DL2
Yellow LED
SMD 0805
DL4
Blue LED
SMD 0805
DL3, DL5
Red LED
SMD 0805
D1
SM6T15CA
Bi-directional Transil diode, SMB
D2, D4
STPS1L30A
Schottky diode, SMA
D3
SM6T6V8CA
Bi-directional Transil diode, SMB
D5, D6
BZX79C4V7
Zener diode, SOD80
D7
BZX79C3V3
Zener diode, SOD80
FB1, FB5
BLM21PG331SN1
Ferrite bead, 0805
FB3, FB4
0
Ferrite bead not mounted, 0805
FB2
MI0805K400R-10
Ferrite bead, 0805
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
23/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
Table 3.
AN3213
BOM list (continued)
Part
Value
Description
JP1, JP4, JP6
Jumper
Close
JP5
Jumper
Open
JP7
Strip 2x2
Right angle - Close 1-2, 3-4
J1
Connector 7x2
Flex connector, male, right angle
L1
220 µH
Epcos B82462-A4224K
L2
22 µH
Epcos B82464-A4223K
R1
1.5 kΩ
SMD 1206
R2
330 Ω
SMD 1206
R3
150 Ω
SMD 0603
R4, R5
220 Ω
SMD 0603
R6, R7, R16, R17
100 kΩ
SMD 1206 ¼ W
R8
33 kΩ
SMD 0603
R9
22 kΩ
SMD 0603
R10
5.1 kΩ
SMD 0603
R11, R18
27 Ω
SMD 0603
R12
2 kΩ
SMD 0603
R13, R14
47 kΩ
SMD 0603
R15
130 Ω
SMD 0603
R19, R23, R25:R28,
R30:R32, R45:R49
10 kΩ
SMD 0603
R20
1.5 kΩ
SMD 0603
R21
100 kΩ
SMD 0603
R22, R33:R35
4.7 kΩ
SMD 0603
R24
470 Ω
SMD 0603
R29
820 Ω
SMD 0603
R36
NC
SMD 0603
SW2
Reset button
Right angle
T1A
Line transformer - A
VAC 5024-X044
T1B
Line transformer - B
WE 750-510-231 /
TDK SRW13EP-X05H002
U1
FT232BM
USB to UART converter
U2
ST7570
Power line communication SoC, QFN48
U3
HCPL-091J
Quad digital isolator,
16-pin SOIC narrow body
Y1
6 MHz
HC49U
24/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Table 4.
ST parts on board
Part
Value
Description
D1
SM6T15CA
Bi-directional Transil diode, SMB
D2, D4
STPS1L30A
Schottky diode, SMA
D3
SM6T6V8CA
Bi-directional Transil diode, SMB
U2
ST7570
Power line communication SoC, QFN48
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
25/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
7.1
AN3213
Line coupling section
The line coupling section is composed of four different circuits; the transmission active filter,
the reception passive filter, the power line coupling, and the zero crossing coupling. All four
sections are described below. For each section, calculations and measured behavior are
reported. The frequency response of the filters is usually sensitive to the component value
tolerance. Actual components used in the ST7570 demonstration board have the following
tolerances: +/-10 % for coils and for the Y2 capacitor, +/-1 % for SMD resistors, and +/-5 %
for SMD ceramic capacitors. To evaluate the sensitivity to these possible variations,
simulated responses are also included with Montecarlo statistical analysis of response
variation vs. spread of component value.
1
&
5
5HFHSWLRQ
SDVVLYHILOWHU
/
X+
&
5;B,1
Q)
966$
'
6736/$
& S )
3$B,1
73
3$B,1
3$B,1
3$
N
&
Q)
5 N
N
N
N
5 Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
966$
& 1&
Q)
7;B287
1&
& 9&&$
&
9&&
5 N
5 5
& Q )
N
5 3$B,1
5
S )
S )
73
S )
&
& &
3$B287
7UDQVPLVVLRQ
DFWLYHILOWHU
Q)
$
X)
&
'
6736/$
9&&
26/64
'
6079&$
7'.(3:(
'
607&$
%
7 %
9$&;
$
7 $
%
1
/
X+
&
Q)< 3
3RZHUOLQH
FRXSOLQJ
Figure 16. Reception and transmission filter schematics
!-
AN3213
Transmission active filter
The transmission active filter is based on the ST7570 internal Power Amplifier (PA), with
input and output pins externally available to allow a filtering network tailored around the
amplifier. For the ST7570 demonstration board, a 3-pole low-pass filter has been realized by
cascading a simple R-C low-pass stage and a Sallen-Key 2-pole cell. The R12-C9 low-pass
stage is aimed at having a corner frequency of nearly 80 kHz, just above the higher S-FSK
tone, for a first filtering of the TX_OUT harmonics. The 1 nF value of C9 has been found to
be the optimal value to obtain a good filtering action without yielding unwanted capacitive
load distortion on the TX_OUT line. The transfer function of the 2nd order Sallen-Key cell is:
Equation 1
A0
A ( s ) = ---------------------------------------2
s
s
------- + ---------------- + 1
2
ωC ⋅ Q
ω
C
Where
Equation 2
R8 ⎞
A 0 = ⎛ 1 + -------- = 4.3 = 12.7dB
⎝
R ⎠
19
Equation 3
1
f C = --------------------------------------------------------------- = 125kHz
2π ⋅ R 9 ⋅ R 10 ⋅ C 6 ⋅ C 12
Equation 4
R 9 ⋅ R 10 ⋅ C 6 ⋅ C 12
Q = ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- = 1.03
R 10 C 12 + R 9 C 6 + R 10 C 6 ( 1 – A 0 )
Figure 17 represents measured transfer function of the transmission active filter. It shows
good rejection at signal harmonic frequencies.
Figure 17. Measured frequency response of the transmission active filter (typical)
*DLQ>G%@
7.1.1
ST7570 demonstration board description
(
(
)UHTXHQF\>+]@
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
(
!-V
27/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Simulation of the Tx active filter response against component tolerance, depicted in
Figure 18, shows +/-1 dB variation in gain module within the signal bandwidth, while the Q
variation is more sensitive around 100 kHz.
Figure 18. Montecarlo simulation of the transmission active filter frequency
response
7.1.2
Reception passive filter
The reception filter is made up of the series of a resistor and a parallel L-C resonant. The
transfer function of the filter can be written as:
Equation 5
Where
●
RL is the DC series resistance of the inductor (in this case, about 2 Ω)
●
C‘1 is the parallel of C1 with the reverse capacitance of the transil diode D3, which is
about 2 nF.
The center frequency and the quality factor of the filter can be expressed as:
Equation 6
Equation 7
28/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
It is quite evident that the quality factor and the filter selectivity depend not only on the R3
value, but also on RL. A higher RL leads to lower steepness of the resonance, while a higher
R3 gives higher selectivity.
The RL value impacts in a more evident way on insertion losses. To evaluate the relationship
between RL and the received signal loss, the following simplified expression of R ( s ) at f=fC
can be used:
Equation 8
With actual values of the components, a loss of about 1 dB is obtained. The same
calculation gives unitary transfer if RL is set to zero.
When looking at the first way to express the module of the transfer function, it can be seen
that a higher Q can help to keep the losses to a minimum. On the other hand, it would bring
the response to a higher sensitivity to component tolerance.
Figure 19 shows the measured frequency response of the Rx passive filter. The filter shows
a -3 dB bandwidth equal to 50 kHz and an attenuation of less than 1 dB at fC.
Figure 19. Measured frequency response of the reception passive filter (typical)
*DLQ>G%@
(
(
IUHTXHQF\>+]@
(
!-V
Figure 20 shows the simulation of the response of the Rx passive filter with the components
tolerance effect. The shift on the center frequency gives a worst-case loss of nearly 0.5 dB
around 68 kHz.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
29/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Figure 20. Montecarlo simulation of the reception passive filter response
7.1.3
Power line coupling
The coupling to the power line requires some passive components in addition to the active
filtering stage. In particular, it includes the DC decoupling capacitor C2, the line transformer
T1, the power inductor L2, and the Y2 safety capacitor C4.
L2 has been accurately chosen to have high saturation current (> 2 A) and very low
equivalent series resistance (< 0.1 Ω), to limit distortion and insertion losses even with
heavy line load.
Center frequency for the series resonance can be calculated at first approximation as:
Equation 9
provided that the capacitance of C2 is much greater than the C4 capacitance. L2 is the
series of L2 and the leakage inductance of the coupling transformer T1, adding about 1 µH
to L2. The Q factor of this coupling circuit is driven by the mains line impedance: the choice
of the L2 and C4 values leads to 3 dB maximum attenuation when line impedance modulus
goes down to 5 Ω.
Particular attention has been paid to choosing the line transformer. The required
characteristics are listed in Table 5.
In order to have a good signal transfer and minimize the insertion losses, it is recommended
to choose a transformer with a primary (shunt) inductance of 1 mH or greater, a leakage
inductance much smaller than L2, and a total DC resistance lower than 0.5 Ω.
The 4 kV insulation voltage requirement, the last specified parameter, is described and
codified by the EN50065-4-2 CENELEC document (References 4).
30/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Table 5.
Line coupling transformer specifications
Parameter
Value
Turn ratio
1:1
Shunt inductance
≥ 1 mH
Leakage inductance
≤ 1.5 µH
DC total resistance
≤ 0.5 Ω
DC saturation current
≥ 15 mA
Inter-winding capacitance
< 30 pF
Withstanding voltage
≥ 4 kV
In Figure 21 the measured response of the whole transmission coupling, loaded with the
LISN impedance as set by the EN50065-1 document, is given. The image highlights a
further filtering effect added by the passive L-C series resonant combined with the LISN
reactive load.
*DLQ>G%@
Figure 21. Measured frequency response of the Tx active + passive filter loaded with
the EN50065-1 LISN impedance (typical)
(
(
IUHTXHQF\>+]@
(
!-V
Figure 22 represents the Montecarlo simulation of the cumulated response of transmission
active and passive filters, loaded with the LISN impedance, as set by the EN50065-1
document (References 3). Due to the response slope and the effect of power components,
the in-band variation is within +/-1.5 dB.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
31/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Figure 22. Montecarlo simulation of the transmission line coupling response loaded
with the EN50065-1 LISN impedance
7.1.4
Zero crossing coupling
The zero crossing coupling circuit is aimed at providing an analog signal to the ZC_IN_A pin
synchronous with the mains network voltage. This signal must be centered on VSS and
limited to ±5 V peak (References 1).
The zero crossing circuit is realized through a non-isolated resistive coupling to both neutral
and phase lines, as represented in Figure 23.
The two Zener diodes clamp the mains voltage at ±4.7 V, keeping the same slope as the
mains voltage around the zero crossing. The four 100 kΩ series resistors limit the Zener
current to 1.5 mA rms. Having two resistors per line helps prevent short-circuits in the case
of resistor degradation.
Figure 23. Non-isolated zero crossing coupling circuit
=&B,1
=& B,1
5
N
5
73
N:
-3
&/26(
5
3
N:
'
%=;&9
'
%=;&9
5
5
N:
1
N:
!-V
This circuit introduces a delay of nearly 30 µs between the mains zero crossing and the
ZC_IN_A input pin, as represented in Figure 24. Figure 25 shows an oscilloscope infinite
persistence snapshot showing an overall jitter lower than 10 µs.
32/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Figure 24. ZC_IN_A vs. mains voltage - delay measurement
Figure 25. ZC_IN_A vs. mains voltage - jitter measurement
7.1.5
Input impedance
The input impedance of a power line communication node is another critical point.
According to the network impedance measurements carried out in some European
distribution networks (Italy, Germany and France) the following characteristics can be
associated to the impedance of a typical low-voltage (LV) power line:
●
Typical impedance magnitude is around 5 Ω
●
Nearly 90 % of measured values range between 0.5 and 10 Ω
●
The impedance value depends on the measurement point
●
The measured value changes over time.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
33/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
The reasons for these characteristics can be described as follows:
●
The LV distribution network has a “tree” structure, with many branches and subbranches acting as parallel impedances
●
Several electronic devices connected to the LV network offer a very low impedance,
mostly because of the EMI input filters installed at their mains connection
●
The type and number of electronic loads connected to the mains network varies over
time
For all these reasons, particular attention must be paid to the impedance of the ST7570 line
coupling circuit. Specifically:
●
In receiving (idle) mode, the coupling impedance must be high enough to make the
power line source impedance negligible and to minimize the mutual interference
between different PLC nodes connected to the same network
●
In transmitting mode, the coupling impedance must be very low inside the signal
bandwidth but high enough for out-of-band frequencies.
According to these requirements, the EN50065-7 standard document fixes the following
constraints for the PLC node operating in the A band:
●
●
Tx mode:
–
free in the range 3 to 95 kHz
–
3 Ω from 95 to 148.5 kHz
Rx mode:
–
10 Ω from 3 to 9 kHz
–
50 Ω between 9 and 95 kHz only inside the signal bandwidth (free for frequencies
outside the signal bandwidth)
–
5 Ω from 95 to 148.5 kHz
Figure 26 and 27 show the input impedance magnitude vs. frequency measured in
transmission and reception mode.
The impedance magnitude values prove that the ST7570 demonstration board is compliant
with the EN50065-7 requirements. At the same time, the line interface gives an efficient
signal coupling both in transmission and reception.
34/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Figure 26. Measured input impedance modulus of the line coupling - reception
mode (typical)
Figure 27. Measured input impedance modulus of the line coupling - transmission
mode (typical)
7.2
Conducted disturbances
7.2.1
Conducted emission (CE) measurements
The EN50065-1 standard describes the test setup and procedures for these kinds of tests.
The compliance tests have been performed with 230 V AC isolated supply. The test pattern
consists of a continuous transmission of the two S-FSK tones, alternating at 2400 baud.
The output signal level has been set to 2.5 V rms (ST7570 TX_GAIN parameter = 23),
corresponding to 122 dBµV rms measured at the standard two-line V-network (also called
line impedance stabilization network, or LISN) measurement port.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
35/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Figure 28. Conducted emissions test setup
3&
UXQQLQJ
67*8,
86%
0DLQV
6XSSO\
,VRODWLRQ
7UDQVIRUPHU
5RKGH 6FKZDU]
(19
7ZROLQH9QHWZRUN
/
1
(9$/67
XQGHUWHVW
Ÿ
966
Ÿ
$JLOHQW
($
(0&$QDO\]HU
9
9
9+]
$/7$,5
3RZHUVXSSO\
XQLW
!-V
The conducted emissions measurement results are reported below. Quasi-peak
measurements have been performed, as required by the EN50065-1 standard document.
The measured spectrum is always compared to the EN50065-1 compliance limit mask
(References 3).
Figure 29, 30, 31, and 32 show the full set of transmission spectrum measurements.
Figure 29. Conducted emissions: transmission spectrum, quasi-peak measurement,
3 kHz - 150 kHz, line-to-earth, as per EN50065-1
36/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Figure 30. Conducted emissions: transmission spectrum, quasi-peak measurement,
3 kHz - 150 kHz, neutral-to-earth, as per EN50065-1
Figure 31. Conducted emissions: transmission spectrum, quasi-peak measurement,
150 kHz - 30 MHz, line-to-earth, as per EN50065-1
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
37/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Figure 32. Conducted emissions: transmission spectrum, quasi-peak measurement,
150 kHz - 30 MHz, neutral-to-earth, as per EN50065-1
7.2.2
Noise immunity
The tests on immunity against white noise (AWGN) and narrow-band interferers (NBI) are
based on two ST7570 demonstration boards, performing a unidirectional point-to-point
communication. The first board transmits a message with a known bit pattern, while the
receiving board passes the received message to the ST7570 GUI software, which
calculates the percentage of wrong bits (BER). The tests have been performed at 1200 and
2400 baud.
Figure 33 shows the test environment used to perform noise immunity tests.
The noise (AWGN or NBI) is produced by a waveform generator and injected into the
network through an AC coupling circuit; this circuit is mandatory to protect the waveform
generator output.
Figure 33. Noise immunity test setup
$WWHQXDWRU
!-V
38/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Noise and signal are measured independently on the RX_IN pin of the ST7570 through a
spectrum analyzer with a differential 1 MΩ probe. When measuring the signal level SS
(expressed in dBµV rms), the transmitting ST7570 device is set in continuous transmission
of a single sine tone, allowing the measurement of the signal level to be performed with a
resolution bandwidth (RBW) of 100 Hz. The probe was removed during communication tests
to avoid any interference.
7.2.3
AWGN tests
These tests are aimed at testing the demonstration board performance against AWGN and
guaranteeing compliance with IEC61334-5-1 requirements (References 5).
The value of injected noise has been kept constant during all performance tests; different
SNR values have been set by changing the signal level on the transmitting ST7570 device.
The measured noise level has been obtained with an RBW equal to 3 kHz. As the spectrum
analyzer is integrating the noise spectral density over its RBW, the actual noise level SN
(expressed in dBµV rms) can be obtained by scaling the measured value to the modulated
signal bandwidth SBW (that is, 1200 or 2400 Hz according to the baud rate). Equation 10
expresses the relationship between measured and actual noise level.
Equation 10
Table 6 gives the actual noise level at each S-FSK tone frequency in the test setup of
Figure 33.
Noise level SN0 and SN1 during AWGN tests
Table 6.
SBW [Hz]
SN0 [dBμV rms]
SN1 [dBμV rms]
1200
41.12
39.82
2400
44.13
42.83
The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) values for the two S-FSK tones can be calculated as:
and
. The average SNRAV is calculated in accordance with
Equation 11 as in References 3:
Equation 11
The difference found between noise levels on f0 and f1 frequencies is mostly due to non-flat
response of transmission and reception filters. Nevertheless, these values can be
considered as a real case for evaluating the ST7570 demonstration board performance in
communication tests.
SS0 and SS1 have the same unbalancing, so the resulting difference between SNR0 and
SNR1 is about 1 dB.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
39/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Figure 34 represents the BER vs. SNR curve in the presence of white noise for both 1200
bps and 2400 bps at 50 Hz in these conditions.
Figure 34. Measured BER vs. SNR curve (typical), white noise
7.2.4
NBI tests
In order to test the demonstration board immunity to a narrow-band interferer (NBI), the
method described in the IEC61334-5-1 standard has been followed (References 5). It
requires a sine wave interferer at a 20 kHz < fN < 95 kHz frequency to be applied at the
receiving device. Setting an rms interferer level equal to SN and an rms signal level equal to
SS, the BER of the receiving device must be lower than 10-5 with SN/SS < 30 dB.
The waveform generator has been used to provide the sine wave signal, whereas a second
demonstration board was generating packet traffic compliant with IEC61334-5-1 at PHY
layer (standard preamble and SSD sequence followed by a random payload) (References
5).
Table 7 shows the parameters setting the test conditions. Both signal and noise levels have
been measured through a spectrum analyzer with differential probe. The resolution
bandwidth RBW was equal to 100 Hz.
Table 7.
Narrow-band interferer immunity test settings
Parameter
Value
Received signal level
69.5 dBµV rms
Received NBI level
100.0 dBµV rms
Signal bandwidth
2400 Hz
The test returned a BER value lower than 10-5 for all the interferer frequencies, proving that
the demonstration board is compliant with IEC 61334-5-1 requirements on narrowband
interferer tests.
40/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
7.3
PCB layout guidelines
7.3.1
Thermal performance
The ST7570 device can operate within the standard industrial temperature range, from -40
to 85 °C ambient temperature. Especially in high ambient temperature conditions, the effect
of the power dissipation of the device must be considered to keep it operating in safe
conditions.
Even though the ST7570 features a built-in thermal shutdown circuitry which turns off the
power amplifier (PA) when the die temperature (TJ) exceeds 170 °C, it is recommended not
to exceed 125 °C during normal operation to ensure the functionality of the IC.
A QFN48 package with Exposed Pad has been chosen for the ST7570 device to achieve
very good thermal performance. However, in order to take full advantage of this, the PCB
must be designed to effectively conduct heat away from the package.
To obtain a low impedance thermal path to the PCB, a 5x5 mm thermal pad has been
realized on the top layer under the device. In order to effectively remove the heat, the
exposed pad must be well soldered to the PCB thermal pad. Therefore, the out-gassing
phenomenon due to the soldering process must be controlled to reduce solder voids
between the QFN48 exposed pad and the PCB thermal pad. To achieve this, smaller
multiple openings in the solder paste stencil should be used instead of one big opening on
the thermal pad region. This has also the advantage of reducing the amount of solder paste
used, therefore avoiding bridges with perimeter pads.
A suitable example for the QFN48 package is shown in Figure 35.
Figure 35. Example of stencil openings for the QFN48 package
Another technique to improve heat conduction on the top layer is to fill all unused areas with
copper tied to the dissipating ground plane.
In order to have an effective heat transfer from the top layer of the PCB to the bottom layer,
thermal vias need to be included within the thermal pad area. If properly designed, thermal
vias are the most efficient paths for removing heat from the device.
An array of 4 x 4 thermal vias at 1.0 mm pitch, with a via diameter of 0.3 mm, have been
incorporated into the thermal pad, as shown in Figure 36 and 37.
To minimize solder wicking effect due to open vias, possibly leading to poor soldering of the
QFN48 exposed pad, the via encroaching technique has been adopted (see bottom-side
image in Figure 37). The bottom-side solder resist has only small openings (nearly 0.2 mm
larger than the via drill diameter) around the vias; the reduced area of exposed copper on
the bottom reduces the amount of solder paste flowing down the vias.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
41/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Figure 36. PCB copper dissipating area on top Figure 37. PCB copper dissipating area on
layer for the ST7570 demonstration
bottom layer for the ST7570
board
demonstration board
Another important parameter for effective heat dissipation is the copper thickness for both
top and bottom layers. 1 oz copper is considered as the minimum value to ensure good
dissipation.
The bottom-side routing plays an important role too. The solid ground area of copper under
the device must be as large as possible to minimize the thermal impedance. Therefore,
traces on the bottom-side must run as far as possible from the device area.
7.3.2
Ground connections
Good soldering of the ST7570 exposed pad is also required to minimize ground noise.
Being the exposed pad connected to VSSA, its cleanliness is directly related to the noise
level detected by the receiving circuitry (i.e. to the actual sensitivity level) and to the PLL
behavior.
It is very important to filter each supply to its respective ground: VCC to VSS, VCCA and
VDD_PLL to VSSA, VDDIO and VDD to GND.
7.3.3
Oscillator
It is very important to keep the crystal oscillator and the load capacitors as close as possible
to the device.
The resonant circuit must be far away from noise sources such as:
●
Power supply circuitry
●
Burst and surge protections
●
Mains coupling circuits
●
Any PCB track or via carrying an RF switching signal.
To properly shield and separate the oscillator section from the rest of the board, it is
recommended to use a ground plane, on both sides of the PCB, filling all the area below the
crystal oscillator. No tracks or vias, except for the crystal connections, should cross the
ground plane.
42/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Connecting the case to ground could be a good practice to reduce the effect of radiated
signals on the oscillator.
7.4
Thermal impedance and power dissipation calculation
The relationship between junction temperature (TJ) and power dissipation during
transmission (PD) is described in the following formula:
Equation 12
where TA is the ambient temperature (from -40 to +85 °C) and ZthJA is the junction to
ambient thermal impedance of the ST7570 IC, which is related to the length of the
transmission (tTX) and to the duty cycle d = tPKT / (tPKT + tIDLE), assuming a packetfragmented transmission as illustrated by Figure 38.
Figure 38. Packet-fragmented transmission
7UDQVPLVVLRQ
LQSURJUHVV
W3.7
,GOH
VWDWH
W,'/(
W7;
!-V
When soldered to a proper dissipating area on the PCB, as explained above, the ST7570 IC
is characterized by a steady-state thermal resistance RthJA of about 50 °C/W. The thermal
impedance curve obtained as the power dissipation step response is given in Figure 39.
It can be seen that the transient of ZthJA takes some thousands of seconds, after which the
static value of 50 °C/W is reached. This means that during the transient phase (i.e. if the
transmission time tTX is some seconds or even less) the IC is able to dissipate a power that
is far higher than the one sustainable at steady-state.
For this reason, a complete thermal analysis requires that the characteristics of the
transmission are taken into account, i.e. duty cycle and duration, determining the value
reached by the thermal impedance and then the allowed power dissipation.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
43/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Figure 39. Measured ST7570 thermal impedance curve (typical)
ϱϱ͘Ϭ
ϱϬ͘Ϭ
ϰϱ͘Ϭ
ϰϬ͘Ϭ
=7+ ž&:
ϯϱ͘Ϭ
ϯϬ͘Ϭ
Ϯϱ͘Ϭ
ϮϬ͘Ϭ
ϭϱ͘Ϭ
ϭϬ͘Ϭ
ϱ͘Ϭ
Ϭ͘Ϭ
Ϭ͘ϬϬϬϭ
Ϭ͘ϬϬϭ
Ϭ͘Ϭϭ
Ϭ͘ϭ
ϭ
ϭϬ
ϭϬϬ
ϭϬϬϬ
ϭϬϬϬϬ
7LPH V
!-V
The thermal impedance, as a response to dissipation at different duty cycle and duration
values, can be estimated by simulating a 6-cell equivalent model obtained by the curve
fitting from Figure 39, as shown in Figure 40.
Figure 40. Simulation model of the thermal impedance ZthJA of the ST7570 mounted
on the demonstration board
3'
5
5
5
&
&
&
5
5
5
5ĺ>ƒ&:@
&ĺ>: Vƒ&@
7$
&
&
H
&
H
!-V
The actual dissipated power PD can be calculated as:
Equation 13
where
and
. Note that power consumption by receiving
circuitry and linear regulators is considered negligible for thermal analysis purposes. The
relationship between current absorption from the power supply (ICC) and PA output current
to the load (IOUT) is shown in Figure 2.
44/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
The transmission output level VOUT rms of 2.5 V and the current limit IOUT rms(LIMIT) of 1 A,
fixed for the ST7570 demonstration board, correspond to a maximum output power POUT of
2.5 W over a 2.5 Ω load. In these conditions, the required dissipation results as follows:
Equation 14
Referring to the relationship between dissipated power and temperature, it can be proved
that in a continuous transmission, i.e. with ZthJA at its steady-state value of 50 °C/W, with an
ambient temperature of 25 °C, the maximum dissipation can be 2 W. However, controlling
the transmission duty cycle and total duration it becomes possible to get higher dissipation.
A real IEC61334-5-1 standard protocol condition can be used as an example (References
5):
●
7.5
Maximum length MAC frame with alarms: at 2400 bps and 50 Hz mains frequency, the
packet time tPKT is 150 ms, the duty cycle d is 100 % and the transmission duration tTX
is 1 second, corresponding to seven MAC sub-frames. According to Figure 39, in these
conditions, ZthJA would reach a maximum value of 16 °C/W only. This allows the power
dissipation PD to reach 2.5 W over all the ambient temperature range of the ST7570,
while PD(LIMIT) may be reached with an ambient temperature up to 66 °C.
Oscillator section
The ST7570 crystal oscillator circuitry requires a crystal having a maximum load
capacitance of 20 pF and a maximum ESR of 100 Ω.
Moreover, the following requirements impacting on the quartz crystal choice are typically set
by ST7570 metering applications:
●
Communication frequencies: f0 = 74 kHz, f1 = 63.3 kHz with ±0.5 % tolerance
●
Delay between mains zero-crossing and the beginning of the communication window:
120 µs, with tolerance equal to ± 20 µs.
Figure 41 shows the carrier frequency deviation vs. the quartz crystal tolerance, simulated
through a waveform generator applying a square wave with frequency values around 8 MHz:
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
45/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Figure 41. Carrier frequency deviation vs. crystal tolerance
)UHTXHQF\'HYLDWLRQ
&DUULHUHUURU )UHTXHQF\
'HYLDWLRQ
/RZ HUOLPLW
8SSHUOLPLW
0+]FU\VWDOWROHUDQFH SSP
!-V
In order to evaluate the compliance, with the requirement of the delay between mains zero
crossing and the beginning of the communication window, the zero crossing coupling circuit
response needs to be considered, introducing a delay of 30 µs (typical) between mains zero
crossing and ZC_IN_A signal (see Section 7.1.4).
The target delay equal to 120 µs can be achieved by adding an integer number of 13 µs
steps to the circuit delay (References 2). In particular, with 7 steps the total delay is 7×13 µs
+ 30 µs ≈ 120 µs.
The jitter around the expected value changes in accordance with the crystal tolerance, as
shown in Figure 42.
Figure 42. Delay between mains zero crossing and transmission start: jitter vs.
crystal tolerance
ĞůĂLJďĞƚǁĞĞŶDĂŝŶƐ  ĂŶĚ ĞŐ ŝŶŶŝŶŐ ŽĨ
Žŵŵ ƵŶŝĐ ĂƚŝŽŶ ΀ђƐ ΁
ϭϱϬ
DĂŝŶƐ  ĂŶĚd ƌĂŶƐ ŵŝƐ Ɛ ŝŽŶƐ ƚĂƌƚ ĞůĂLJ͗ ũŝƚƚĞƌǀƐ ͘Đ ƌLJƐ ƚĂůƚŽůĞƌĂŶĐ Ğ
ϭϰϬ
ϭϯϬ
DŝŶ: ŝƚƚĞƌǀĂůƵĞ
ϭϮϬ
DŝŶ: ŝƚƚĞƌǀĂůƵĞ
> ŽǁĞƌ> ŝŵŝƚ
ϭϭϬ
hƉƉĞƌ> ŝŵŝƚ
ϭϬϬ
ϵϬ
ͲϭϮϱϬ
ͲϳϱϬ
ͲϮϱϬ
ϮϱϬ
ϴD, ƌLJƐƚĂ ůd ŽůĞ ƌĂ ŶĐ Ğ ΀ƉƉŵ ΁
ϳϱϬ
ϭϮϱϬ
!-V
The maximum tolerance for the HC49U crystal adopted for the ST7570 demonstration
board, that is 150 ppm, allows the above requirements to be met.
46/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
7.6
ST7570 demonstration board description
Surge and burst protection
The specific structure of the coupling interface circuit of the application is a weak point
against high voltage disturbances which may come from the external environment. In fact,
an efficient coupling circuit with low insertion losses realizes, consequently, a low
impedance path from the mains to the power line interface of the device.
For this reason it is recommended to add some specific protections on the mains coupling
path, to prevent high energy disturbances coming from the mains from damaging the
internal power circuitry of the ST7570.
The possible environments for this kind of application can be both indoor and outdoor;
residential, commercial and light-industrial locations. To verify the immunity of the system to
environmental electrical phenomena, a series of immunity specification standards and tests
must be applied to the power line application.
The immunity requirements for any PLC metering application, communicating in the
European A band (9-95 kHz), are listed in the EN50065-2-3 document, which refers to
EN61000 and ENV50204 for tests to be applied (References 3).
These standards include surge tests, both common mode and differential mode (+/- 4 kV
peak, tR = 1.2 µs, tN = 50 µs) and fast transient (burst) tests (+/- 2 kV peak, tR = 5 ns, tH = 50
ns, repetition frequency 5 kHz).
For the application to be able to withstand such a severe electrical overstress, the coupling
capacitor C4 must be a Y2 type part, rated for 5 kV pulses.
In the case of non-metering applications, communicating outside the A band, the
requirements are listed in the EN50065-2-1 document, which set lower pulse levels. In such
a case, an X1 capacitor (e.g. Epcos B32912A3224K) can be used instead of a Y2 part.
Protection devices must also be included in the board design, as described below. Figure 43
and 44 show the protection against common mode disturbances. D4 and D2 low-drop
Schottky diodes are able to quickly absorb fast transient disturbances exceeding the supply
rails. Figure 45 describes the protection intervention in case of differential mode
disturbances. A differential voltage higher than 15 V p-p is clamped by the D1 bi-directional
Transil diode. D1 is the most robust protection and also the one which is able to absorb most
of the energy of any incoming disturbance.
Figure 43. Common mode disturbance protection - positive disturbance
9&&
'
6736/$
&
—)
3$B287
&
Q)<
/
—+
3
7
'
'
6736/$
607&$
1
!-V
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
47/64
ST7570 demonstration board description
AN3213
Figure 44. Common mode disturbance protection - negative disturbance
9&&
'
6736/$
&
—)
3$B287
/
—+
&
Q)<
3
7
'
'
6736/$
607&$
1
!-V
Figure 45. Differential mode disturbances protection
9&&
'
6736/$
&
—)
3$B287
&
Q)<
/
—+
3
7
'
6736/$
'
607&$
1
!-V
7.7
Power supply
The power supply requirements for the ST7570 demonstration board are listed in Table 1.
However, the power supply circuit design is not only relevant in terms of available power.
Two points are particularly sensitive for a power line communication application:
●
The noise injected on the line
●
The input impedance of the power supply unit
For the first point, a quasi-resonant switching mode power supply based on the ALTAIR04900 device has been chosen. This kind of switching controller spreads the switching
disturbances over a wide frequency range, therefore minimizing the overall disturbance
amplitude.
The second point involves the EMI input filter design. The suggested circuit in Figure 46 has
been designed to have minimum influence on the ST7570 line coupling circuit, in terms of
load impedance and linearity. It is required to have a symmetrical circuit with two series
inductors to minimize differential noise and avoid capacitive load from the X2 capacitor.
48/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
ST7570 demonstration board description
Figure 46. Example of power supply EMI input filter
/
3
&0
ȝ+
&
59 Q);
6. 1
'% 17& /
[P+
ȝ+
Ÿ: !-V
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
49/64
Application ideas
AN3213
8
Application ideas
8.1
Three-phase architecture
The ST7570 modem can be used to communicate on a three-phase network. This is
especially required for low-voltage substation nodes (concentrators), collecting data from
several energy meters all along the three phases of the distribution network.
In the example scheme of Figure 47, the line coupling circuit allows the signal to divide into
the three phases via capacitive coupling. This structure has been designed to keep a similar
impedance on each phase, therefore optimizing the signal distribution between the phases.
A critical point regarding this solution may be the total impedance the ST7570 power
amplifier is required to drive, which is the result of the three phases in parallel. For
concentrator nodes, however, the impedance per phase is likely to be considerably above
the driving limit of the power amplifier, as all the electrical devices supplied by the power line
are placed at a certain distance from the substation.
In the switched coupling scheme of Figure 48, a more complex circuit is shown, being the
coupling to each phase selectable via opto-switches.
Only one phase at a time can be used to transmit. An incoming signal, however, can be
received either from one phase at a time (J1 closed, J2 open) or from any phase at the
same time (J1 open, J2 closed). Both solutions can work well: the first solution has the
advantage of reducing crosstalk between the three phases, while the second allows
listening to the whole network at the same time. The choice depends on electrical and
performance tests as well as on specific protocol requirements.
For the zero crossing coupling, only one phase shall be used as reference, therefore
keeping the same coupling circuit as in the ST7570 single-phase demonstration board.
Figure 47. Scheme of principle for non-switched three-phase architecture
&
3
Q);
&
3
Q);
3$B287
&
$&B287
7
/
&
&
Q)
Q);
X)
X+
3
'
607&$
1
$&B287
5
5;B,1
&
Q)
&
/
Q)
X+
'
6079&$
966$
!-V
50/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
Application ideas
Figure 48. Scheme of principle for switched three-phase architecture
5
9'',2
3B(1$%/(
8
/&$
$&B,1
$&B287
7
/
&
X+
5
'
607&$
Q);
9'',2
3B(1$%/(
3
1
8
/&$
$&B,1
$&B287
7
/
&
X+
5
Q);
'
607&$
9'',2
3B(1$%/(
3
1
$&B287
&
3$B287
8
/&$
$&B,1
7
/
&
X)
X+
3
Q);
'
607&$
-
23(1
$&B287
1
-
&/26(
$&B,1
5
5;B,1
&
Q)
&
/
Q)
X+
'
6079&$
966$
!-V
8.2
Received signal strength indication (RSSI)
In many application fields, measuring the strength of the incoming signal is useful to:
●
Evaluate the SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) at the node
●
Choose the best routing through the network (if repeaters are allowed).
As explained in References 1 and 2, the ST7570 embeds estimators for signal-to-noise ratio
(SNR0, SNR1) values. These estimators are calculated during valid packet reception on
each S-FSK spectrum frequency f0 and f1. The values are notified to the external host
during each data indication message (References 2). In order to evaluate the robustness of
ST7570 embedded estimators, the setup represented in Figure 33 has been adopted and all
the estimator values extracted from received packets have been compared to the values
measured by the spectrum analyzer.
Figure 49, 50, 51 and 52 show the error bars with standard deviation for SNR0 and SNR1
values, compared to the measured values for 1200 and 2400 baud.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
51/64
Application ideas
AN3213
Figure 49. SNR0 estimator at 1200 bps
^EZϬĞƐƚŝŵĂƚŽƌĂƚϭϮϬϬďƉƐ
ϮϬ
ϭϴ
ƐƚŝŵĂƚŽƌǀĂůƵĞƐ΀Ě΁
ϭϲ
ϭϰ
ϭϮ
ϭϬ
ϴ
ϲ
ϰ
ϭϲ
͘ϱ
ϭϱ
͘ϯ
ϭϰ
͘ϰ
ϭϯ
͘ϰ
ϭϮ
͘Ϯ
ϭϭ
͘ϲ
ϭϬ
͘Ϯ
ϵ͘
ϰ
ϴ͘
ϱ
ϳ͘
ϰ
ϱ͘
ϵ
Ϯ
DĞĂƐƵƌĞĚǀĂůƵĞƐ΀Ě΁
!-V
Figure 50. SNR1 estimator at 1200 bps
^EZϭĞƐƚŝŵĂƚŽƌĂƚϭϮϬϬďƉƐ
ϮϬ
ϭϴ
ƐƚŝŵĂƚŽƌǀĂůƵĞƐ΀Ě΁
ϭϲ
ϭϰ
ϭϮ
ϭϬ
ϴ
ϲ
ϰ
DĞĂƐƵƌĞĚǀĂůƵĞƐ΀Ě΁
52/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
ϭϳ
͘ϲ
ϭϲ
͘ϰ
ϭϱ
͘ϱ
ϭϰ
͘ϱ
ϭϯ
͘ϰ
ϭϮ
͘ϳ
ϭϭ
͘ϯ
ϭϬ
͘ϱ
ϵ͘
ϲ
ϴ͘
ϰ
ϳ͘
ϲ
Ϯ
!-V
AN3213
Application ideas
Figure 51. SNR0 estimator at 2400 bps
^EZϬĞƐƚŝŵĂƚŽƌĂƚϮϰϬϬďƉƐ
ϮϬ
ϭϴ
ƐƚŝŵĂƚŽƌǀĂůƵĞƐ΀Ě΁
ϭϲ
ϭϰ
ϭϮ
ϭϬ
ϴ
ϲ
ϰ
ϭϲ
͘ϰ
ϭϱ
͘ϱ
ϭϰ
͘ϰ
ϭϯ
͘ϱ
ϭϮ
͘ϯ
ϭϭ
͘ϰ
ϭϬ
͘ϰ
ϵ͘
Ϯ
ϴ͘
ϲ
ϳ͘
Ϯ
ϲ͘
ϰ
ϱ͘
ϱ
Ϯ
DĞĂƐƵƌĞĚǀĂůƵĞƐ΀Ě΁
!-V
Figure 52. SNR1 estimator at 2400 bps
^EZϭĞƐƚŝŵĂƚŽƌĂƚϮϰϬϬďƉƐ
ϮϬ
ϭϴ
ϭϰ
ϭϮ
ϭϬ
ϴ
ϲ
ϰ
DĞĂƐƵƌĞĚǀĂůƵĞƐ΀Ě΁
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
ϭϳ
͘ϱ
ϭϲ
͘ϲ
ϭϱ
͘ϵ
ϭϰ
͘ϲ
ϭϯ
͘ϰ
ϭϮ
͘ϱ
ϭϭ
͘ϱ
ϭϬ
͘ϰ
ϵ͘
ϳ
ϴ͘
ϯ
ϳ͘
ϱ
Ϯ
ϲ͘
ϲ
ƐƚŝŵĂƚŽƌǀĂůƵĞƐ΀Ě΁
ϭϲ
!-V
53/64
FAQs and troubleshooting
9
AN3213
FAQs and troubleshooting
In this section the most frequently asked questions and the solution to common ST7570
demonstration board usage problems are described.
9.1
FAQs
●
Q: Is it possible to use ST power line transceivers on a medium or high voltage AC line?
–
●
Q: Is it possible to use the ST7570 on a DC or de-energized line?
–
●
A: Yes. In fact, the EN50065 normative compliance intrinsically guarantees the
compliance with FCC part 15 regulations as well.
Q: What distance can a PLC signal cover?
–
●
A: The embedded PHY and MAC protocol layers are mainly designed, but not
limited, to interface with a IEC61334-4-32 compliant Logic Link Control (LLC) layer
in applications targeting DLMS/COSEM, a widely-used European standard for the
application layer of meters.
Q: Does the ST7570 demonstration board meet FCC part 15 specs?
–
●
A: No, the ST7570 device requires the 50-60 Hz zero crossing detection to work.
Q: Which kind of protocols can be used with the ST7570?
–
●
A: Yes. The same circuit solution as for a low voltage AC line can be used,
provided that coupling interface (and particularly line transformer, power inductor
and Y2 capacitor) guarantees an adequate and safe isolation from the AC line.
A: Given a transmitted signal level of 2.5 V rms, at 1200 baud the ST7570 device
is able to transmit through a channel attenuating up to 84 dB. This means that in a
point-to-point link a distance of several km can be covered, according to the
characteristics of the line. Nevertheless, the allowable distance can be reduced
because of noisy devices and low-impedance loads connected on the power line;
such elements impact on the actual SNR seen by the receiver.
Q: Why with power line communication can I not get 100 % reachability even though
the range is a few meters?
–
A: A probability lower than 100 % to reach a PLC node within such a small
distance can depend on two main factors:
a)
attenuation or losses on the power line (for example because of some heavy
capacitive load connected close to the transmitter)
b)
noise coming from electric or electronic equipment connected on the power line
(for example SMPS, ballasts, or motors).
It can be useful to measure the signal level at transmitter and receiver to
understand if there are undesired losses. It is also important to measure the noise
level and spectral distribution to see whether the PLC channel is somehow
“jammed” by noise.
●
Q: Does the power line communication work if a power distribution transformer is
present between two nodes?
–
54/64
A: The communication could work, but the transformer impedance at the signal
frequency must be taken into account, as it could introduce strong attenuation in
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
FAQs and troubleshooting
the signal level. A signal coupler (for example, a capacitive coupling) between the
two sides of the distribution transformers may be required.
●
Q: What method of coupling is preferred for medium voltage and low voltage mains line:
capacitive or inductive?
–
●
Q: Is it possible to detect the channel quality through the ST7570 device?
–
●
A: A bit error rate (BER) of 10-3 is used as reference. In this condition, the ST7570
shows good receiving performance with a signal-to-noise ratio down to 13 dB at
1200 baud, 50 Hz.
Q: When data is being transmitted by the ST7570, is it encoded in some way?
–
●
A: As defined in the IEC61334-5-1 document, the mains zero crossing information
is used to define the bit and frame timing and ensure proper time slot
management.
Q: What is the minimum signal-to-noise ratio that the ST7570 can manage?
–
●
A: Yes. Using the ST7570 estimators for SNR0 and SNR1, always available for the
external host, it is possible to evaluate the channel quality over the physical link
between transmitter and receiver.
Q: Why use zero crossing synchronization?
–
●
A: For MV line, capacitive coupling is preferable for narrow-band PLC. In the case
of an LV line, being the actual line impedance unpredictable because of the
number of electrical devices connected on it, the solution should be an L-C series
resonant circuit tuned at channel frequency, designed to have low Q even with
very low line impedance (below 5 Ω).
A: No. The ST7570 has been developed according to the IEC61334-5-1 standard,
which neither requires nor allows coding for PHY and MAC levels.
Q: What could be the main sources of harmonic distortion in the ST7570 transmitted
signal?
–
A: Generally, harmonics can rise up because of: high output current, due to low
line impedance; saturation of magnetic components in the line coupling circuit,
due to either poor dimensioning of the saturation current or to 50 Hz residual
current; capacitive load applied to the power amplifier output; insufficient margin to
the supply rails (low VCC or high output voltage).
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
55/64
FAQs and troubleshooting
9.2
56/64
AN3213
Troubleshooting
1.
Problem: the ST7570 demonstration board doesn't work at all.
●
What to check:
a)
Check that the AC mains supply cable is well connected
b)
Check if the DL1 (VCC) and DL2 (VDDIO) are on
c)
Check the voltage on VCC, VDDIO, VCCA, VDD, and VDD_PLL lines. All these
voltages must be present in order to turn on the ST7570.
2.
Problem: the ST7570 demonstration board is not responding.
●
What to check:
a)
Check if some activity on DL3 and DL4 is present when trying to communicate via
USB with the board
b)
Try disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable; sometimes the USB driver
fails during COM port opening
c)
Verify if an 8 MHz clock is present on the XOUT pin (13) of the ST7570 device.
3.
Problem: the ST7570 demonstration board does not transmit.
●
What to check:
a)
Check the bias voltage on the PA_OUT test point (TP1) with the oscilloscope
probe referred to VSS power ground. A DC voltage of VCC/2 must be measured
during RX state
b)
Set the ST7570 in continuous transmission by setting TEST0 (higher frequency
tone), TEST1 (lower frequency tone) or TEST2 (alternating tones) modes via the
ST7570 GUI. A sinusoidal carrier should be detected by the oscilloscope probe,
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
FAQs and troubleshooting
with an amplitude equal to the TX_OUT programmed level multiplied by the PA
gain (nearly 4.5). In this case, there is no problem regarding the AFE and PA
Check the ZC_IN_A (or ZC_IN_D, if it has been selected): a signal synchronous to
the mains voltage must be present for the ST7570 to be able to transmit in
operating mode
d)
Verify, via the ST7570 GUI, if the node is synchronized.
4.
Problem: the ST7570 demonstration board transmits only for a short while.
●
What to check:
a)
Verify the internal temperature of the ST7570, available inside the management
information base (MIB), and accessible via the ST7570 GUI
b)
Check if there is short-circuit (i.e. capacitive) impedance on the mains at the
carrier frequency. It may lead to device overheating and PA thermal shutdown.
5.
Problem: the ST7570 demonstration board does not receive.
●
What to check:
6.
Note:
c)
a)
Check if the transmitted signal reaches the ST7570 device by measuring the
RX_IN line voltage (TP5) with the oscilloscope probe referred to VSSA signal
ground
b)
Check that the GUI is setting the transmitter and the receiver to use the same tone
frequencies
c)
Check the ZC_IN_A (or ZC_IN_D, if it has been selected): a signal synchronous to
the mains voltage must be present for the ST7570 to be able to receive in
operating mode
Problem: During a communication test, the ST750 GUI shows a high bit error rate
(BER).
(This point refers to a half-duplex communication involving two ST7570 demonstration
boards communicating with each other).
●
What to check:
a)
Check that both demonstration boards have the same ST7570 GUI settings
b)
Verify the SNR of the communication. If the signal is too low or the noise is too
high with respect to each other, the communication performance is poor. Try to:
1.
Check the S and N estimation of the receiving ST7570 device
2.
Measure the signal level S and the noise level N on the RX_IN line (TP5) of the
receiving board.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
57/64
References
10
58/64
AN3213
References
1.
ST7570; S-FSK power line networking system-on-chip, datasheet
2.
UM0934; ST7570 S-FSK power line networking System-on-Chip, user manual
3.
“Spread Frequency Shift Keying”, IEEE transactions on communications, vol. 42, no.
2/3/4, February/March/April 1994
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
11
Normative references
Normative references
4.
5.
EN50065: Signaling on low voltage electrical installations in the frequency range 3 kHz
to 148.5 kHz
–
Part 1: General requirements, frequency bands, and electromagnetic disturbances
–
Part 2-3: Immunity requirements
–
Part 4-2: Low voltage decoupling filters - Safety requirements
–
Part 7: Equipment impedance
IEC61334: Distribution automation using distribution line carrier systems
–
Part 5-1: Lower layer profiles - the spread frequency shift keying (S-FSK) profile
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
59/64
Board layout
Appendix A
AN3213
Board layout
Figure 53. PCB layout - component placing
60/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
Board layout
Figure 54. PCB layout - top view
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
61/64
Board layout
AN3213
Figure 55. PCB layout - bottom view
62/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
AN3213
Revision history
Revision history
Table 8.
Document revision history
Date
Revision
11-Oct-2010
1
Changes
Initial release.
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1
63/64
AN3213
Please Read Carefully:
Information in this document is provided solely in connection with ST products. STMicroelectronics NV and its subsidiaries (“ST”) reserve the
right to make changes, corrections, modifications or improvements, to this document, and the products and services described herein at any
time, without notice.
All ST products are sold pursuant to ST’s terms and conditions of sale.
Purchasers are solely responsible for the choice, selection and use of the ST products and services described herein, and ST assumes no
liability whatsoever relating to the choice, selection or use of the ST products and services described herein.
No license, express or implied, by estoppel or otherwise, to any intellectual property rights is granted under this document. If any part of this
document refers to any third party products or services it shall not be deemed a license grant by ST for the use of such third party products
or services, or any intellectual property contained therein or considered as a warranty covering the use in any manner whatsoever of such
third party products or services or any intellectual property contained therein.
UNLESS OTHERWISE SET FORTH IN ST’S TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE ST DISCLAIMS ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED
WARRANTY WITH RESPECT TO THE USE AND/OR SALE OF ST PRODUCTS INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION IMPLIED
WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE (AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS UNDER THE LAWS
OF ANY JURISDICTION), OR INFRINGEMENT OF ANY PATENT, COPYRIGHT OR OTHER INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHT.
UNLESS EXPRESSLY APPROVED IN WRITING BY AN AUTHORIZED ST REPRESENTATIVE, ST PRODUCTS ARE NOT
RECOMMENDED, AUTHORIZED OR WARRANTED FOR USE IN MILITARY, AIR CRAFT, SPACE, LIFE SAVING, OR LIFE SUSTAINING
APPLICATIONS, NOR IN PRODUCTS OR SYSTEMS WHERE FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION MAY RESULT IN PERSONAL INJURY,
DEATH, OR SEVERE PROPERTY OR ENVIRONMENTAL DAMAGE. ST PRODUCTS WHICH ARE NOT SPECIFIED AS "AUTOMOTIVE
GRADE" MAY ONLY BE USED IN AUTOMOTIVE APPLICATIONS AT USER’S OWN RISK.
Resale of ST products with provisions different from the statements and/or technical features set forth in this document shall immediately void
any warranty granted by ST for the ST product or service described herein and shall not create or extend in any manner whatsoever, any
liability of ST.
ST and the ST logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ST in various countries.
Information in this document supersedes and replaces all information previously supplied.
The ST logo is a registered trademark of STMicroelectronics. All other names are the property of their respective owners.
© 2010 STMicroelectronics - All rights reserved
STMicroelectronics group of companies
Australia - Belgium - Brazil - Canada - China - Czech Republic - Finland - France - Germany - Hong Kong - India - Israel - Italy - Japan Malaysia - Malta - Morocco - Philippines - Singapore - Spain - Sweden - Switzerland - United Kingdom - United States of America
www.st.com
64/64
Doc ID 17429 Rev 1