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Reproduction in whole or in part is prohibited without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.
July 2007
nRF24L01
Single Chip 2.4GHz Transceiver
Product Specification
Key Features
• Worldwide 2.4GHz ISM band operation
• Up to 2Mbps on air data rate
• Ultra low power operation
• 11.3mA TX at 0dBm output power
• 12.3mA RX at 2Mbps air data rate
• 900nA in power down
• 22µA in standby-I
• On chip voltage regulator
• 1.9 to 3.6V supply range
• Enhanced ShockBurst™
• Automatic packet handling
• Auto packet transaction handling
• 6 data pipe MultiCeiver™
• Air compatible with nRF2401A, 02, E1 and
E2
• Low cost BOM
• ±60ppm 16MHz crystal
• 5V tolerant inputs
• Compact 20-pin 4x4mm QFN package
Applications
• Wireless PC Peripherals
• Mouse, keyboards and remotes
• 3-in-one desktop bundles
• Advanced Media center remote controls
• VoIP headsets
• Game controllers
• Sports watches and sensors
• RF remote controls for consumer electronics
• Home and commercial automation
• Ultra low power sensor networks
•Active RFID
• Asset tracing systems
•Toys
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nRF24L01 Product Specification
Liability disclaimer
Nordic Semiconductor ASA reserves the right to make changes without further notice to the product to
improve reliability, function or design. Nordic Semiconductor ASA does not assume any liability arising out
of the application or use of any product or circuits described herein.
All application information is advisory and does not form part of the specification.
Limiting values
Stress above one or more of the limiting values may cause permanent damage to the device. These are
stress ratings only and operation of the device at these or at any other conditions above those given in the
specifications are not implied. Exposure to limiting values for extended periods may affect device reliability.
Life support applications
These products are not designed for use in life support appliances, devices, or systems where malfunction
of these products can reasonably be expected to result in personal injury. Nordic Semiconductor ASA cus-
tomers using or selling these products for use in such applications do so at their own risk and agree to fully
indemnify Nordic Semiconductor ASA for any damages resulting from such improper use or sale.
Contact details
Visit www.nordicsemi.no for Nordic Semiconductor sales offices and distributors worldwide
Main office:
Otto Nielsens vei 12
7004 Trondheim
Phone: +47 72 89 89 00
Fax: +47 72 89 89 89
www.nordicsemi.no
Data sheet status
Objective product specification This product specification contains target specifications for product
development.
Preliminary product specification This product specification contains preliminary data; supplementary
data may be published from Nordic Semiconductor ASA later.
Product specification This product specification contains final product specifications. Nordic
Semiconductor ASA reserves the right to make changes at any time
without notice in order to improve design and supply the best possible
product.
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nRF24L01 Product Specification
Writing Conventions
This product specification follows a set of typographic rules that makes the document consistent and easy
to read. The following writing conventions are used:
• Commands, bit state conditions, and register names are written in Courier.
• Pin names and pin signal conditions are written in Courier bold.
• Cross references are underlined and highlighted in blue
.
Revision History
Date Version Description
July 2007 2.0
• Restructured layout in a new template
• Added details of the following features:
X Dynamic Payload Length (DPL)
X Acknowledgement Payload (ACK_PLD)
X Feature register
X ACTIVATE SPI command
X Selective Auto Acknowledgement (NO_ACK)
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nRF24L01 Product Specification
Contents
1 Introduction ............................................................................................... 7
1.1 Features ............................................................................................... 8
1.2 Block diagram ...................................................................................... 9
2 Pin Information.......................................................................................... 10
2.1 Pin assignment..................................................................................... 10
2.2 Pin functions......................................................................................... 11
3 Absolute maximum ratings ...................................................................... 12
4 Operating conditions ................................................................................ 13
5 Electrical specifications ........................................................................... 14
5.1 Power consumption.............................................................................. 14
5.2 General RF conditions ......................................................................... 15
5.3 Transmitter operation ........................................................................... 15
5.4 Receiver operation ............................................................................... 16
5.5 Crystal specifications ........................................................................... 17
5.6 DC characteristics ................................................................................ 18
5.7 Power on reset ..................................................................................... 18
6 Radio Control ............................................................................................ 19
6.1 Operational Modes............................................................................... 19
6.1.1 State diagram .................................................................................. 19
6.1.2 Power Down Mode .......................................................................... 20
6.1.3 Standby Modes................................................................................ 20
6.1.4 RX mode.......................................................................................... 21
6.1.5 TX mode .......................................................................................... 21
6.1.6 Operational modes configuration..................................................... 21
6.1.7 Timing Information........................................................................... 22
6.2 Air data rate.......................................................................................... 22
6.3 RF channel frequency .......................................................................... 23
6.4 PA control............................................................................................. 23
6.5 LNA gain .............................................................................................. 23
6.6 RX/TX control....................................................................................... 23
7 Enhanced ShockBurst™ .......................................................................... 24
7.1 Features ............................................................................................... 24
7.2 Enhanced ShockBurst™ overview....................................................... 24
7.3 Enhanced Shockburst™ packet format................................................ 25
7.3.1 Preamble ......................................................................................... 25
7.3.2 Address ........................................................................................... 25
7.3.3 Packet Control Field ........................................................................ 25
7.3.4 Payload............................................................................................ 26
7.3.5 CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) ................................................... 26
7.4 Automatic packet handling ................................................................... 26
7.4.1 Static and Dynamic Payload Length................................................ 26
7.4.2 Automatic packet assembly............................................................. 27
7.4.3 Automatic packet validation............................................................. 27
7.4.4 Automatic packet disassembly ........................................................ 28
7.5 Automatic packet transaction handling ................................................ 28
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nRF24L01 Product Specification
7.5.1 Auto Acknowledgement................................................................... 29
7.5.2 Auto Retransmission (ART)............................................................. 29
7.6 Enhanced ShockBurst flowcharts ........................................................ 31
7.6.1 PTX operation.................................................................................. 31
7.6.2 PRX operation ................................................................................. 33
7.7 Multiceiver ............................................................................................ 35
7.8 Enhanced ShockBurstTM timing.......................................................... 38
7.9 Enhanced ShockBurstTM transaction diagram.................................... 40
7.9.1 Single transaction with ACK packet and interrupts.......................... 40
7.9.2 Single transaction with a lost packet ............................................... 41
7.9.3 Single transaction with a lost ACK packet ....................................... 41
7.9.4 Single transaction with ACK payload packet ................................... 42
7.9.5 Single transaction with ACK payload packet and lost packet.......... 42
7.9.6 Two transactions with ACK payload packet and the first
ACK packet lost ............................................................................... 43
7.9.7 Two transactions where max retransmissions is reached ............... 43
7.10 Compatibility with ShockBurst™ .......................................................... 44
7.10.1 ShockBurst™ packet format............................................................ 44
8 Data and Control Interface ....................................................................... 45
8.1 Features ............................................................................................... 45
8.2 Functional description .......................................................................... 45
8.3 SPI operation ....................................................................................... 45
8.3.1 SPI Commands ............................................................................... 45
8.3.2 SPI timing ........................................................................................ 47
8.4 Data FIFO ............................................................................................ 51
8.5 Interrupt................................................................................................ 52
9 Register Map.............................................................................................. 53
9.1 Register map table ............................................................................... 53
10 Peripheral RF Information ........................................................................ 59
10.1 Antenna output..................................................................................... 59
10.2 Crystal oscillator................................................................................... 59
10.3 nRF24L01 sharing crystal with an MCU............................................... 59
10.3.1 Crystal parameters .......................................................................... 59
10.3.2 Input crystal amplitude and current consumption ............................ 59
10.4 PCB layout and decoupling guidelines................................................. 60
11 Mechanical specifications........................................................................ 61
12 Ordering information ................................................................................ 63
12.1 Package marking ................................................................................. 63
12.2 Abbreviations ....................................................................................... 63
13 Glossary of Terms..................................................................................... 64
Appendix A - Enhanced ShockBurst™ - Configuration
and Communication Example.................................................................. 65
Enhanced ShockBurst™ Transmitting Payload ................................... 65
Enhanced ShockBurst™ Receive Payload .......................................... 65
Appendix B - Configuration for compatibility with nRF24XX................ 67
Appendix C - Carrier wave output power................................................ 68
