ATWINC15x0-MR210UB Placement and Routing Guidelines

The ATWINC15x0-MR210UB module has an Ultra Small Miniature RF Connector (U.FL) for the external antenna.

The choice of antenna is limited to the antenna types that the module was tested and approved for. For a list of tested and approved antennas that may be used with the module in their respective country, refer to the respective country in Regulatory Approval.

It is critical to follow the recommendations listed below to achieve the best RF performance:
  1. 1.Avoid routing any traces on the top layer of the host board that is directly below the module area.
  2. 2.Place the GND polygon pour below the complete module area. There must not be any breaks in this GND plane.
  3. 3.Place sufficient GND vias in the GND polygon pour below the module area for better RF performance.
  4. 4.It is recommended to have a 3x3 grid of GND vias solidly connecting the exposed GND paddle of the module to the inner layer ground plane of the host board. This will act as a good ground and thermal conduction path for the ATWINC15x0-MR210UB module. The GND vias must have a minimum via hole size of 0.3 mm.
  5. 5.Keep large metal objects away from the external antenna to avoid electromagnetic field blocking.
  6. 6.Do not enclose the external antenna within a metal shield.
  7. 7.Keep any components that may radiate noise or signals within the 2.4 GHz – 2.5 GHz frequency band away from the external antenna and if possible, shield those components. Any noise radiated from the host board in this frequency band will degrade the sensitivity of the module.
  8. 8.Make sure the width of the traces routed to GND, VDDIO and VBAT rails are sufficiently larger for handling the peak TX current consumption.