Measuring current on nRF21540 EK

The current drawn by the nRF21540 FEM can be monitored on the nRF21540 EK.

Current can be measured using various test instruments. Some examples of test equipment are the following:

Power analyzer
Oscilloscope
Ampere meter
Power Profiler Kit

Power analyzer and Power Profiler Kit measurements are not described in this document. For more information on Power Profiler Kit, see Power Profiler Kit User Guide.

For measuring instructions, see Using an oscilloscope for current profile measurement and Using an ampere meter for current measurement.

The nRF21540 FEM has a single VDD (1.7–3.6V) supply. The nRF21540 EK is prepared for measuring current on this domain. See the following table for the corresponding components.

Table 1. Components for current measurement on VDD
Component	VDD
Measurement connector	P5
Series resistor	R3

Note: It is not recommended to use a Universal Serial Bus (USB) connector to power the system during current measurements. USB ports typically have significant noise that might impact measurement accuracy.

For more information on current measurement, see the Current measurement guide tutorial.