Measuring current on nRF7002 DK

The current drawn by the nRF7002 companion IC can be monitored on the nRF7002 DK.

Current can be measured using any of the following test instruments.

Power analyzer
Oscilloscope
Ampere meter
Power Profiler Kit II

For measurement instructions, see sections Using an oscilloscope for current profile measurement, Using an ampere meter for current measurement, and Using two PPK2s to measure component current consumption.

Power analyzer measurements are not described in this document.

The nRF7002 companion IC has two available power supplies, VDD (1.8 V) and VBAT (2.9-4.5 V). The nRF7002 DK is prepared for measuring current on both domains. Only the VBAT domain current measurement is described here, but the approach is the same with the VDD supply. See the following table for the corresponding components.

Table 1. Components for current measurement on VDD and VBAT
Component	VDD	VBAT
Measurement connector	P22	P23

When measuring the current consumption:

It is not recommended to use a USB connector to power the Development Kit (DK) during current measurements. However, when measuring current on an application using the USB interface of the nRF5340 System on Chip (SoC), the USB must be connected. It is recommended to power the DK from an external power supply on connector P21 (3.6 V) or through the Lithium-polymer (Li-Poly) connector J6 (2.9-4.5 V).
The current measurements are unreliable when a serial terminal is connected to the virtual serial port.
After programming the nRF5340 SoC, disconnect the USB for the interface MCU.

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