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CC2590 problem: ESD or something else?

Dave Byman
Prodigy 110 points

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: CC2590

We have been using the CC2590 low power front end for quite a while now.  We have been plagued by random failures of the CC2590.  Unfortunately it appears the parts are passing our tests initially but may fail in the field or even as fast as the final set of tests before we ship the product.  My initial thought was ESD but I am wondering if it could be something else.  We are using external antennas with an RF matching circuit based on TI's reference design.

After the failure the output power drops by 2-3 dBm and the input power is reduced to the point where we only have a few feet of range as opposed to 100ft.  (Sorry, I don't have numbers for the input power.)  After the failure I can remove the parts and measure 24-100 ohms of resistance between the ANT pin (pin 11) and the AVDD_PA2 pin (pin 10.)  On a good part the resistance between these pins is ~1.2Mohms.  Has anyone at TI seen these same symptoms?  I plan to add ESD protection but I would feel better if I knew for sure this was the cause of the failures.

I also found that our RXTX line sometimes rises 250mV above VDD for 100 microseconds at startup.  The RXTX is supplied by a separate circuit and power supply so some power supply sequencing may be needed. 

Thanks

  • 0
    TI__Mastermind 36415 points

    Dave Byman, 

    I would recommend that you return a couple of these devices to us for a formal failure analysis. This has to go through the source from which you bought the devices.

    Typically, I would say ESD damage of PA devices is not common. However, if the if the devices have seen an over voltage for any reason then things will break down.

    Regards,
    /TA 

  • 0 in reply to TA12012
    TI__Expert 6825 points

     

    Hi Dave,

    I have seen a case which was ery similar to what you describe and the problem was related to ESD. They had a schematic very similar to our CC2590 reference design and an external antenna. I would recommend you to copy the parts between the CC2590 and the antenna of this reference design: http://www.ti.com/tool/cc85xx-cc2590em-rd. This has proven to have much better ESD performance.

     Regards,

    Per