Door 5 – nRF54LM20A

• Main MCU: 128 MHz Arm Cortex‑M33.
• Coprocessor: 128 MHz RISC‑V, designed for time‑critical tasks, offloading the main core, and implementing low‑level or custom protocols, including emulated high‑throughput serial peripherals (“SoftPeripherals”) such as sQSPI.
• Core performance: 503 CoreMark, 3.93 CoreMark/MHz when executing from NVM.

The architecture includes multiple power domains and low‑leakage memory technologies, enabling very low current in idle and System OFF modes. A Global RTC can run in System OFF with current down to about 0.8 µA at 3.0 V, supporting ultra‑low‑power sleep and long battery lifetimes.

• NVM: 2 MB nominal
• RAM: 512 KB
• GPIO: up to 66 configurable I/Os
• Packages: ultra‑compact CSP (3.85 × 3.67 mm) and 6 × 6 mm QFN.

The nRF54LM20A is the highest‑memory option in the nRF54L Series, which also includes nRF54L15, nRF54L10, and nRF54L05 with lower NVM/RAM configurations.

The SoC integrates Nordic’s fourth‑generation, ultra‑low‑power 2.4 GHz multiprotocol radio:

• Bluetooth LE, including advanced features and Bluetooth Channel Sounding from Bluetooth Core 6.0.
• Bluetooth Mesh and PAwR‑based use cases (e.g., ESL) via Bluetooth LE support in the series.
• IEEE 802.15.4‑2020 radio for Thread, Zigbee, and Matter over Thread.
• Proprietary 2.4 GHz modes with data rates up to 4 Mbps, enabling high‑throughput custom links.
• Ecosystem and protocol support via nRF Connect SDK across the nRF54L Series for Matter, Amazon Sidewalk, Google Find My Device (Google Find Hub), and Apple Find My, in addition to standard Bluetooth LE and 802.15.4‑based stacks.

The nRF54LM20A can also host the Wi‑Fi networking stack for nRF70 Series companion ICs (such as nRF7002), enabling full Wi‑Fi 6 applications with low power consumption. It uses hardware SPI plus sQSPI emulation on the RISC‑V SoftPeripherals for efficient high‑throughput communication. The architecture allows the Wi‑Fi companion to maintain AP association while the nRF54LM20A remains mostly in sleep, supporting very low‑power Wi‑Fi‑connected standby modes.

The device includes a broad and modern peripheral set tailored to wireless MCUs:

• High‑speed USB (a distinguishing feature versus other nRF54L SoCs)
• Seven serial interfaces, including SPI, TWI (I²C‑compatible), UART, and high‑speed SPI (HS‑SPI)
• Extended peripherals and timers, including:
  • Global RTC (operational in System OFF for ultra‑low‑power timekeeping)
  • 14‑bit ADC (up to 2 MS/s, 8 channels for the series), enabling high‑resolution sensor measurements
  • TDM and PDM interfaces (e.g., for audio)
  • NFC interface
  • PWM and QDEC (Quadrature Decoder) for motor/encoder or input devices

This rich peripheral set allows many end products to be implemented with a single chip, avoiding external MCUs or interface expanders.

The nRF54LM20A provides a comprehensive security feature set designed to meet modern IoT requirements and regulations:

• Trusted execution environment via Arm TrustZone isolation
• Secure boot, secure firmware update, and secure storage capabilities across the series
• Cryptographic accelerator protected against side‑channel leakage
• Tamper detection mechanisms
• Physical and architectural protections intended to help meet stringent security standards

Development with the nRF54LM20A is supported by Nordic’s standard toolchain:

• nRF54LM20 DK: single‑board development kit exposing all key SoC features, including 2.4 GHz and NFC antennas, SWF RF connector, SEGGER J‑Link OB, user LEDs/buttons, current‑measurement points, 8 MB external flash, and dual virtual UARTs.
• nRF Connect SDK: provides protocol stacks (Bluetooth LE, Thread, Zigbee, Matter, Wi‑Fi with nRF70 Series, etc.), drivers, libraries, and sample applications for nRF54L Series devices.
• Tools: nRF Connect for Desktop, nRF Connect for VS Code, and nRF Util for programming, debugging, and testing; plus the Power Profiler Kit II for power‑consumption measurements when used with the DK.

Nordic Developer Academy offers courses such as nRF54L Series Express, nRF Connect SDK Fundamentals, and Bluetooth LE Fundamentals, all of which support the nRF54L family and specifically the nRF54LM20A DK. For measuring and optimizing the power consumption, the Power Profiler Kit II is highly recommended as an easy-to-use, low cost and highly accurate measurement tool.