Wireless Modules

ATSAMB11ZR-XPRO

ATSAMB11ZR-XPRO - BLE 4.x SmartConnect Xplained Pro | Microchip

The Microchip ATSAMB11ZR-XPRO is a Bluetooth Smart 4.x Low Energy (BLE) 2.4GHz evaluation board built around the ATSAMB11-ZR210CA SmartConnect SiP/Module. The kit is part of Microchip's Xplained Pro evaluation platform and provides a complete out-of-the-box development environment for prototyping BLE peripherals, beacons, and IoT sensor nodes without external RF matching or antenna design. The board exposes the ATSAMB11 module's ultra-low-power Cortex-M0 based BLE SoC subsystem plus its integrated ARM Serial Wire Debug (SWD) interface, enabling engineers to prototype firmware using Atmel Studio / Microchip Studio and the Atmel BLE software stack. Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), standardized as IEEE 802.15.1 and maintained by the Bluetooth SIG, is a short-range, ultra-low-power wireless technology targeting coin-cell and energy-harvesting applications such as fitness bands, smart-home sensors, beacons, and proximity tags. Compared to classic Bluetooth, BLE trades peak throughput for drastically reduced average current draw, allowing months-to-years of operation on a single coin cell. The ATSAMB11ZR-XPRO shortens time-to-prototype by integrating the RF matching network, crystal, and chip antenna on a certified module, so firmware engineers can focus on the application GATT profile rather than radio compliance. Key features of the ATSAMB11ZR-XPRO include the ATSAMB11-ZR210CA SiP/Module with on-module 32.768 kHz RTC crystal and 16 MHz main crystal, integrated DC-DC converter for sub-3V battery operation, and a Cortex-M0 application core with dedicated BLE link layer. The board adds a user pushbutton, user LED, mikroBUS socket expansion, Xplained Pro extension header for breadboarding and Atmel QT touch debug, plus a Virtual COM port over USB for SWD and serial console. The board is USB-powered and integrates an on-board debugger, removing the need for an external programmer. At the application layer, the ATSAMB11ZR-XPRO is widely used as a reference design platform for ATSAMB11 firmware development, BLE peripheral GATT services, proprietary 2.4GHz profiles for proprietary protocols, and as a building block for IoT sensor nodes that need a fully certified radio. It is also used in education and rapid prototyping where engineers need a quick way to verify BLE link behavior, throughput, and power consumption before committing to a custom PCB layout. For design considerations, the on-board debugger is selectable as either the board's embedded debugger or an external one via the standard Xplained Pro IDC header, so multi-board debug chains are supported. The kit is RoHS compliant and supported by Atmel/Microchip Studio, ASF (Atmel Software Framework), and the latest Microchip code configurator for Bluetooth Low Energy projects. Battery-profiling firmware and Atmel QTouch libraries can be evaluated on this board via the QT header. This page synthesizes Microchip product-page data, distributor pricing from DigiKey and Octopart, datasheet references, and design notes that go beyond the manufacturer datasheet to help engineers choose and deploy the kit.