SDAA244A May   2026  – May 2026 CC3501E , CC3551E

 

  1.   1
  2.   Abstract
  3.   Trademarks
  4. 1Introduction
    1. 1.1 Production Line Overview
    2. 1.2 Production Line Types
    3. 1.3 SimpleLink Wi-Fi Toolbox
  5. 2Hardware Setup on Production Line
  6. 3Production Line Test
    1. 3.1 xSPI Memory Connection Test
    2. 3.2 I/O Open and Shorts Test
    3. 3.3 RF Tests
      1. 3.3.1 Additional Considerations for the RF PLT
  7. 4Activation and One-Time Programming (OTP)
  8. 5Flash Programming
  9. 6Summary
  10. 7References
  11. 8Revision History

3.3.1 Additional Considerations for the RF PLT

A few more notes to take into consideration:

  • Testing one channel on each frequency band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) is the minimum number of channels that must be tested.
    • More channels can be added to the RF test to verify performance across the frequency band, as desired.
    • TI recommends testing more channels on the 5GHz band due to the large span of this frequency band when compared to the 2.4GHz band.
  • Testing the Bluetooth® Low Energy separately is not a strict requirement.
    • Wireless local area network (WLAN) modulations in the same 2.4GHz frequency band transmit at higher power and have stricter requirements for the EVM.
    • The 2.4GHz WLAN and BLE use the same RF front end, so WLAN tests give a high confidence that BLE also works.
  • Testing RX is not a strict requirement.
    • The RX test does not add any more verification that the external BOM is assembled correctly. The TX power and EVM tests cover this verification.
    • RX sensitivity can verify the XTAL and external filters similar to the EVM and TX power tests, however this test takes longer, especially on the production line.
  • Conducted and radiated testing are both valid for the RF PLT.
    • Conducted testing is more accurate, provides better shielding from noise, and is easier to calibrate for path loss. However, not all end products support a dedicated RF connector, the antenna is not validated in this case, and manually connecting and reconnecting the conducted test for each device under test (DUT) takes more time during the PLT.
    • Radiated testing is faster on the production floor and easily leveraged across different devices with different antenna types. However, the setup is harder to calibrate for path loss, less accurate, and more sensitive to noise.
  • If the CC35xxE device is connected to two antennas for antenna diversity, both RF paths must be tested during the RF PLT. Not every test is required on both antennas, but at least one test on each antenna is required to check for proper functioning of the external RF switch.

The Radio tool, which is part of the SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi Toolbox, must be used for the RF PLT. There is a GUI available; however, for an automated test structure, the CLI of the Radio tool using CMD terminal or restAPI commands used within a software script are better options. See the documents of the SimpleLink™ Wi-Fi Toolbox for script examples and parameter explanations.

The following lists an example of the RF PLT test flow which tests two channels on each frequency band:

  1. Load the Radio tool on a PC and load FW to device.
  2. Tune WLAN Channel 1 (2412MHz) and calibrate.
  3. TX test 1DSSS max power, VSA measures TX power from DUT.
  4. Tune WLAN Channel 11 (2462MHz) and calibrate.
  5. TX test 11n MCS7 max power, VSA measures EVM and TX power from DUT.
  6. Tune WLAN Channel 36 (5180MHz) and calibrate.
  7. TX test 11a 6OFDM max power, VSA measures EVM and TX power from DUT.
  8. Tune WLAN Channel 169 (5845MHz) and calibrate
  9. TX test 11n MCS7 max power, VSA measures EVM and TX power from DUT.