CC2538

ACTIVE

32-bit Arm Cortex-M3 Zigbee, 6LoWPAN, and IEEE 802.15.4 wireless MCU with 512kB Flash and 32kB RAM

A newer version of this product is available

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CC2651R3 ACTIVE SimpleLink™ 32-bit Arm® Cortex®-M4 single-protocol 2.4-GHz wireless MCU with 352-kB flash Higher performance option with upgraded core

Product details

CPU core Arm® Cortex®-M3 Technology Zigbee Protocols 6LoWPAN, Zigbee 2.6 Flash memory (kByte) 512 RAM (kByte) 32 Peripherals 12-bit ADC 8-channel, 2 SPI, 2 UART, 4 timers, I2C, USB Features USB Number of GPIOs 32 Security Cryptographic acceleration, Device attestation & anti-counterfeit, Secure debug Operating system TI RTOS Sensitivity (best) (dBm) -97 Operating temperature range (°C) -40 to 125 Cryptographic accelerators AES Edge AI enabled No
CPU core Arm® Cortex®-M3 Technology Zigbee Protocols 6LoWPAN, Zigbee 2.6 Flash memory (kByte) 512 RAM (kByte) 32 Peripherals 12-bit ADC 8-channel, 2 SPI, 2 UART, 4 timers, I2C, USB Features USB Number of GPIOs 32 Security Cryptographic acceleration, Device attestation & anti-counterfeit, Secure debug Operating system TI RTOS Sensitivity (best) (dBm) -97 Operating temperature range (°C) -40 to 125 Cryptographic accelerators AES Edge AI enabled No
VQFN (RTQ) 56 64 mm² 8 x 8
  • Microcontroller
    • Powerful ARM® Cortex®-M3 With Code Prefetch
    • Up to 32-MHz Clock Speed
    • 512KB, 256KB or 128KB of In-System-
      Programmable Flash
    • Supports On-Chip Over-the-Air Upgrade (OTA)
    • Supports Dual ZigBee Application Profiles
    • Up to 32KB of RAM (16KB With Retention in All
      Power Modes)
    • cJTAG and JTAG Debugging
  • RF
    • 2.4-GHz IEEE 802.15.4 Compliant RF
      Transceiver
    • Excellent Receiver Sensitivity of –97 dBm
    • Robustness to Interference With ACR of 44 dB
    • Programmable Output Power up to 7 dBm
  • Security Hardware Acceleration
    • Future Proof AES-128/256, SHA2 Hardware
      Encryption Engine
    • Optional – ECC-128/256, RSA Hardware
      Acceleration Engine for Secure Key Exchange
    • Radio Command Strobe Processor and Packet
      Handling Processor for Low-Level MAC
      Functionality
  • Low Power
    • Active-Mode RX (CPU Idle): 20 mA
    • Active-Mode TX at 0 dBm (CPU Idle): 24 mA
    • Power Mode 1 (4-µs Wake-Up, 32-KB RAM
      Retention, Full Register Retention): 0.6 mA
    • Power Mode 2 (Sleep Timer Running, 16-KB
      RAM Retention, Configuration Register
      Retention): 1.3 µA
    • Power Mode 3 (External Interrupts, 16-KB
      RAM Retention, Configuration Register
      Retention): 0.4 µA
    • Wide Supply-Voltage Range (2 V to 3.6 V)
  • Peripherals
    • µDMA
    • 4 × General-Purpose Timers
      (Each 32-Bit or 2 × 16-Bit)
    • 32-Bit 32-kHz Sleep Timer
    • 12-Bit ADC With 8 Channels and Configurable
      Resolution
    • Battery Monitor and Temperature Sensor
    • USB 2.0 Full-Speed Device (12 Mbps)
    • 2 × SPI
    • 2 × UART
    • I2C
    • 32 General-Purpose I/O Pins
      (28 × 4 mA, 4 × 20 mA)
    • Watchdog Timer
  • Layout
    • 8-mm × 8-mm QFN56 Package
    • Robust Device for Industrial Operation up to
      125°C
    • Few External Components
    • Only a Single Crystal Needed for Asynchronous
      Networks
  • Development Tools
    • CC2538 Development Kit
    • Reference Design Certified Under FCC and
      ETSI Regulations
    • Full Software Support for Contiki/6LoWPAN,
      Smart Grid, Lighting, and ZigBee Home
      Automation With Sample Applications and
      Reference Designs Available
    • Code Composer Studio™
    • IAR Embedded Workbench® for ARM
    • SmartRF™ Studio
    • SmartRF Flash Programmer
  • Microcontroller
    • Powerful ARM® Cortex®-M3 With Code Prefetch
    • Up to 32-MHz Clock Speed
    • 512KB, 256KB or 128KB of In-System-
      Programmable Flash
    • Supports On-Chip Over-the-Air Upgrade (OTA)
    • Supports Dual ZigBee Application Profiles
    • Up to 32KB of RAM (16KB With Retention in All
      Power Modes)
    • cJTAG and JTAG Debugging
  • RF
    • 2.4-GHz IEEE 802.15.4 Compliant RF
      Transceiver
    • Excellent Receiver Sensitivity of –97 dBm
    • Robustness to Interference With ACR of 44 dB
    • Programmable Output Power up to 7 dBm
  • Security Hardware Acceleration
    • Future Proof AES-128/256, SHA2 Hardware
      Encryption Engine
    • Optional – ECC-128/256, RSA Hardware
      Acceleration Engine for Secure Key Exchange
    • Radio Command Strobe Processor and Packet
      Handling Processor for Low-Level MAC
      Functionality
  • Low Power
    • Active-Mode RX (CPU Idle): 20 mA
    • Active-Mode TX at 0 dBm (CPU Idle): 24 mA
    • Power Mode 1 (4-µs Wake-Up, 32-KB RAM
      Retention, Full Register Retention): 0.6 mA
    • Power Mode 2 (Sleep Timer Running, 16-KB
      RAM Retention, Configuration Register
      Retention): 1.3 µA
    • Power Mode 3 (External Interrupts, 16-KB
      RAM Retention, Configuration Register
      Retention): 0.4 µA
    • Wide Supply-Voltage Range (2 V to 3.6 V)
  • Peripherals
    • µDMA
    • 4 × General-Purpose Timers
      (Each 32-Bit or 2 × 16-Bit)
    • 32-Bit 32-kHz Sleep Timer
    • 12-Bit ADC With 8 Channels and Configurable
      Resolution
    • Battery Monitor and Temperature Sensor
    • USB 2.0 Full-Speed Device (12 Mbps)
    • 2 × SPI
    • 2 × UART
    • I2C
    • 32 General-Purpose I/O Pins
      (28 × 4 mA, 4 × 20 mA)
    • Watchdog Timer
  • Layout
    • 8-mm × 8-mm QFN56 Package
    • Robust Device for Industrial Operation up to
      125°C
    • Few External Components
    • Only a Single Crystal Needed for Asynchronous
      Networks
  • Development Tools
    • CC2538 Development Kit
    • Reference Design Certified Under FCC and
      ETSI Regulations
    • Full Software Support for Contiki/6LoWPAN,
      Smart Grid, Lighting, and ZigBee Home
      Automation With Sample Applications and
      Reference Designs Available
    • Code Composer Studio™
    • IAR Embedded Workbench® for ARM
    • SmartRF™ Studio
    • SmartRF Flash Programmer

The CC2538xFnn is the ideal wireless microcontroller System-on-Chip (SoC) for high-performance ZigBee applications. The device combines a powerful ARM Cortex-M3-based MCU system with up to 32KB on-chip RAM and up to 512KB on-chip flash with a robust IEEE 802.15.4 radio. This enables the device to handle complex network stacks with security, demanding applications, and over-the-air download. Thirty-two GPIOs and serial peripherals enable simple connections to the rest of the board. The powerful hardware security accelerators enable quick and efficient authentication and encryption while leaving the CPU free to handle application tasks. The multiple low-power modes with retention enable quick startup from sleep and minimum energy spent to perform periodic tasks. For a smooth development, the CC2538xFnn includes a powerful debugging system and a comprehensive driver library. To reduce the application flash footprint, CC2538xFnn ROM includes a utility function library and a serial boot loader. Combined with the robust and comprehensive Z-Stack software solutions from TI, the CC2538 provides the most capable and proven ZigBee solution in the market.

The CC2538xFnn is the ideal wireless microcontroller System-on-Chip (SoC) for high-performance ZigBee applications. The device combines a powerful ARM Cortex-M3-based MCU system with up to 32KB on-chip RAM and up to 512KB on-chip flash with a robust IEEE 802.15.4 radio. This enables the device to handle complex network stacks with security, demanding applications, and over-the-air download. Thirty-two GPIOs and serial peripherals enable simple connections to the rest of the board. The powerful hardware security accelerators enable quick and efficient authentication and encryption while leaving the CPU free to handle application tasks. The multiple low-power modes with retention enable quick startup from sleep and minimum energy spent to perform periodic tasks. For a smooth development, the CC2538xFnn includes a powerful debugging system and a comprehensive driver library. To reduce the application flash footprint, CC2538xFnn ROM includes a utility function library and a serial boot loader. Combined with the robust and comprehensive Z-Stack software solutions from TI, the CC2538 provides the most capable and proven ZigBee solution in the market.

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Technical documentation

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* Data sheet CC2538 Powerful Wireless Microcontroller System-On-Chip for 2.4-GHz IEEE 802.15.4, 6LoWPAN, and ZigBee Applications datasheet (Rev. D) PDF | HTML 07 Apr 2015
* Errata CC2538 SoC for 2.4-GHz IEEE 802.15.4, 6LoWPAN and ZigBee Applications Errata (Rev. A) 06 Jan 2014
* User guide CC2538 SoC for 2.4-GHz IEEE 802.15.4 & ZigBee/ZigBee IP Apps User's Guide (Rev. C) 03 Sep 2013
Application note CC2538, CC13xx, and CC26xx Serial Bootloader Interface (Rev. E) PDF | HTML 06 Aug 2024
Application note CE Regulations for SRDs Operating in License-Free 2.4GHz/5GHz Bands-WiFi Devices (Rev. A) PDF | HTML 20 Oct 2022
Selection guide Leitfaden zur Auswahl drahtloser Kommunikationstechnologie (Rev. B) 07 Mar 2022
Selection guide 無線連線技術選擇指南 (Rev. B) 07 Mar 2022
Selection guide 무선 연결 기술 선택 가이드 (Rev. B) 07 Mar 2022
Selection guide Wireless Connectivity Technology Selection Guide (Rev. B) 14 Feb 2022
Application brief What's New in Zigbee 3.0 (Rev. A) PDF | HTML 06 Jun 2019
Application note Debugging Communication Range (Rev. A) PDF | HTML 23 May 2019
Selection guide Zigbee® Selection Guide for SimpleLink MCUs (Rev. F) 21 Feb 2019
White paper Wireless Connectivity For The Internet of Things, One Size Does Not Fit All (Rev. A) 16 Oct 2017
Technical article Get connected with WEPTECH's 6LoWPAN IoT gateway solution PDF | HTML 26 Jan 2016
Application note Using GCC/GDB With CC2538 (Rev. A) 04 Feb 2015
White paper 6LoWPAN Demystified - 6LoWPAN Demystifed – A Low Power IP Mesh Network 28 Oct 2014
Application note Developing a Low-Cost, Zigbee-Enabled Smart Energy Meter On CC2538 10 Sep 2014
Application note AN-131 Pwr Consumption Meas & Optimization for CC2538 End Device With Z-Stack 04 Jun 2014
Application note AN130 - Using CC2592 Front End with CC2538 27 Feb 2014
More literature TI: The IoT technology leader 01 Nov 2013
More literature The Evolution of the Internet of Things 09 Sep 2013
User guide CC2538 Peripheral Driver Library User's Guide (Rev. A) 06 May 2013
User guide ROM Texas Instruments CC2538 Family of Products User's Guide (Rev. A) 18 Apr 2013
White paper SMART GAS AND WATER METER TRENDS: IMPACTS ON METER DESIGNS 07 Nov 2012

Design & development

For additional terms or required resources, click any title below to view the detail page where available.

Evaluation board

SMARTRF06EBK — SmartRF06 Evaluation Board

The SmartRF06 Evaluation Board Kit contains one SmartRF06EB. The SmartRF06EB is intended to be used with CC2538EM for radio performance testing and software development.

SmartRF06EB has integrated the XDS100v3 debug probe, enabling downloading and debugging of software running on the CC2538 device. (...)

User guide: PDF
Evaluation board

ALGO-3P-UISP1-TI — Algocraft μISP1 Programmer for Texas Instruments devices

μISP can either work connected to a host PC (RS-232, USB, LAN connections are built-in) or in standalone mode.

The programming cycle execution in standalone mode may occur by simply pressing the START button or through some TTL control lines.

Its compact size and versatility allows a simple (...)

From: Algocraft
Daughter card

CC2531EMK — CC2531 USB Evaluation Module Kit

The CC2531EMK kit provides one CC2531 USB Dongle and documentation to support a PC interface to 802.15.4 / ZigBee applications. The dongle can be plugged directly into your PC and can be used as an IEEE 802.15.4 packet sniffer or for other purposes. With the CC2531 USB Firmware Library available on (...)

User guide: PDF
Not available on TI.com
Daughter card

CC2538-CC2592EMK — CC2538-CC2592 Evaluation Module Kit

The CC2538-CC2592EMK demonstrates the use of the CC2592 PA/LNA front end together with the CC2538 IEEE 802.15.4 System-on-Chip. The CC2592 RF front end includes PA, LNA, switches, balun, and RF matching, and will increase output power and improve receiver sensitivity on a 2.4 GHz low-power RF (...)

Not available on TI.com
Daughter card

CC2538EMK — CC2538 Evaluation Module Kit

The CC2538 Evaluation Module Kit is an add-on kit for the CC2538DK and it contains two CC2538 evaluation module boards. The CC2538 evaluation modules can be used as reference modules for hardware and software prototyping and for verifying the performance of the CC2538 RF IC. In combination with (...)

Not available on TI.com
Debug probe

TMDSEMU200-U — XDS200 USB Debug Probe

The XDS200 is a debug probe (emulator) used for debugging TI embedded devices. For the majority of devices it is recommended to use the newer, lower cost XDS110 (www.ti.com/tool/TMDSEMU110-U). The XDS200 supports a wide variety of standards (IEEE1149.1, IEEE1149.7, SWD) in a single pod. All XDS (...)

Not available on TI.com
Hardware programming tool

ALGO-3P-WRITENOW — Algocraft WriteNow! Programmer

WriteNow! Series of In-System Programmers is a breakthrough in the programming industry. The programmers support a large number of devices (microcontrollers, memories, CPLDs and other programmable devices) from various manufacturers and have a compact size for easy ATE/fixture integration. They (...)

From: Algocraft
Driver or library

TIMAC — IEEE802.15.4 Medium Access control (MAC) software stack

TIMAC - IEEE802.15.4 Medium Access Control (MAC) Software Stack

To download the free tools download click the "Get Software" button above. By subscribing, we will be able to notify you of updates when they become available and provide instructions on how to perform the update.

Driver or library

Z-STACK — A fully compliant ZigBee 3.x solution: Z-Stack

Zigbee 3.0 combines multiple previous Zigbee profiles into one unified standard
  • Incorporates the unified Zigbee Cluster Library which is at the foundation of dotdot, the universal language for IoT applications defining data objects, models and functionalities for embedded IoT applications
  • Implements (...)
Driver or library

Z-STACK-ARCHIVE — Archive for Z-Stack Fully Compliant ZigBee 2012 Solution

NOTE:

This page contains links to obtain previous versions of the Z-Stack releases. For new projects, TI recommends using the newest release in order to take advantages of all improvements and new features. The latest Z-Stack release can be found at www.ti.com/z-stack.

 

Z-Stack Home

Z-Stack Home is (...)

Firmware

CC2538-SW CC2538 Foundation Firmware

The CC2538 foundation firmware is an extensive collection of software libraries for the CC2538 - an ARM Cortex-M3 based IEEE 802.15.4 compliant RF system-on-chip. The foundation firmware contains the following components:

  1. driverlib: This is the low level peripheral driver library for easy access to (...)
Supported products & hardware

Supported products & hardware

IDE, configuration, compiler or debugger

CCSTUDIO Code Composer Studio™ integrated development environment (IDE)

Code Composer Studio is an integrated development environment (IDE) for TI's microcontrollers and processors. It is comprised of a rich suite of tools used to build, debug, analyze and optimize embedded applications. Code Composer Studio is available across Windows®, Linux® and macOS® platforms.

(...)

Supported products & hardware

Supported products & hardware

Launch Download options
Software programming tool

FLASH-PROGRAMMER — SmartRF Flash Programmer

SmartRF Flash Programmer 2 can be used to program the flash memory in Texas Instruments ARM based low-power RF wireless MCUs over the debug and serial interfaces. Check the list of supported products for compatibility. Uniflash can also be used to program any SimpleLink product.

SmartRF Flash (...)

Support software

PACKET-SNIFFER SmartRF™ Packet Sniffer 2.18.1

The SmartRF Packet Sniffer is a PC software application that can display and store radio packets captured by a listening RF device. The capture device is connected to the PC via USB. Various RF protocols are supported. The Packet Sniffer filters and decodes packets and displays them in a convenient (...)

Supported products & hardware

Supported products & hardware

Support software

SWRC272 CC2538 PER Test (v1.1.0)

Supported products & hardware

Supported products & hardware

Calculation tool

SMARTRF-STUDIO-7 SmartRF Studio 7 application software

SmartRF™ Studio is a Windows application that helps designers of RF systems to easily evaluate the radio at an early stage in the design process for all TI CC1xxx and CC2xxx low-power RF devices. It simplifies generation of the configuration register values and commands, as well as practical (...)

Supported products & hardware

Supported products & hardware

Download options
Design tool

3P-WIRELESS-MODULES — Third party wireless module search tool

The third party wireless module search tool helps developers to identify products that meet their end equipment specifications and procure production ready wireless modules. The third party module vendors included in the search tool are independent third party companies with expertise in designing (...)
Design tool

SIMPLELINK-2-4GHZ-DESIGN-REVIEWS — Hardware design reviews for SimpleLink™ CC2xxx devices

The SimpleLink hardware design review process provides a way to get in touch, one-on-one, with a subject matter expert that can help review your design and provide valuable feedback. A simple three-step process for requesting a review as well as links to relevant technical documentation and (...)
Reference designs

TIDA-00640 — Reference Design for Voltage, Current & Temp Monitoring for Solar Module Level Power Electronics

The TIDA-00640 verified reference design provides an overview on how to implement a solar module level monitoring and communication sub-system. This design addresses the key need of a highly cost optimized monitoring and communication sub-system for solar Module Level Power Electronics (MLPE). (...)
Design guide: PDF
Schematic: PDF
Reference designs

CC2592EMK-RD — Standalone 2.4GHz Range Extender Reference Design

This standalone 2.4 GHz range extender reference design provides all the information needed to use the SimpleLink™ CC2592 range extender (PA/LNA front end) with any 2.4 GHz RF radio in a wide range of applications, including sensor mesh networks and gateways. The CC2592 range extender contains PA, (...)
Reference designs

TIDC-ZNP-HOST-SW3 — Portable ZigBee Plug-In Software Framework for any OS

A portable host software framework that allows ZigBee to be “bolted on” to existing products in the market, quickly enabling Internet of Things (IoT) system applications. This design can be used with any microcontrollers or processors, offering flexibility in the solution. This software framework (...)
Design guide: PDF
Schematic: PDF
Reference designs

TIDM-LOWEND-IHD — Segment LCD-Based Low-End In-Home Display with Wireless RF Communication

An in-home display (IHD) allows utility customers to track their energy usage information such as total energy consumption, pricing, and kilowatt hours in real time. The display can communicate with utility meters and other enabled appliance typically using Low Power RF communication. In entry line (...)
Design guide: PDF
Schematic: PDF
Reference designs

CC2538EM-RD — CC2538EM Reference Design

This 2.4 GHz RF Layout Reference Design demonstrates good decoupling and layout techniques for a low power RF device operating in the license free 2.4 GHz frequency band.
Schematic: PDF
Package Pins CAD symbols, footprints & 3D models
VQFN (RTQ) 56 Ultra Librarian

Ordering & quality

Information included:
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  • Device marking
  • Lead finish/Ball material
  • MSL rating/Peak reflow
  • MTBF/FIT estimates
  • Material content
  • Qualification summary
  • Ongoing reliability monitoring
Information included:
  • Fab location
  • Assembly location

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Support & training

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