Using a DC Power Analyser properly

dclow-powermicrocontrollerpcbpcb-design

In the context of an academic project, I designed a PCB which includes an MCU (EFM32), a GSM module and a GPS module. One of the main target was for the system to be low power. However, now that it is time to measure my results with a DC Power Analyser I get surprisingly high values of current consumption.

Of course, it could be an hardware design problem and I won't omit this possibility but obtaining 5+ mA while my MCU is in sleep mode (should consume just some uA), the other modules are not powered and with low quiescent current voltage regulators (all < 20 uA) makes me question my measuring methods.

Here is some possible answers I am considering to my problems

  1. The PCB was in debug mode (wired to a Starter Kit) while I was measuring. Does it matter? If yes, what is the proper way of doing it?
  2. I plugged my DC Power Analyser directly on the pins of where a Li-Ion battery is supposed to be plugged. Therefore, it is under the control of a battery charge circuitry which could bias the measurement by trying to charge the DC Power Analyser. Is it possible?

What do you guys think?

Best Answer

Of course, it could be an hardware design problem and I won't omit this possibility but obtaining 5+ mA while my MCU is in sleep mode

One problem may be the UART TX lines. They are HIGH in idle, and could power the GPS or GSM module via ESD diodes. Standard pin drive is ~6mA, btw.

To avoid this problem you could configure the pins back to GPIO in the U(S)ARTx->ROUTE register and drive the GPIO pins low, or you could enable the TXINV and RXINV bit to negate the UART logic while the modules are not powered.