DocID023194 Rev4

5/17

AN4111

Benefits of BAL-NRF01D3 reference design

Figure 7 demonstrates two essential benefits of the BAL-NRF01D3.



Decrease in the BOM count by 80%, from 5 components to 1 component



More than 80% PCB area reduction compared to the traditional discrete solution

Figure 7. PCB area comparison between BAL-NRF01D3 and discrete solution

Compared to discrete solutions, the BAL-NRF01D3 solution is much easier to implement.

Thanks to this smart implementation:



No RF measurement tools and RF skills are required to design and validate the

function.



Performance is less sensitive to component placement.



PCB design is symmetrical from differential output to antenna, providing much shorter

traces between transceiver outputs to the balun.

As a result, ST BAL-NRF01D3 reduces harmonics generation.

“Traditional” discrete solution

BAL-NRF01D3 solution