SARA-G450 - System integration manual 
UBX-18046432 - R08  Design-in  Page 56 of 143 
C1-Public     
2  Design-in 
2.1  Overview 
For an optimal integration of SARA-G450 modules in the final application board, follow the design 
guidelines stated in this section. 
Every  application  circuit  must  be  properly  designed  to  guarantee  the  correct  functionality  of  the 
related  interface,  however  a  number  of  points  require  higher  attention  during  the  design  of  the 
application device. 
The following list provides a ranking of importance in the application design, starting from the highest 
relevance: 
1.  Module  antenna  connection:  ANT  and  ANT_DET  pins.  Antenna  circuit  directly  affects  the  RF 
compliance  of  the  device  integrating  a  SARA-G450  module  with  the  applicable  certification 
schemes. Very carefully follow the suggestions provided in section 2.4 for schematic and layout 
design. 
2.  Module supply: VCC and GND pins. The supply circuit affects the RF  compliance of the device 
integrating a SARA-G450 module with applicable certification schemes as well as antenna circuit 
design. Very carefully follow the suggestions provided in section  2.2.1 for schematic and layout 
design. 
3.  SIM interface: VSIM, SIM_CLK, SIM_IO, SIM_RST, SIM_DET pins. Accurate design is required to 
guarantee  SIM  card  functionality  and  compliance  with  applicable  conformance  standards, 
reducing also the risk of RF coupling. Carefully follow the suggestions provided in section 2.5 for 
schematic and layout design. 
4.  System functions: PWR_ON, PWR_OFF, VSEL pins. Accurate design is required to guarantee that 
the  voltage  level  is  well  defined  during  operation.  Carefully  follow  the  suggestions  provided  in 
section 2.3 for schematic and layout design. 
5.  Analog audio interface: MIC_BIAS, MIC_GND, MIC_P, MIC_N uplink and SPK_P, SPK_N downlink 
pins. Accurate design is required to obtain clear and high quality audio reducing the risk of noise 
from audio lines due to both supply burst noise coupling and RF detection. Carefully follow the 
suggestions provided in section 2.7 for schematic and layout design. 
6.  Other digital interfaces: primary main UART, secondary auxiliary UART and additional UART (for 
FW upgrade and Tracing) interfaces, DDC I2C-compatible interface, and GPIOs. Accurate design 
is  required  to  guarantee  proper  functionality  and  reduce  the  risk  of  digital  data  frequency 
harmonics coupling. Follow the suggestions provided in sections  2.6, 2.7 and 2.8 for schematic 
and layout design. 
7.  Other  supplies:  the  V_BCKP  RTC  supply  input/output  and  the  V_INT  digital  interfaces  supply 
output. Accurate  design  is  required to guarantee  correct functionality.  Follow the suggestions 
provided in sections 2.2.2 and 2.2.3 for schematic and layout design. 
 
2.2  Supply interfaces 
2.2.1  Module supply (VCC) 
2.2.1.1  General guidelines for VCC supply circuit selection and design 
All the available VCC pins must be connected to the external supply minimizing the power loss due to 
series resistance. 
GND pins are  internally  connected, but  still connect all  the  available pins  to  a  solid ground  on  the 
application board, since a good (low impedance) connection to external ground can minimize  power 
loss and improve RF and thermal performance.