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February 2018 DocID031346 Rev 2 1/8
P-NUCLEO-53L1A1
VL53L1X nucleo pack with X-NUCLEO-53L1A1 expansion board
and STM32F401RE nucleo board
Data brief
Features
•VL53L1X Time-of-Flight (ToF), long-distance
ranging sensor expansion board (X-NUCLEO-
53L1A1)
•STM32F401RE nucleo board
•Two VL53L1X breakout boards
•0.25, 0.5 and 1 mm height spacers to simulate
air gaps
•Two different cover windows
•Equipped with an Arduino UNO R3 connector
•RoHS compliant
•The two VL53L1X breakout boards can be
connected onto the X-NUCLEO-53L1A1
expansion board to integrate the VL53L1X into
the customer’s application
•Full system SW is supplied, including code
examples and graphical user interface. All this
can be downloaded from the folder “TOOLS
AND SOFTWARE, section Ecosystem” on
www.st.com/VL53L1X
Description
The P-NUCLEO-53L1A1 is a complete evaluation
kit allowing anyone to learn, evaluate, and
develop their application using the VL53L1X ToF,
long-distance ranging sensor technology.
The VL53L1X is the latest product based on ST’s
patented FlightSenseTM technology. This is a
ground-breaking technology allowing absolute
long-distance distance to be measured
independently of target reflectance. Instead of
estimating the distance by measuring the amount
of light reflected back from an object (which is
significantly influenced by color and surface), the
VL53L1X precisely measures the time the light
takes to travel to the nearest object and reflect
back to the sensor (Time-of-Flight).
The STM32 nucleo board, NUCLEO-F401RE,
provides an affordable and flexible way for users
to try out new ideas and build prototypes with any
STM32 microcontroller, choosing from the various
combinations of performance, power
consumption, and features.
www.st.com
X-NUCLEO-53L1A1 expansion board P-NUCLEO-53L1A1
2/8 DocID031346 Rev 2
1 X-NUCLEO-53L1A1 expansion board
The board allows the user to test the VL53L1X functionality, to program it, and to help
understand how to develop an application using the device. It integrates:
•A 2.8 V regulator to supply the VL53L1X on the expansion board and two breakout
boards.
•Two level shifters to adapt the I/O level to the main board of the microcontroller
•The necessary connectivity for the application
The NUCLEO-F401RE board has to be programmed to control the X-NUCLEO-53L1A1
expansion board. The required software suite is available on www.st.com/VL53L1X and is
composed of the STSW-LINK009, STSW-LINK7, and X-CUBE-53L1A1.
The X-NUCLEO-53L1A1 expansion board and the NUCLEO-F401RE board are connected
through four Arduino compatible connectors: CN5, CN6, CN8, and CN9. They are shown in
Figure 3 and described in Table 1 and Table 2.
The Arduino connectors on the NUCLEO-F401RE board support Arduino Uno revision 3.
Figure 1. Arduino connector layout on the X-NUCLEO-53L1A1 expansion board
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9
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DocID031346 Rev 2 3/8
P-NUCLEO-53L1A1 X-NUCLEO-53L1A1 expansion board
8
Table 1. Left connector of the Arduino on the NUCLEO-F401RE board
CN
number
VL53L1X
expansion
board
Pin
number
Pin
name
MCU
pin
X-NUCLEO-53L1A1
expansion board function
CN6 power
1
NC
NC
2IOREF
Not used
3 RESET
Power 4 3V3 3V3 3.3 V supply
5 NC 5 V Not used
Gnd
6
Gnd Gnd Gnd
7
8NC VIN Not used
CN8 analog
1
NC
PA0
Not used
2PA1
GPIO1 3 INT PA4 Interrupt signal from VL53L1X
on-board soldered device
4 NC PB0 Not used
GPIO1 5 INT* PC1 (1)
1. Depends on STM32 nucleo board solder bridges (see details in the nucleo documentation). These
interrupt signals are duplicated, but not used. This offers hardware connection flexibility in case of conflict
on MCU interface, when the expansion board is superposed with other expansion boards. In this case,
remove the solder drop from the used interrupt and instead fit the solder drop in “NC”.
By default not used
Interrupt signal from VL53L1X
on-board soldered device
6NC PC0 Not used
X-NUCLEO-53L1A1 expansion board P-NUCLEO-53L1A1
4/8 DocID031346 Rev 2
Table 2. Right connector of the Arduino on the NUCLEO-F401RE board
CN
number
VL53L1X
expansion
board
Pin
number
Pin
name
MCU
pin
X-NUCLEO-53L1A1 expansion
board function
CN5 digital
SCL 10 D15 PB8 I2C1_SCL
SDA 9 D14 PB9 I2C1_SDA
8 NC AVDD Not used
Gnd 7 Gnd Gnd Gnd
6INT_LPA5
Not used
5
NC
PA6
4PA7
3 PB6
GPIO1_L
2 INT_L* PC7
By default not used
Interrupt signal from optional VL53L1X
left breakout board (1)
1. These interrupt signals are duplicated, but not used by default, this offers hardware connection of the
breakout board VL53L1X interrupt signals and flexibility in case of conflict on MCU interface management
when expansion board is superposed with other expansion boards. In this case select, through a solder
drop, the MCU port which is free.
1INT_LPA9
By default not used
Interrupt signal from optional VL53L1X
left breakout board (1)
CN9 digital
8NCPA8
Not used7 NC PB10
6 NC PB4
GPIO1_R 5 INT_R* PB5
By default not used
Interrupt signal from optional VL53L1X
right breakout board (1)
4 NC PB3 Not used
GPIO1_R 3 INT_R PA10
By default not used
Interrupt signal from optional VL53L1X
right breakout board (1)
2NCPA2
Not used
1NCPA3
DocID031346 Rev 2 5/8
P-NUCLEO-53L1A1 NUCLEO-F401RE board
8
2 NUCLEO-F401RE board
Information about the NUCLEO-F401RE board can be found at:
http://www.st.com/stm32nucleo.
3 Optional VL53L1X breakout boards
The VL53L1X breakout boards can be directly plugged onto the X-NUCLEO-53L1A1
expansion board through two 10 pin connectors or they can be connected to the board
through flying leads.
When connected through flying leads, developers should break off the mini PCB from the
breakout board, and use only the “VL53L1X mini PCB” which is smaller and integrates more
easily into the customer’s devices.
Figure 2. Connections of VL53L1X breakout boards
Laser considerations P-NUCLEO-53L1A1
6/8 DocID031346 Rev 2
4 Laser considerations
The VL53L1X contains a laser emitter and corresponding drive circuitry. The laser output is
designed to remain within Class 1 laser safety limits under all reasonably foreseeable
conditions including single faults, in compliance with IEC 60825-1:2014 (third edition). The
laser output remains within Class 1 limits as long as STMicroelectronic’s recommended
device settings are used and the operating conditions specified in the datasheet are
respected. The laser output power must not be increased by any means and no optics
should be used with the intention of focusing the laser beam.
Figure 3. Class 1 laser product label
DocID031346 Rev 2 7/8
P-NUCLEO-53L1A1 ECOPACK®
8
5 ECOPACK®
In order to meet environmental requirements, ST offers these devices in different grades of
ECOPACK® packages, depending on their level of environmental compliance. ECOPACK®
specifications, grade definitions and product status are available at: www.st.com.
ECOPACK® is an ST trademark.
6 Ordering information
7 Revision history
Table 3. Ordering code
Order code Description
P-NUCLEO-53L1A1 X-NUCLEO-53L1A1 and NUCLEO-F401RE boards
Table 4. Document revision history
Date Revision Changes
02-Feb-2018 1 Initial release
15-Feb-2018 2
Updated Features
Replaced “satellite boards” with “breakout boards”
Replaced Figure 2: Connections of VL53L1X breakout
boards.
P-NUCLEO-53L1A1
8/8 DocID031346 Rev 2
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