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Compact SOM?

shabaz

Hi, there are quite a few small MIPS based SOMs (about 40x30mm), that run to around 400MHz speed, and are very low cost.

 

I was curious what else was out there, with minimum BBB level performance, capable of running Linux (not uClinux), not necessarily

MIPS, could be Intel or ARM for example. Size should be ballpark 30x25mm.

 

For that type of performance and size, there are some products from LogicPD, but they are in the hundreds of pounds in a quantity of 1.

Intel Edison could be a very good choice when it arrives.

 

If such a thing doesn't exist at a price <<£100, what silicon and functionality would be worth considering, for an open source design? (Admittedly it

would be hard to go BGA, but it would need to be BGA at this level of integration, so let's assume this is fine, and up to 6-layer design).

I know it's not a lot of specs, some parameters will constrain size more than others.

 

Even if we can't physically implement it without BGA capability, I think it's still worth considering what a potential design could

look like, so we can compare with any platforms as they get released.

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  • shabaz wrote:

    I was curious what else was out there, with minimum BBB level performance, capable of running Linux (not uClinux), not necessarily

    MIPS, could be Intel or ARM for example. Size should be ballpark 30x25mm.

    Maybe a bit bigger than what you're looking for, but how about http://www.mentorel.com/product/usomiq-am335x/  BBB level performance shouldn't be a problem image

     

    That 30x25mm footprint requirement is going to be problematic, the AM3359 is 15x15, i.MX6 20x20, so you're dangerously close to only being able to do SoC plus connector with no space left for ram, flash, uSD, PMIC, ethernet phy etc.

     

    I'll take a wild guess that some of those you've seen are expensive for two reasons. First is low volumes. Second is that they probably have high pcb layer counts, buried vias etc, in order to be able to increase the density by having two bgas essentially one on top of the other on opposite sides of the board.

    As a side issue, the high density connectors these tend to use will add a fair bit to the cost themselves.

     

    If you can sacrifice something in performance, then maybe something like https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/iMX233/iMX233-OLinuXino-NANO/open-source-hardware

     

    Even if we can't physically implement it without BGA capability, I think it's still worth considering what a potential design could

    look like, so we can compare with any platforms as they get released.

    Within your space constraints you almost certainly need BGA.  As an example, I remember 208 pin TQFP packages that were, with leads, something like 32x32mm, in contrast the 20x20mm i.MX6 is 624 pin.  So what would you like to sacrifice in order to avoid BGA? space and how many features?

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  • shabaz wrote:

    I was curious what else was out there, with minimum BBB level performance, capable of running Linux (not uClinux), not necessarily

    MIPS, could be Intel or ARM for example. Size should be ballpark 30x25mm.

    Maybe a bit bigger than what you're looking for, but how about http://www.mentorel.com/product/usomiq-am335x/  BBB level performance shouldn't be a problem image

     

    That 30x25mm footprint requirement is going to be problematic, the AM3359 is 15x15, i.MX6 20x20, so you're dangerously close to only being able to do SoC plus connector with no space left for ram, flash, uSD, PMIC, ethernet phy etc.

     

    I'll take a wild guess that some of those you've seen are expensive for two reasons. First is low volumes. Second is that they probably have high pcb layer counts, buried vias etc, in order to be able to increase the density by having two bgas essentially one on top of the other on opposite sides of the board.

    As a side issue, the high density connectors these tend to use will add a fair bit to the cost themselves.

     

    If you can sacrifice something in performance, then maybe something like https://www.olimex.com/Products/OLinuXino/iMX233/iMX233-OLinuXino-NANO/open-source-hardware

     

    Even if we can't physically implement it without BGA capability, I think it's still worth considering what a potential design could

    look like, so we can compare with any platforms as they get released.

    Within your space constraints you almost certainly need BGA.  As an example, I remember 208 pin TQFP packages that were, with leads, something like 32x32mm, in contrast the 20x20mm i.MX6 is 624 pin.  So what would you like to sacrifice in order to avoid BGA? space and how many features?

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