Electronic – Beginning arm cortex Ax hardware development

arm

Where can one find information on how to put together a minimal linux bootable board based on the cortex A family (like the beagleboard)? Programming information is plentyfull, but hardware knowledge appear more arcane. I'm especially curious about:

  • What external components are needed and why.
  • Why dev boards seems to end up around 200$, even though I could get an omap3517 for 15$?
  • What kind of equipment is needed to create prototypes around a chip such as the omap3517?

Best Answer

I've been blogging about the Linux board I've been working on starting here and continuing here. I started thinking I would use a Cortex A8, but eventually settled on the Atmel AT91SAM9G20.

To try to answer your other questions:

  • You can see the components I used in my schematic, but I don't know of a more general explanation of why each is necessary.
  • The processor is only about 10-20% of the total cost of parts. Assembly is another $4-40, depending on the quantity built. I suspect the profit margin is 30-50%.
  • Depending on the package, the OMAP3517 BGA package has either a 1 mm or 0.65 mm ball pitch. Generally, below 0.8 mm pitch, you need to X-ray at least some fraction of the finished boards to check for errors. (Just for the record, the OMAP3517 1 mm packages aren't actually available yet.)

If you have other, more specific questions, I'd be glad to try to answer them.

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