Nuvoton NuMicro MA35D1 SoM and SBC target industrial control, edge IoT gateway, and HMI applications

Forlinx Embedded OK-MA35-S21 SBC is based on the company’s FET-MA35-S2 SoM powered by a Nuvoton Numicro MA35D1 Arm Cortex-A35/M4F microprocessor, and offered with up to 1GB RAM and an 8GB eMMC flash.

Designed for applications such as charging piles, HMI, industrial control, medical equipment, new energy, edge gateways, smart buildings, and smart agriculture, the MA35D1 SoM supports dual Gigabit Ethernet, CAN FD, up to 17x UART, 16x analog input, etc.. and the SBC further integrates RS485 and RS232 terminal blocks, WiFi and Bluetooth, and optional 4G LTE connectivity

Forlinx FET-MA35-S2 SoM

Specifications:

SoC – Nuvoton NuMicro MA35D1
- CPU
  - 2x Arm Cortex-A35 cores at up to 800 MHz
  - Arm Cortex-M4 processor core at up to 180 MHz
- GPU – 2D Graphic Engine (GFX)
- VPU – H.264 video decoder up to 1920×1080 @ 45 Hz; JPEG Image Decoder
System Memory – 512MB/1GB DDR3L
Storage – 8GB eMMC flash
Carrier board interfaces – 260 contacts via LCC (Leadless Chip Carrier) pads with 1mm pitch and LGA pads with 1.5mm ball pitch
- Display – RGB interface up to 1920×1080 (RGB888)
- Camera – Up to 2x MIPI CSI supporting up to 3MP
- Audio – Up to 2x I2S
- Networking – Up to 2x Gigabit Ethernet
- USB – 1x USB 2.0 Host; 1x USB 2.0 OTG
- Serial – Up to 3x UART up to 9.5 Mbps, up to 4x CAN Bus (CAN-FD V1.0 and CAN2.0 A/B)
- Smart card – Up to 2x ISO7816 interfaces supporting ISO-7816-3
- Analog
  - 8x 10-bit ADC inputs up to 500KSPS
  - Up to 8x 10-bit EADC up to 4.8MSPS (also configurable as 4x differential inputs)
- Other interfaces – Up to 2x QSPI, 4x SPI, 5x I2C, 18x EPWM, 1x SDIO
Power Supply – 5V
Dimensions – 48 x 40 mm
Temperature Range – -40°C to +85°C

The FET-MA35-S2 system-on-module is offered in two configurations: 1GB+8GB and 512MB+8GB. It’s not quite the first NuMicro MA35D1 SoM we’ve covered as MYIR Tech’s MYC-LMA35 offers similar features, but in a smaller form factor (39 x 37mm) and different memory/storage configuration (256MB DDR3L, 256MB NAND flash, 8GB eMMC flash, and 32KB EEPROM).

Software and developer resources include a Linux 5.10.140 SDK with manuals, Linux kernel source code, root file systems, factory images, and flashing tools. Linux 5.10 is fairly old, but that’s apparently what Nuvoton offers since both Forlinx and MYiR Tech use the same SDK.

Forlinx OK-MA35-S21 SBC

Specifications:

Supported SoM – Forlinx FET-MA35-S2 as described above and soldered on board
Storage
- On-board 16MB QSPI NOR flash
- MicroSD card slot (SD 3.0)
Display
- RGB888 LCD connector for displays up to 1920×1080 @ 60 Hz
- LVDS via DVI-I socket (CNXSoft: first time I see that…)
Audio
- Nuvoton NAU88C22YG audio codec
- 3.5mm headphone jack
- 3.5mm MIC jack
- 2-pin connector for 2x 1W 8Ω speakers
Networking
- Gigabit Ethernet RJ45 port
- 10/100Mbps Ethernet RJ45 port
- WiFi 4 and Bluetooth 4.0 via RL-UM02WBS-8723DU-V1.2 module and SMA antenna connector
- Optional 4G LTE module via mini PCIe module, SIM card slot, and SMA antenna connector
USB – USB 2.0 Type-A host port, USB 2.0 Type-C “OTG” port (but only used as device port?)
Serial
- 6x isolated RS485 interfaces via terminal block
- 4x isolated CAN Bus via terminal block
- RS232 via terminal block (not documented in specs, but clearly seen from the image above)
- 3x UART via 2x 6-pin headers
Expansion interfaces
- 4x I2C: 2x for LCD touch and audio, and 2x header for external devices
- 7x PWM: 2x for adjusting LCD backlight brightness and BUZZER respectively; 5x for expansion
- 2x SPI via 2x 6-pin header
- Analog – 8x ADC via 12-pin header; 8x EADC via 12-pin header; each for potentiometer to adjust the reference voltage
Debugging
- 2x Debug UART for Cortex-A and Cortex-M cores via USB-C.
- 5-pin SWD connector
Misc
- Power switch
- Reset button
- RTC and battery holder
- Buzzer
Power Supply – 12V via DC jack
Dimensions – TBD

It’s unclear why the carrier board only features one Gigabit Ethernet port and one 100Mbps Ethernet port, while the SoM is said to handle up to two gigabit Ethernet ports.

Forlinx Embedded does not provide pricing information for its NuMicro MA35D1 SoM and SBC, but invites interested parties to request a quote. Additional details may be found on the product page and the press release.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.