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Chip-Down Design

In a chip-down design, the packaged Modalix SoC goes directly on your own board. You design everything the Modalix SoM would otherwise provide, including the memory, power, and clocks. Chip-down design is also called chip-on-board design.

If you would rather build on a module that already carries the SoC, memory, and power, see Carrier Board Design.

What You Design​

  • Power delivery and power sequencing for the SoC
  • Clocks and reset
  • LPDDR5 memory, including routing and tuning
  • Boot storage, and serial access for debugging and recovery
  • High-speed interfaces such as PCIe, MIPI CSI-2, and Ethernet, and their layout
  • Cooling

Get the Design Package​

SiMa.ai provides the chip-down design guide and the collateral below as a design package. The design package requires a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) with SiMa.ai. To request it, contact your SiMa.ai representative. If you do not have one, use the SiMa.ai contact page.

Collateral​

Request these documents with the design package. See Reference Documents for a description of each one.

DocumentUse it for
Modalix SoC DatasheetPin functions, power rails, signal timing, and operating limits
Modalix PCB Routing GuidelinesLayout rules for PCIe, MIPI CSI-2, Ethernet, and other critical nets
Modalix DDR Tuning GuideLPDDR5 routing, termination, and calibration
Modalix Early Access DevKit Design PackageA chip-down reference design
Modalix PCIe HHHL Design PackageA chip-down reference design for a PCIe card
Modalix SoM Thermal Design GuideThermal budgets and cooling design

Design Steps​

  1. Request the design package. It requires an NDA.
  2. Design the board, using the design packages as reference designs.
  3. Plan cooling with the thermal design guide.
  4. Bring up the board. Chip-down bring-up, including memory initialization and first boot, is not yet documented publicly. Contact your SiMa.ai representative for help.
  5. Adapt and build the software with Build System Software.

Milestones​

A chip-down project usually passes these milestones. This is an outline. The procedures for each milestone come with the design package or from your SiMa.ai representative.

  1. Design. Schematics and layout, from the design package.
  2. Review. Review the design with SiMa.ai before you build boards. Request the review through your SiMa.ai representative.
  3. Fabrication. Build and assemble the first boards.
  4. First power-on and boot. Bring up power, memory, and the first boot.
  5. Validation. Check each interface, and the software on the board.

Next Steps​