The CL-SOM-iMX8PLUS is the latest SO-DIMM System on Module produced by Compulab and which aims to target industrial, medical and image/signal processing applications. This device integrates the i.MX8M-Plus SoC and the CL-SOM SO-DIMM to deliver optimum performance and large connectivity in a compact footprint.   

The CL-SOM-iMX8Plus is built around the NXP i.MX8M Plus Quad (Cortex A-53) as its CPU core and it has a max CPU frequency of 1.8GHz. There is also an industrial-grade version of the board (-40C to 85C) but the CPU frequency is decreased to 1.6GHz.

All SOM boards include the GC7000UL GPU. An AI/ML Neural Processing Unit (up to 2.3 TOPS) and a Digital Signal Processor (Tensilica® HiFi 4 DSP) might also be integrated but it depends on the configuration board selected (C1800QM or C1600QM).

All SOM boards include the GC7000UL GPU. An AI/ML Neural Processing Unit (up to 2.3 TOPS) and a Digital Signal Processor (Tensilica® HiFi 4 DSP) might also be integrated but it depends on the configuration board selected(C1800QM or C1600QM). 

The peripheral interfaces available for this SOM are very flexible and extensive. Its connectivity interface includes two Gigabit Ethernet ports (MAC+PHY), WiFi and Bluetooth 5.0, PCI Express, 2x USB3.0 ports, 2x CAN ports and 88x GPIOs. The display interface has support for HDMI (1080p60), MIDI-DSI (1080p60), LVDS (1366×768) and capacitive touch-screen support through I2C and SPI.

Compulab also includes a tested BSP with Linux images (Linux Kernel 5.10.9) to facilitate the OS integration process. They also offer support for RTOS SDK and U-Boot boot loader. More information refer to Compulab’s wiki and their Resources section.  

The specification for the CL-SOM-iMX8PLUS include (some features vary by board code):

• Processors
  • NXP i.MX8M Plus quad-core/dual-core ARM Cortex-A53 (up to 1.8GHz)
  • NXP i.MX8M Plus Quad, quad-core ARM Cortex-A53, (up to 1.6GHz), industrial temp. grade
  • GC7000UL GPU
  • 2.3 TOPS AI/ML Neural Processing Unit
  • Tensilica® HiFi 4 DSP
• Memory – 1x LPDDR4 RAM (1GB – 8GB)
• Storage – 1x eMMC flash (16GB – 128GB)
• Networking — 
  • 2x Gigabit Ethernet ports (E2 code)
  • Bluetooth 5.0 BLE
  • Certified 802.11ac WiFi
• Display/media:
  • 1x HDMI 2.0 port (up to 1080p60)
  • 2x LVDS 
  • 2x MIPI-DSI
  • 2x I2S / SAI
  • 1x S/PDIF input/output
• Other I/O:
  • 2x USB3.0 dual-role ports
  • 4x UART
  • 2x CAN
  • 2x SD/SDIO
  • 2x SPI
  • 2x I2C
  • 4x general purpose PWM signals
• Expansion:
  • 88x GPIO Pins 
• Debug
  • JTAG debug interface
• Power — 3.45V to 4.4V
• Dimensions — 36 x 68 x 5 mm

 Further information

According to Compulab, the EVAL-iMX8X evaluation kit is available for $445; however, high volume orders start at $58. There are different board configurations that might include additional peripherals at additional price. For more details, refer to the Compulab website.