Variscite launched this month the VAR-SOM-MX93 which implements i.MX 93 System-on-Chip from NXP. The SoM can be configured with up to 2GB LPDDR4/4X, up to 64GB eMMC 5.1. Variscite has also launched a compatible evaluation kit providing access to 2x GbE LAN ports, multiple display ports and other flexible peripherals. 

As mentioned earlier, the VAR-SOM-MX93 is powered by the i.MX 9 processor which has the following features:

• NXP i.MX 93 — Dual-core Cortex-A55 (up to 1.7GHz); Single-core Cortex-M33 (up to 250MHz), Ethos-U65 microNPU (0.5 TOPS), 2D pixel acceleration engine (PxP)

   
VAR-SOM-MX93 block diagram (left) andi.MX 93 block diagram
(click images to enlarge)

The SoM is available with 512MB up to 2GB of LPDDR4. Similarly, the storage can be specified with 8GB, 16GB, 32GB and 64GB of eMMC 5.1.

  
VAR-SOM-MX93 top (left) and bottom (right)
(click images to enlarge)

According to the datasheet, this embedded module includes a high-performance ultra-low power WM8904 CODEC optimized for portable audio applications. The device also features “stereo ground-referenced headphone amplifiers using the Wolfson ‘Class-W’ amplifier techniques.”

For security, the  VAR-SOM-MX93 supports Arm TrustZone, Secure and Trusted Access Control, Battery Backed Security Module (BBSM) and Resource Domain Controller.

     
VAR-SOM-MX93 dev kit peripherals
(click images to enlarge)

Some of the features of the evaluation kit include 2x GbE LAN ports, 1x optional MIPI-CSI connector, 1x optional HDMI/MIPI-CSI connector, 1x MINI PCIe connector, 2x LVDS connectors, etc. See the following board layout image for more details.

The wiki for the VAR-SOM-MX93 can be found here and it mentions that it will provide support for Yocto Kirkstone (kernel 5.15.71), Debian, Boot2Qt and FreeRTOS.

Some specifications listed for the VAR SOM MX93 include:

• Memory/Storage:
  • Up to 2GB LPDDR4/LPDDR4X RAM
  • Up to 64GB eMMC 5.1 (8-bit, 400MB/sec)
• Pixel Pipeline (PxP):
  • BitBlit
  • Pixel format support RGB, YUV444, YUV422, YUV420, YUV400
  • Standard 2D-DMA operation
• Audio:
  • Headphone
  • Microphone: Digital, Analog (stereo)
  • 3× I2S (SAI), S/PDIF, PDM 4-CH
• LCDIF Display Controller:
  • MIPI DSI (up to 1920x 200p60)
  • LVDS Tx (up to 1366x768p60 or 1280x800p60)
• MIPI CSI-2:
  • 1x 2-lane MIPI CSI-2
  • Complaint w/ MIPI CSI-2 v1.2 & MIPI D-PHY v1.2
  • 2x Rx data lanes (plus 1 Rx clock lane)
  • 80 Mbps – 1.5 Gbps per lane data rate (high-speed mode)
  • 10 Mbps data rate (low-power mode)
• MIPI DSI:
  • 1x 4-lane MIPI DSI display
  • 140 Mpixel/s with 24-bit RGB.
  • 80 Mbps—1.5 Gbps data rate per lane (high-speed mode)
  • 10 Mbps data rate (low-power mode)
• Connectivity:
  • Dual-band Wi-Fi 802.11 ac/a/b/g/n 
  • BT/BLE 5.2
  • 2x 10/100/1000 Mbps
• Other Features:
  • 1x SDIO/MMC
  • 2x USB 2.0 OTG
  • 4x UART, 5x I2C, 3x SPI
  • 4x ADC
  • 2x CAN
  • 1x JTAG
  • 1x Resistive touch controller
  • GPIOs
• Power:
  • 3.3V
• Operating Temperature:
  • -40 C to 85 C
• Dimensions:
  • 67.6 x 33 x 3.4mm

Further information

The VAR-SOM-MX93 starts at $39 and its product page can be found at Variscite.com. The company didn’t provide pricing information related to the VAR-SOM-MX93 Evaluation Kits.