Forlinx UP4 - A 40x40 mm LCC + LGA system-on-module family with Rockchip, NXP, and Allwinner CPU options

Forlinx Embedded UP4 is a new family of pin-to-pin compatible system-on-modules currently offered with Rockchip RK3568J/RK3562J, NXP i.MX 9352, or Allwinner T527N/T536 processors.

The UP4 modules measure just 40×40 mm and expose 487 pins through a hybrid LCC (Leadless Chip Carrier) and LGA (Land Grid Array) design with 1.0mm contact pitch and 1.27mm ball pitch, respectively. This should allow companies to design a single carrier board for multiple CPU variants.

Forlinx UP4 specifications:

SoC
- FET-MX9352-UP4 – NXP i.MX 9352 with 2x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.7 GHz, Cortex-M33 real-time core @ 250 MHz, 2D GPU only, 0.5 TOPS Arm Ethos U65 microNPU
- FET3568-UP4 – Rockchip RK3568B2/J with 4x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 2.0/1.8 GHz, Arm Mali-G52 MP2 3D GPU, 1 TOPS AI NPU
- FET3562J-UP4 – Rockchip RK3562J with 4x Arm Cortex-A53 cores @ 1.8 GHz, Arm Mali-G52-2EE 3D GPU, 1 TOPS NPU
- FET527N-UP4 – Allwinner T527N with octa-core CPU (4x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.8GHz + 4x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ 1.4GHz), 200 MHz RISC-V core, 600MHz HiFi4 DSP, Arm G57 MC1 3D GPU, and 2 TOPS NPU
- FET536-UP4 – Allwinner T536 with 4x Arm Cortex-A55 cores @ up to 1.6GHz, 600 MHz RISC-V core, low-power RISC-V core, 2D GPU, 2 TOPS NPU
System Memory / Storage
- NXP – 1GB LPDDR4 + 8GB eMMC flash
- Rockchip RK3568 – 4GB or 8GB LPDDR4X + 32GB or 64GB eMMC flash
- Rockchip RK3562J – 1GB or 2GB LPDDR4 + 8GB or 16GB eMMC flash
- Allwinner T527N – 2GB or4GB LPDDR4 + 16GB or 32GB eMMC flash
LCC castellated holes and LGA pads
- Storage
  - Up to 2x SD/SDIO
  - FSPI for serial NOR/NAND flash (Rockchip only)
  - Up to 3x SATA (Rockchip only)
- Display
  - HDMI 2.0 up to 4096×2304 @ 60Hz (Rockchip RK3568/Allwinner T527N)
  - 24-bit parallel RGB up to 1280 x 800 @ 60 Hz, 1366 x 768 @ 60 Hz, or 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz depending on SoC
  - LVDS up to 1280 x 800 @ 60 Hz, 1366 x 768 @ 60 Hz, or 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz depending on SoC
  - Up to 2x 4-lane MIPI DSI up to 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz or 2048 x 1080 @ 60Hz depending on SoC
  - eDP 1.3 up to 2560 x 1600 @ 60Hz (Rockchip RK3568) or 4K @ 30 Hz (Allwinner T527N)
- Camera
  - Up to 4x MIPI CSI
  - Parallel CSI (Allwinner only)
- Audio
  - Up to 3x SAI or 4x I2S, depending on SoC
  - Up to 2x MQS (NXP only)
  - Up to 3x PDM, up to 2x 8-channel DMIC (Allwinner T527N)
  - Up to 1x S/PDIF (Rockchip RK3562)
  - Built-in audio codec (Rockchip RK3562/Allwinner T536)
  - Up to 1x single-wire audio (Allwinner only)
- Networking – Up to 2x Gigabit Ethernet, one with optional TSN (NXP); RJ3562J: GbE + FE instead
- USB
  - Up to 2x USB 2.0 Host/OTG
  - Up to 2x USB 3.0
- PCIe – Up to 2x PCIe Gen3 x2 (RK3568) or 1x PCIe Gen2.1 x1 (RK3562/T527N/T536)
- Low-speed I/Os
  - Up to 10x UART
  - Up to 3x CAN 2.0B
  - Up to 8x I2C, 2x I3C (NXP only)
  - Up to 8x SPI
  - Up to 28x ADC (the number of ADCs highly depends on the selected SoC; Allwinner T536 has the most)
  - Up to 34x PWM (the number of PWMs highly depends on the selected SoC; Allwinner T536has the most)
  - Up to 1x IR Tx, up to 4x Rx (Infrared on Allwinner only)
- Debugging – JTAG (NXP only)
Supply Voltage – 5V
Dimensions – 40 x 40 x 1.2 mm
Temperature Range – -40°C ~ +85°C

It’s not the first time we’ve seen a hybrid LCC + BGA design for system-on-modules, and earlier examples include the MYIR Tech MYC-YR3562 and Forlinx FET-MA35-S2. Here, the company provides various processor options for the same design, so it should be easier to evaluate various solutions during development. It offers an alternative to the OSM Size L standard (45x45mm with 662 contacts), with a smaller footprint, but offering fewer I/Os and not being an industry standard.

I initially assumed it would allow easier switching between variants later on in case of unexpected technical or logistical issues, or simply to provide different variants of a specific product. But in practice, while all modules share the same footprint, they are only pin-to-pin compatible with a few common interfaces, such as dual Ethernet, USB 2.0, a few I2C, SPI, UART, and so on, and differ a lot in terms of I/O capabilities. Multimedia capabilities also vary, with some only equipped with a 2D GPU, while others feature a 3D GPU.

40x40 mm System-on-module with NXP Rockchip Allwinner — Five different processors targeting industrial, edge AI, AI vision, and edge computing applications

The FET-MX9352-UP4 targets industrial applications, the FET3568-UP4 high-performance edge AI, the FET3562J-UP4 industrial AI and vision, the GET527N-UP4 high-performance edge computing, and the FET536-UP4 industrial AI and vision.

Software support also varies. Forlinx lists Linux 5.10.198 + Qt 5.15.8 for the T536 module, Linux 5.15.104 + Qt 5.12.5 for the T527N SoM, Linux 6.1.36 + Qt 6.5.0 for the NXP module, Linux 5.10.160 + Qt 5.15.8 for the RK3568 module, and Linux 5.10.198 + Qt 5.15 for the RK3562 SoM. Unsurprisingly, NXP has the most recent software package.

Forlinx UP4 carrier board — Carrier board image provided by Forlinx (clearly AI-generated)

The company has yet to provide pricing or a product page for each of the modules, and instead, you can find an overview and product briefs on a dedicated page for the Forlinx UP4 system-on-module family.

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.