Your Electronics Open Source

A complete reference design should includes schematics, PCB layout, bootloader, drivers, operation system, middleware and application software, even external parts such as web services...... It cost a lot of effort to make one system to running.

Since ARM is standard cores for ASSP, a lot of chip vendors have aleady release the reference design for their ARM ASSP platform. It is quite useful while engineers start to kick off projects on ARM platform. But most of the reference design are binded with their chip. Which means you can only allowed to access the reference design library if you are going to buy the chip.

However sometimes we can still find out some useful reference design available from some vendors. There are some good examples. Some reference designs in silicon vendors' web sites are named in other names such as application notes, software libraries, user manuals and etc.

The Cirrus Logic® Networked-Attached-Storage (NAS) reference design, built around the EP9312 embedded processor, provides network storage and media server suppliers with a comprehensive platform to rapidly develop feature-rich, low-cost NAS products.

NXP offers some application notes on web. However NXP's LPC ARM microcontroller is better supported from communities.

STR7, STM's ARM7TDMI

STR32, STM's Cortex-M3

STR9, STM's ARM966E-S

Atmel offers a lot of resources for their chips. Very impressive.

Application notes and Reference Designs help developers to shorten time-to-market when working with OKI´s ARM7 and ARM9 Microcontrollers.

Application notes and Reference Designs by Luminary Micro

ARM Documentation Application notes

Semiapps.com offers a lot of resources for reference design, not only focused on ARM, but also a lot of goodies.

FREESCALE ARM Based Application Note

Besides, some Starter Kit/OEM module suppliers will offer some extra bonus reference design. For instance, Windows Mobile BSP, Linux BSP, bootloader, GUIs, middleware. Not all of these modules are available open source or free of charge. But you can get it from your supplier.

Available Projects and Information (Content)