Product Introduction: LM7

Let's get to know LM7 in 5 minutes.

ArmSoM-lm7

LGA SYSTEM ON MODULE

Rockchip RK3588

Core computing. Your next product.

CPU

8 cores

NPU

6 TOPS

LGA

506 PIN

PCB

45 × 50 mm

Explore resources ↗Read the user manual →

Overview

The ArmSoM-LM7 adopts Rockchip's latest flagship RK3588 which is eight-core 64-bit processor with a maximum frequency of up to 2.4GHz and a 6 TOPS NPU. It supports up to 32GB of large memory.

Supports 8K video encoding and decoding,with LGA packaging for stronger transmission capability and stability.

We can provide baseboard reference design materials for users to customize in-depth independently.

It can be applied to diversified fields such as ARM PCs, edge computing, cloud servers, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, virtual/augmented reality, blockchain, smart NVRs, etc.

Rockchip RK3588

• ArmSoM-Sige7 AI SBC;
• ArmSoM-AIM7 AIM7 core board， ArmSoM-AIM-IO AIM Companion IO Board;
• ArmSoM-LM7 LGA core board, ArmSoM-W3 LGA core board maker kit;

With the powerful ecosystem and variety of extension modules, ArmSoM can help users easily go from ideas to prototype to mass production, making it an ideal creative platform for makers, dreamers and hobbyists.

Key Parameters

• SOC: Rockchip RK3588
• CPU: RK3588 quad-core Cortex-A76 @ 2.4GHz + quad-core Cortex-A55 @ 1.8GHz, 8nm process
• GPU: ARM Mali-G610 MP4
• NPU: Computing power up to 6 TOPS (INT8), supports INT4/INT8/INT16 mixed computing
• VPU/Codec:
  • Hardware decoding: 8K@60fps H.265/VP9/AVS2, 8K@30fps H.264 AVC/MVC, 4K@60fps AV1, 1080P@60fps MPEG-2/-1/VC-1/VP8
  • Hardware encoding: 8K@30fps H.265 / H.264
• RAM: 4GB/8GB/16GB (max 32GB) 64bit LPDDR4/LPDDR4x
• Flash: 16GB/32GB/64GB/128GB eMMC
• Operating voltage: 4V (±5% voltage variation)
• Operating temperature: 0°C ~ 70°C
• Interface type: LGA package, 506 pins in total
• Operating systems:
  • ArmSoM official images: Debian 12, Ubuntu 22.04, Android 12
  • Supported by the Third party: Armbian, Ubuntu 20.04, Ubuntu 22.04, Kylin OS
• PCB: 12-layer PCB design
• Weight: About 13.4g
• Size: 45mm × 50mm × 4.5mm (top: 2.2mm + PCB: 1.2mm + bottom: 1.1mm)

Getting started

📝

LM7 Development Kit User Manual

How to Get Started with Your Development Kit

Hardware

Hardware Interface

info

The ArmSoM-LM7 has an extremely small size, about half the size of a credit card.

ArmSoM-LM7 front & back

ArmSoM-LM7 & Credit-Card-Size.webp

Hardware Spec

The interface information on this page was checked against the internal ArmSoM-LM7 V1.1 core-module schematic dated 2023-12-26. This schematic has not been publicly released. The interface capabilities below refer to module signals and require a suitable carrier board; multiplexed functions sharing the same pins or PHY are not additional independent ports. Do not equate these capabilities with the connectors fitted to the W3 carrier.

LM7 Hardware Spec

Type	Function	Quantity	Parameters
Video input interface	MIPI DC(DPHY/CPHY) combo PHY	2	Support DPHY or CPHY Support 4-channel MIPI DPHY V2.0，with up to 4.5Gbps per lane Support 3-channel MIPI CPHY V1.1，with up to 2.5Gbps per lane	Supported MIPI camera combinations： 2 MIPI DCPHY + 4 MIPI CSI DPHY(2 lanes) 2 MIPI DCPHY + 1 MIPI CSI DPHY(4 lanes) + 2 MIPI CSI DPHY(2 lanes) 2 MIPI DCPHY + 2 MIPI CSI DPHY(4 lanes)
	MIPI CSI DPHY	4	2-channel MIPI DPHY V1.2, with up to 2.5Gbps per lane Dual 2 lanes DPHY can be combined into single 4lanes DPHY
	DVP	≤1	Standard 8/10/12/16-bit DVP interface, up to 150MHz data input Support BT.601/BT.656 and BT.1120 VI interface
	HDMI RX	1	Support 3.4Gbps-6Gbps HDMI 2.0 Support 250Mbps-3.4Gbps HDMI 1.4b Support HDCP2.3 and HDCP1.4
Display output interface	HDMI/eDP TX interface	≤2	Support dual HDMI/eDP TX multiplex interface（HDMI and eDP within the same multiplexed interface cannot operate simultaneously ） HDMI supports 7680×4320@60Hz resolution and 3,6,8,10,12Gbps bandwidth，HDCP2.3 eDP supports 4K@60Hz resolution，Each interface supports x1,x2,x4 configurations，supports 1.62Gbps,2.7Gbps and 5.4Gbps bandwidth and HDCP1.3
	DP TX	2	Support two DP TX 1.4a interfaces, multiplexed with USB3.1 Gen1; each DP interface supports 1/2/4 lanes Resolution up to 7680×4320@30Hz (RK3588 Datasheet V1.5) Support HDCP2.3, HDCP 1.3
	MIPI DSI	2	Support dual MIPI DPHY 2.0 or CPHY 1.1，Resolution up to 4K@60Hz Support dual MIPI display in left-right mode, support RGB/YUV formats (up to 10bit)
	BT.1120 video output	≤1	Support RGB format (up to 8bit), data rate up to 150MHz, Maximum resolution up to 1920x1080@60Hz
Audio interface	I2S	≤4	8 lanes I2S0/I2S1：Support TX and RX，Audio resolution 16-32 bit, sampling rate up to 192KHz 2 lanes I2S2/I2S3：Support TX and RX，Audio resolution 16-32 bit, sampling rate up to 192KHz
	SPDIF	≤2	Support 2x 16bit audio data storage Support biphase stereo output
	PDM	≤2	Up to 8 channels, audio resolution 16-24 bit, sampling rate up to 192KHz Support PDM master receive mode
Network port	GMAC	≤2	2 GMACs, provide RGMII / RMII interface Support 10/100/1000Mbps data transfer rate
Communication Interfaces	SDIO	≤1	Support SDIO3.0
	USB 2.0 Host	2	Support dual lanes USB2.0 Host
	SATA	≤3	3 SATA3.0 controllers, multiplexed with PCIe2.0 and USB_HOST2 controllers via PIPE PHY0/1/2 Support eSATA, up to 6Gbps data rate	Combo PIPE PHY0 support：SATA/PCIe2.1 Combo PIPE PHY1 support：SATA/PCIe2.1 Combo PIPE PHY2 support：SATA/PCIe2.1/USB3.1 Gen1
	USB3.1 Gen1	≤3	USB3.1 Gen1 data rates up to 5Gbps Dual lanes USB3.1 OTG， multiplexed with DP TX (USB3OTG_0 and USB3OTG_1)，USB3OTG_0 and USB3OTG_1 support USB Type-C and DP Alt Single lane USB3.1 Host multiplexed with PIPE PHY2 (USB3OTG_2)
	PCIe2.1	≤3	Each PCIe2.1 interface supports 1 lane, up to 5Gbps data rate
	PCIe3.0	≤4	Support RC and EP Support up to 8Gbps data rate per lane Support 4 combination modes: 1 x4 lane, 2 x2 lanes, 4 x1 lanes, 1 x2 lane + 2 x1 lanes
	SPI	≤5	The SoC has up to 5 SPI controllers; SPI2 is reserved for onboard power management. Other controllers require suitable pin multiplexing and carrier-board connections. Each controller supports two chip select outputs Support serial master, serial slave modes, software configurable
	I2C	≤9	The SoC has up to 9 I2C controllers; I2C0 and I2C1 are reserved for onboard power management. Other controllers require suitable pin multiplexing and carrier-board connections. Support 7-bit and 10-bit address modes Standard mode data rate up to 100k bits/s, up to 400k bits/s in fast mode
	UART	≤10	Built-in 2 64bit FIFOs, can be used for TX and RX separately Support 5-bit, 6-bit, 7-bit, 8-bit serial data transmit and receive, baud rate up to 4Mbps 10 UARTs support automatic flow control mode
	CAN	≤3	Support 3 CAN 2.0B channels Support CAN standard and extended frames transmit and receive
Others interface	GPIO	GPIOs	GPIO voltage depends on the I/O power domain. VCCIO1 and VCCIO3 use 1.8V in this design; do not assume all GPIOs are 3.3V. Match the carrier-board logic voltage to each pin domain and use level shifting where needed. All GPIOs can be used to generate interrupts Support level triggered and edge triggered interrupts Support configurable pull-up direction (weak pull-up and weak pull-down)
	ADC	≤7	Support 7 12bit single-ended input SAR-ADCs, sampling rate up to 1MS/s SARADC_IN0 is used for boot-mode selection; SARADC_IN1 is labeled KEY/RECOVERY. Preserve their boot/recovery functions when designing external circuits.
	PWM	≤16	Up to 16 on-chip PWMs, support capture mode PWM3, PWM7, PWM11, PWM15 are optimized for IR applications

info

The interface quantities in the table are the maximum theoretical values for the hardware design or CPU.

Most function pins have multiplexed relationships. For easy configuration, please refer to the Pin Function Table for the LM7.

Onboard bus reservations

When designing a carrier board, reserve the following RK3588 buses for the LM7 module's onboard power-management circuitry:

Bus	Onboard use
I2C0 (M2)	Controls the CPU big-core power regulators (RK860-2 / RK860-3).
I2C1 (M2)	Controls the NPU power regulator (RK860-2).
SPI2 (M2)	Connects to the RK806-1 PMIC via the PMIC_SPI signals.

These buses are reserved for module operation; do not reassign their controllers or pin multiplexing for carrier-board peripherals. Selecting another mux group (M0/M1/M2, etc.) does not create an independent controller.

Other UART, SPI and I2C interfaces must be selected according to the LM7 LGA pin definitions, carrier-board connections and software configuration. A controller that is not reserved onboard is not automatically available on every mux group, and multiplexed interfaces cannot necessarily operate simultaneously. UARTs may also be assigned as a bootloader or Linux debug console.

Documentation note: The information above was checked against the ArmSoM-LM7 V1.1 core-module schematic dated 2023-12-26 (ArmSoM-LM7_1V1_20231226 sch.pdf). This is an internal core-module schematic, not a W3 carrier-board schematic. It has not been publicly released and is not included in the public website or Google Drive downloads. For specific pin assignments or carrier-board design questions, contact ArmSoM technical support.

Development Kit (W3)

ArmSoM-LM7 Development Kit (ArmSoM-W3)

Hardware Interface (W3)

Hardware Interface (W3)

Resources

Source Code

📚

ArmSom-bsp

Building a Linux System

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Armbian

Armbian Linux build framework

📗

W3 kernel

Improved Rockchip Linux

📘

W3 uboot

ArmSoM/u-boot

📘

LM7 mainline linux

torvalds linux

📕

RKNN-LLM

AI models to Rockchip chips

Official Images

ArmSoM provides the following official system images. Select the matching product folder and image version in the shared drive.

The following systems have been tested and verified by ArmSoM officially:

Download link:

Google Drive link

logo	Description	Download
	Debian 12 for LM7 (W3): Debian 12 (Bookworm) system images. Open the matching product folder in the shared drive; available versions and desktop variants are listed there.	Google Drive root folder
	Ubuntu 22.04 LTS for LM7 (W3): Ubuntu 22.04 LTS (Jammy Jellyfish) system images. Select the matching image in the product folder in the shared drive.	Google Drive root folder
	Android12 for LM7 : Android is an open-source operating system based on the Linux kernel, primarily used for mobile devices, tablets, and smartwatches, among other smart devices.	Google Drive root folder

Release Information

View the initial official release announcement for ArmSoM-W3 here: System Release Notice for ArmSoM-W3

Third Party Systems

logo	Description	Download
	Armbian for W3 : Armbian is a computing build framework that allows users to create ready-to-use images with working kernels in variable user space configurations for various single board computers. It provides various pre-build images for some supported boards. These are usually Debian or Ubuntu flavored.	armbian image
	ubuntu-rockchip for W3 : This project aims to provide a default Ubuntu experience for Rockchip RK3588 devices. Get started today with an Ubuntu Server or Desktop image for a familiar environment.	ubuntu-rockchip

LM7 Hardware Resources

LM7 Hardware Resources

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LM7 Pin Function Table

📃

LM7 Package

Development Kit (W3) Resources

📦

Schematics

source files (orcad)

📃

PCB PADS

PCB source files (PADS)

📃

2D

2D CAD files

📃

SMD

components Position Reference of W3

Note

tip

It is not recommended to use the LM7 for 8K display,because the HDMI output 8K places very high layout routing requirements that are basically unachievable with a core board + base board design approach.

Here are some tips for your design reference:

1. A one-piece board design must be adopted.Please pay attention that there is no layer change across the entire HDMI signal path.

2. Strictly follow the hardware reference design guidelines for impedance control, trace length matching, etc.

3. The HDMI connector is required to support HDMI 2.1 protocol ,8K compatible.

Product Certificate

CE / FCC / RoHS

armsom-lm7-ce-fc-rohs

Supply Statement

ArmSoM-LM7 will remain in production until at least January 2035.

Purchase Samples

ArmSoM online shop: https://www.armsom.org/product-page/lm7-development-kit

ArmSoM Aliexpress online shop: https://www.aliexpress.com/item/3256805435700769.html

ArmSoM Taobao shop: https://item.taobao.com/item.htm?id=714003739668

OEM&ODM, please contact: sales@armsom.org

What do others say about the W3 ?

• sbc compare: W3 Benchmark Comparison on sbc.compare

Notes

[Electrostatic Protection]

1. Before handling the device, please ensure you wear an anti-static wrist strap or take electrostatic discharge measures to prevent damage to the development board.
2. Assembly should be performed in an electrostatic-safe environment, avoiding operations in dry and low-humidity conditions.
3. When not in use, store the device in an anti-static bag and keep it in a suitably temperature-controlled, low-humidity environment to prevent static electricity buildup.
4. When handling the device, avoid friction or collisions to prevent the generation of static electricity that could cause damage.
5. When holding the device, try to avoid direct contact with the chips on the mainboard to prevent static damage.
6. Do not plug or unplug wires or other devices while the device is operating to avoid damage from electrical surges.
7. When connecting or disconnecting the GPIO/MIPI expansion interfaces, make sure to turn off the power and disconnect the power cable to prevent damage from electrical current.

[Heat Management]

Without effective cooling measures, the surface temperature of the main chip may exceed 60 degrees. When handling the device, please avoid direct contact with the SoC and surrounding power inductors to prevent burns. Ensure that the environment is well-ventilated during operation to prevent localized heat buildup, which could lead to overheating. Additionally, do not place the device in direct sunlight. It is recommended to choose between the official cooling fan, heat sink, or third-party cooling kits based on specific usage conditions to ensure optimal cooling performance.