What is it?

CircuitPython on an ARM Cortex M0 in 1 square inch! This fully assembled “Just Add Solder” castellated module is perfect for incorporating into your own project. The CircuitBrains Basic board footprint is small enough to fit into narrow spaces and wearable projects. Skip on all the tedious work of adding a 32-bit microcontroller to your next project. We’ve taken care of the tough work of pin mappings, power & decoupling layout, clock, flash, assembly, bootloader, and firmware. All you need to do is drop a footprint into your next PCB design project, connect your peripherals and USB connector, then solder it on and write your code.

Why did you make it?

Rolling your own microcontroller board is time consuming. You have to make sure your design has proper power, decoupling, flash storage, and clock. Then you source all of the parts. After that you lay out the PCB and have it fabricated. When the PCB and parts arrive, you have to deal with finicky small-pitch surface mount assembly. Finally, you need to download the sources for the UF2 bootloader and CircuitPython and define your board, compile, and flash. CircuitBrains Deluxe aims to save makers and hackers some time & frustration. Using it in your project is as simple as importing the footprint libraries, adding those libraries to your schematic and layout (along with your USB port of choice), and soldering it on once your board arrives.

What makes it special?

Lots of I/O in a tiny solder-on package! All available I/O pins on the SAMD21 are available for use in your project. In addition, if you don't want to use SPI or I2C, you can use those pins as digital I/O pins. There's also 4 MB of flash on this board, all of it yours to use in your project for CircuitPython code and media.

Specs:

• Dimensions: 25 x 25 x 3.5 millimeters / 1 x 1 x 0.15 inches
• Atmel ATSAMD21E18 Microcontroller (32-bit ARM Cortex M0)
  • 48 MHz
  • 32 KB SRAM
  • 256 KB Flash
• 4 MB SPI Flash
• 600 mA 3.3V LDO Regulator
• Power and Status LEDs
• Breakouts for SPI and I2C
• Breakouts for 4 Analog and 8 Digital Inputs/Outputs