COM Express
COM Express, defined by the PCI Industrial Computer Manufactures Group (PICMG), is the most successful Computer-On-Module (COM) standard in the embedded market today. COM Express employs a mezzanine-based approach, whereby an off-the-shelve module with two 220-pin board-to-board connectors, plugs into a custom, application-specific carrier board.
The COM Express form factor defines mini-, compact-, basic-, and extended-size modules. Each size focuses on specific application areas and power envelopes.
COM Express Types
- TYPE 6
Basic / Compact
Learn More - TYPE 7
Basic
Learn More - TYPE 10
Mini
Learn More - TYPE 2
Basic / Compact
Learn More
Note that earlier module types — COM Express Type 1, Type 2, Type 3, Type 4, and Type 5 — are considered legacy and no longer recommend for new designs. Nevertheless, ADLINK still actively supports Type 2 for customers tied to legacy designs.
| Type | Connectors | PCIe lanes | PEG | PCI | SATA | PATA IDE | LAN | Video | Serial | USB | Note | |
| 1 | AB only | 6 | No | No | 4 | Yes | 1 GbE | LVDS, VGA | Legacy | |||
| 2 | AB & CD | 22 | Yes | Yes | 4 | Yes | 1 GbE | PEG/SDVO,LVDS, VGA | Legacy | |||
| 3 | AB & CD | 22 | Yes | Yes | 4 | Yes | 3 GbE | PEG/SDVO, LVDS, VGA | Legacy | |||
| 4 | AB & CD | 32 | Yes | No | 4 | Yes | 1 GbE | PEG/SDVO, LVDS, VGA | Legacy | |||
| 5 | AB & CD | 32 | Yes | No | 4 | Yes | 3 GbE | PEG/SDVO, LVDS, VGA | Legacy | |||
| 6 | AB & CD | 24 | Yes | No | 4 | No | 1 GbE | 3 x DDI, VGA LVDS/eDP / Option for USB 4 | 2x RX/TX, GP_SPI, CAN | 4x USB 3.2/2.0 4x USB 2.0 | ||
| 7 | AB & CD | 32 | Yes | Yes | 2 | No | 4x 10G (CEI side-band) 1 GbE | None | 2x RX/TX or CAN | 4x USB 3.2/2.0 4x USB 2.0 | ||
| 10 | AB only | 4 | No | No | 2 | No | 1 GbE | 1x DDI, LVDS | 2x RX/TX, GP_SPI, CAN | 4x USB 3.2/2.0 |
* GbE as defined by COM.0 R3.1 has been extended to allow support for up to 2.5/5/10 Gbps (optional).
* Optional MIPI-CSI support has been added by COM.0 R3.1 and is dependent on module vendor.
COM Express supports all modern interfaces
COM Express’ wide market acceptance
The COM Express standard has found widespread adoption by even tier 1 industrial players and can be found in numerous and highly diverse applications in a wide range of fields.
Medical
Gaming
Test and Measurement
Robotics
Logistics
“Over the years, ADLINK has been a driving force behind the development of the COM Express® specification at PICMG”
The success of COM Express in the embedded market is a result of the broad respect given to the PICMG consortium. PICMG has been responsible for many other widely accepted standard form factors in the embedded industry. Over the years, ADLINK has played a leading role in the PICMG COM.0 (COM Express) subcommittee. For more than 10 years, the PICMG COM.0 subcommittee was chaired by ADLINK and the development of the specification has benefited greatly from the considerable efforts of ADLINK’s team of technical contributors.
COM Express Form Factors
The PICMG COM.0 COM Express specification defines 4 form factors.
55 × 84 mm (2.2 × 3.3 in)
95 × 95 mm (3.7 × 3.7 in)
95 × 125 mm (3.7 × 4.9 in)
110 × 155 mm (4.3 × 6.1 in)
COM Express Cooling and Thermal Design
ADLINK offers four standard thermal solutions for fast product development and integration, including heatspreader, passive heatsink, and actively cooled solution with integrated fan. Custom, application-specific thermal solutions are also offered.
COM Express Carrier Boards and Starter Kits
ADLINK offers a wide selection of COM Express carrier boards and development kits for faster and hassle-free product development, as well as a custom carrier board & system integration service.
