All the power of freeSoC, in a 40-pin DIP form factor.

Imagine having the power of an FPGA, the flexibility of a microcontroller, and a handful of precision analog components all integrated into a single development kit. With freeSoC, one chip does it all. Harnessing the power of the powerful PSoC 5 microcontroller, freeSoC is the platform for the maker generation.

Design your Hardware, in Software.

PSoC Creator, the free IDE for freeSoC enables you to build your hardware functionality graphically, without grabbing any hookup wire. Need a 16 channel multiplexer? Just drag and drop. Need a couple op-amps to buffer that high-impedance signal? Drag and drop. Want to put USB in your design? Drag and drop.

Free yourself from fixed functionality.

freeSoC has a flexible array of Universal Digital Blocks, not unlike an FPGA. Rather than implementing I2C or SPI as a fixed function peripheral, like most microcontrollers, each time you add a digital component to your block diagram, the component is synthesized in verilog when the project is compiled. This means you can assign your SPI bus to any combination of pins on your board. Need 12 SPI masters? No problem. 6 I2C busses? freeSoC has you covered.

Any Pin, Any Purpose

With freeSoC, you can use any GPIO pin for any function. Need 16 SPI controllers? No Problem. 24 PWMs? freeSoC has you covered. How many other microcontrollers on the market can act as a 32 channel analog multiplexer?

Debug like a Pro

Using the free PSoC Creator software, you can easily debug your designs directly from your computer. Just like visual studio, or any other modern IDE, you can set breakpoints, break conditions, watched variables, and more!

Made by Hobbyists, Made for Hobbyists

Unlike the Cypress Semiconductor PSoC development kits, freeSoC is geared around the needs of hobbyists. With an Arduino compatible pinout and five 10-pin expansion ports, freeSoC has the flexibility you need.

Open Hardware

freeSoC's board layouts and schematics are released under a CC-BY-SA license. Download them here and create your own design today!

Free Software

Download PSoC Creator today! It's completely free, and you can get it now! Don't wait til your freeSoC board arrives to begin designing, just download the software, play around with it for a few minutes, and you'll be hooked.

Tech Specs

CPU

32-bit Arm Cortex M3

The Cortex M3 MCU in freeSoC offers DC to 67MHz Operation, 256KB Flash Memory, and 64KB SRAM, more than enough for your most complex projects. Hardware multiply and divide operations ensure you'll never be limited by your microcontroller's capabilities.

A graphically configurable external memory interface allows you to expand the storage of your device with up to 1GB of external memory, directly mapped in the 4GB address space of the Cortex M3.

Analog

Dual SAR ADCs

Dual 12-bit, 700ksps SAR ADCs offer unparalleled speed in conversion, even for the most demanding applications

Delta Sigma ADC

The onboard Delta Sigma ADC can be used at any resolution from 20 bits to 8 bits. At 20 bits of resolution, it offers 180 sps, useful for thermocouples or strain gauges. At 16 bits, it will convert at 48000 sps, perfect for audio applications. At 8 bits, it will convert at 384ksps, almost equaling the SAR ADC in conversion speed.

Quad 8-bit DACs

Quad 5.5Msps IDACs allow for extremely fast, extremely precise digital to analog conversion. IDACs can be configured as current sources or current sinks. Alternatively, you can configure them as voltage DACs, for a speed of 1Msps on each DAC.

Quad Comparators

Four built in comparators can be routed to any analog component.

Quad Rail-to-Rail OpAmps

Four OpAmps, spec'd at 3MHz GBW and 10mA drive, can be used to buffer any incoming analog signal, or you can directly connect them to external components in your design. OpAmp outputs can be used through dedicated pins for full current capability, or routed to any internal signal or external pin on the freeSoC.

CapSense

Capacitive Sensing on all GPIO, Sliders, Buttons, and more. Cypress in a leader in capacitive sensing technology, and provides a built in auto-configuration utility, so you can easily implement your capacitive sensing design without the headache of manually configuring the sensitivity.

Quad Multifunction Analog Blocks

These multifunction analog blocks can be configured as programmable gain amplifier, transimpedance amplifier, or for sample and hold. Need a precision current measurement from your photodiode? Just plug it straight into freeSoC, run it through a transimpedance amplifier, pump up the gain with a PGA, and use your delta-sigma ADC for a 20-bit conversion.

Advanced I/O Routing Network

Route any analog peripheral to any GPIO pin on freeSoC. Use your freeSoC as a 32 channel analog multiplexer. Or a 16-channel differential mux. Inputs and outputs both can be routed to any GPIO on the PSoC.

All GPIO can be configured as high-impedance analog, high-impedance digital, open drain (both source and sink configurations), resistive pull up, resistive pull down, or strong drive.

Digital

24 PLD based Universal Digital Blocks (UDBs)

These are the heart of freeSoC's digital flexibility. Can be configured graphically with built in components like PWM, SPI, I2C, LIN, CAN, SPDIF, I2S, Quadrature Decoders, Counters, CRC, and standard digital logic gates.

OR, roll your own components with verilog, tie them into your block diagram like any other component, and get hardware-accelerated speed for your custom digital application. It's like having a built-in FPGA without all the hassle of having an FPGA.

Full Speed USB

A full speed USB transceiver is built in to freeSoC. Graphically configure your USB endpoint and device descriptors. PSoC Creator has built in support for Audio Descriptors, HID, MIDI, UART, and more. Don't waste your time reading the USB spec, just drag and drop and you're done. freeSoC has a built in 24MHz oscillator for full USB compliance.

Built-in Timer, PWM, and Counter Components

In addition to the flexible UDBs, freeSoC has four dedicated 16-bit counter/timer blocks, and four dedicated 16-bit PWM blocks. These can be used without using any of the UDB blocks, and can also be routed to any pin on the freeSoC.

Real-time Clock

The freeSoC includes a real-time clock crystal running at 32.768kHz. Use this with the built-in RTC component in PSoC Creator to instantly create a digital clock, with built-in methods for generating year/month/day/hour/minute/second data.

DMA

PSoC Creator lets you configure DMA channels graphically. You can use any digital signal as a trigger for a DMA request, and totally bypass the CPU bottleneck for ultra-high bandwidth applications.

Special I/O

Each board has 8 special I/O pins that can be used for high-current drive applications.

Miscellaneous

All boards are RoHS compliant, and made in the USA.