The Design Of Laptop Computer Main Board Based On Intel Calpella Platform

As consumer electronics, laptop computers are increasingly popular. In industry, a new generation of laptop computers are developed and marketed annually, the portability, energy saving and performance have been improved.This paper describes the laptop computer main board design based on Calpella platform chipset that Intel Company released in 2010. The Calpella platform which is based on PCH (Platform Controller Hub) architecture is a two-chip design composed of Arrandale Central Processing Unit and Ibex Peak chipset. Compared with the previous three-chip design, there are big improvements in performance, energy saving and system integration in Calpella platform.This paper first introduces the system architecture of Calpella platform, and the design of modules based on this architecture: processor module, chipset module, embedded controller module, power supply module and so on, describes the main functions and design parameters of these modules, and analyzes some newly added auxiliary functions in detail, such as peripheral devices power-off when not used in battery mode, system standby breathing lamp, etc. Then introduces the requirements of the high speed signal integrity and EMC design in main board design, analyzes the causes, the influences when the requirements are not satisfied, gives the solutions on how to arrange the layout of the devices and wiring of the signals. This paper presents the test data and analyses of the power sources and the signals of the main interfaces, the results show that the laptop computer main board designed based on Calpella platform comply with the design requirements. The paper summarizes the whole design process of the main board, provides a beneficial reference for the design of new laptop computers in the future, and discusses the future of laptop computer industry.The laptop computer main board designed based on Calpella platform in this paper has the characteristic of low power consumption, high efficiency, etc. In a short period the laptop computer successfully mass production and marketed, controlled the cost, improved the performance-price ratio, the feedback of the market shows it has strong competitiveness compared with similar products.