Complete Guide to Designing Custom Carrier Boards for NVIDIA Jetson Modules
The edge AI hardware market is surging toward $58.90 billion by 2030, and NVIDIA Jetson modules sit at the center of this transformation. These powerful System-on-Modules (SoMs) deliver exceptional AI performance, but they need custom carrier boards to unlock their full potential for production applications. Whether you're building autonomous robots, industrial vision systems, or smart city infrastructure, understanding carrier board design fundamentals is your pathway to success.
What is a Custom Carrier Board and Why Do You Need One?
A custom carrier board serves as the foundation connecting your NVIDIA Jetson module to real-world applications. Think of the Jetson module as a powerful computer brain containing the GPU, CPU, and AI accelerators. The carrier board acts as the body, providing power regulation, input/output interfaces, peripheral connectivity, and physical mounting for deployment.
Unlike development kits with fixed interfaces, custom carrier boards include exactly the connectors and features your application requires. This approach reduces physical footprint and cost per unit—critical factors for production deployments. The modular design lets you upgrade processing power by swapping Jetson modules without redesigning your entire system, providing excellent future-proofing for evolving AI workloads.
Selecting the Right Jetson Module
Before designing your carrier board, choosing the appropriate Jetson module is essential. The family ranges from the entry-level Nano (472 GFLOPS) to the powerful AGX Orin (275 TOPS). The Jetson Orin Nano has become particularly popular, offering compelling balance between AI performance (up to 40 TOPS) and power efficiency (7-15W).
Each module uses standardized connectors—260-pin SO-DIMM or board-to-board—ensuring mechanical compatibility. Power requirements vary significantly: Nano operates on 5V, while AGX Orin supports both 5V and 19V depending on performance mode. Your carrier board power architecture must accommodate these specific demands, including proper sequencing during startup.
Essential Design Specifications
NVIDIA provides comprehensive design guides through their Developer portal containing critical pinout assignments, electrical specifications, and routing requirements. Following these guidelines prevents costly errors and ensures reliable operation.
Your carrier board must implement three essential subsystems: the power tree, clock tree, and reset tree. The power tree regulates incoming voltage (typically 12V) and distributes it with proper sequencing. Most designs step down to 5V for the module, with additional regulators providing 3.3V and 1.8V for peripherals.
Mechanical considerations require precise attention. Board-to-board connectors need accurate alignment, mounting holes must be positioned correctly, and standoffs should support the module from underneath. Keep-out zones around module edges prevent interference with heat sinks and components.
Power Management Architecture
Robust power management ranks among the most critical design aspects. Jetson modules typically draw 2-4A peak current on the 5V rail, with transient spikes during AI workloads. Your power supply must handle these peaks without voltage droops that cause instability.
Professional designs incorporate PMICs or discrete voltage regulators with current ratings at least 150% of maximum load. Switching regulators offer better efficiency than linear types, especially for battery-powered applications. The SYS_RESET signal from the module coordinates power sequencing for carrier board peripherals, preventing damage during startup.
Input protection should include reverse polarity protection, overvoltage clamping, and inrush current limiting. TVS diodes clamp voltage spikes while Schottky diodes prevent reverse polarity damage—essential safeguards for field deployment.
High-Speed Interface Design
Signal integrity determines design reliability. Jetson modules support PCIe Gen 3, USB 3.0, Gigabit Ethernet, and MIPI CSI camera interfaces—all requiring careful PCB layout. Differential pairs must maintain controlled impedance (typically 90-100Ω) with minimal length mismatch.
USB routing presents specific challenges. USB 2.0 signals require 90Ω differential impedance, while USB 3.0 needs 90Ω differential and 45Ω single-ended. Route differential pairs symmetrically on the same layer, keeping them far from clock lines and noise sources.
Camera interfaces use MIPI CSI-2 lanes reaching 1.5 Gbps per lane. Route these signals on inner layers with continuous ground planes above and below for electromagnetic interference mitigation. Ethernet requires proper magnetic isolation and RJ45 connector placement with RGMII signal length matching.
Peripheral Integration
Your carrier board should accommodate application-specific peripherals. USB hubs expand available ports beyond module capabilities. GPIO expansion headers (40-pin is standard) provide flexibility for sensors and custom circuits, though voltage level shifting may be necessary between 1.8V and 3.3V signals.
Storage options typically include M.2 slots for NVMe SSDs or SD card sockets. PCIe lanes support NVMe drives for fast boot and ample AI model storage. Wireless connectivity often integrates through M.2 Key E slots supporting Wi-Fi/Bluetooth modules with proper antenna placement away from RF interference sources.
Thermal Management
AI workloads generate significant heat. Jetson modules specify maximum junction temperatures around 95-97°C with thermal throttling if exceeded. Passive cooling using aluminum heat sinks works for moderate workloads, while active cooling with PWM-controlled fans becomes necessary for sustained high performance.
Board-level thermal management matters too. High-current power regulators need copper pours or heat sinks. Thermal vias under power components conduct heat to inner layers. Strategic component placement keeps heat sources away from temperature-sensitive circuits.
PCB Fabrication Considerations
Four-layer boards work for many designs, with power/ground on inner layers and signals on outer layers. Six or eight-layer stackups become necessary for dense routing or tight size constraints. Impedance control requires coordination with your PCB manufacturer—specify trace widths based on your stackup to achieve target impedances.
Component selection impacts reliability and cost. Industrial-temperature-range parts (-40°C to +85°C) suit harsh environments, while consumer-grade suffices for controlled conditions. Design for manufacturability (DFM) maintains minimum trace widths compatible with manufacturer capabilities and includes fiducial marks for automated assembly.
Software Integration
Hardware represents only half the challenge. Jetson Linux driver support requires device tree configuration matching your carrier board. NVIDIA provides reference device trees for development kits as starting points. You'll modify these to reflect your specific configuration—enabling/disabling interfaces, adjusting pin multiplexing, and configuring GPIO assignments.
JetPack SDK bundles the operating system, drivers, and AI frameworks, though custom boards require careful BSP attention. Testing should verify all interfaces work correctly and thermal monitoring reports accurate values.
Testing and Validation
Thorough testing catches issues before production. Start with visual inspection and continuity checks, then verify voltage rails under power. Functional testing exercises each interface systematically—display output, USB enumeration, Ethernet connectivity, and camera functionality.
Run stress tests with AI workloads to verify thermal performance and power stability under maximum load. Monitor temperatures at multiple points to identify hot spots. Compliance testing ensures your design meets FCC, EMI, and ESD standards where required.
From Prototype to Production
Build 5-10 prototype boards for initial testing and software development. This phase reveals design issues requiring revision—typically power supply adjustments, trace routing modifications, or connector relocations. Well-researched designs often work on first iteration, though planning for one revision cycle is prudent.
Production scaling requires attention to manufacturing yield and cost optimization. Component costs decrease with volume, and alternate sourcing provides supply chain resilience. Consider whether domestic production's faster turnaround outweighs overseas manufacturing's lower costs for your volumes.
Conclusion
Designing custom carrier boards for NVIDIA Jetson modules combines electrical engineering fundamentals with edge AI application requirements. Success requires understanding power management, mastering high-speed PCB routing, and coordinating hardware with software configuration. The modular approach allows prototyping with development kits before transitioning to custom boards optimized for your application.
For organizations at Think Robotics, we've successfully designed custom carrier boards for clients like Bipolar Factory's NVIDIA Orin Nano development kit and Sima.ai's edge computing applications. Our experience with industrial hardware design ensures first-pass success, reducing development time and cost.
The investment in custom carrier board development delivers reduced size, lower cost, and exactly the features your product requires—transforming Jetson modules from development platforms into production-ready solutions.