Hardware development · Service 01

Electronics development and PCB design in Switzerland

Fermium designs custom electronics from the first schematic to the manufacturing handover: multi-layer and HDI boards, high-speed digital interfaces and EMC-compliant layouts for new products, cost-down projects and redesigns after component obsolescence.

What we do

PCB design from schematic to manufacturing data

Every board is designed for the line it will be built on. Stack-up, critical components and test points are agreed before the layout starts, with your PCB and assembly suppliers in the loop.

01

Multi-layer and HDI boards

Boards with 20 and more layers, HDI stack-ups with microvias and via-in-pad, impedance-controlled and agreed with the PCB manufacturer before the layout starts.

02

High-speed digital

PCIe, USB 3.x and DDR3 to DDR5 memory interfaces with controlled impedance, length matching and signal integrity checks where the margins require them.

03

MCU, SoC and FPGA boards

Processor boards around STM32, TI, NXP and Microchip microcontrollers, AMD Zynq and Intel SoC FPGAs: power sequencing, clocking, memory and the interfaces around them.

04

Flex, rigid-flex and special substrates

Flex and rigid-flex boards for compact assemblies, Rogers laminates for RF sections and metal-core boards for LED and power electronics.

05

EMC-compliant design

Layout, filtering and shielding planned for CE and FCC from the schematic, with pre-compliance measurements before the certification lab.

06

Design for manufacturing and cost reduction

DFM review before every production release, component standardisation, second sources and cost-down redesigns, coordinated with your PCB and assembly suppliers.

Technologies

Platforms and interfaces we design boards for

Microcontrollers

  • STM32 Cortex-M0 to M7
  • TI MSP430
  • TI C2000
  • NXP LPC / Kinetis / i.MX RT
  • Microchip PIC / AVR / SAM

SoC and FPGA hardware

  • AMD Zynq-7000
  • AMD UltraScale+ MPSoC
  • Intel Cyclone V
  • Intel Arria / Stratix 10
  • Efinix

High-speed interfaces

  • PCIe
  • USB 3.x
  • DDR3 / DDR4 / DDR5
  • MIPI CSI-2
  • LVDS / SerDes

Process

From requirements to manufacturing data

Every phase ends with a deliverable you can review: an agreed specification, a schematic, a measured prototype, release-ready production data.

  1. 01

    Requirements

    Interfaces, power budget, environmental conditions, standards, cost target and quantities written down and agreed.

  2. 02

    Architecture

    Block diagram, component selection with second sources, stack-up and power concept, EMC and mechanical constraints.

  3. 03

    Schematic and layout

    Schematic, controlled-impedance layout, DFM review with the PCB manufacturer and release of the prototype data.

  4. 04

    Bring-up and verification

    Board bring-up, power and signal integrity measurements, EMC pre-compliance and functional tests against the requirements.

  5. 05

    Manufacturing handover

    Production data, assembly drawings, BOM with approved alternatives and test points documented for series production.

Questions before a project

What engineering managers ask about hardware development

Do you design high-speed boards with PCIe, USB 3.x and DDR memory?

Yes. Controlled-impedance stack-ups, length-matched differential pairs, DDR3 to DDR5 memory interfaces, PCIe and USB 3.x are standard scope. Signal integrity is measured on the prototype during verification.

How do you handle EMC compliance for CE and FCC?

EMC is planned in the schematic and the layout: filtering, grounding, shielding and the placement of critical parts. Before the certification lab we run pre-compliance measurements and resolve findings on the prototype, not on the production board.

Can you redesign an existing board when a component becomes obsolete?

Yes. Drop-in replacement selection, redesign for current components, cost reduction through component consolidation and alternative sourcing, and long-term availability planning. External interfaces and form factor stay unchanged where the product requires it.

What do we receive at the end of a hardware project?

Schematics, layout data, manufacturing data, the bill of materials with approved alternatives, test reports and documentation. The design files belong to you at handover; Fermium keeps no rights to the product-specific design.

Contact

Discuss your embedded project

Describe the device, the stage you are at and what you need. An engineer reads every inquiry and replies personally.

What do you need?

Your message goes directly to an engineer. Reply within [2] working days.

Patrick Walther

Founder

Fermium GmbH
Hardeggweg 3
3326 Krauchthal, Switzerland
Fermium GmbH, Hardeggweg 3, 3326 Krauchthal, Switzerland