

Cryptostick
Hardware design of the Nitrokey Pro device
- Size
- 21.8 × 16.3 mm
- Copper layers
- 2
- Thickness
- 1 mm
- Parts
- 37
- Nets
- 35
- Pads
- 150
- Tracks, vias
- 413, 42
- Pours
- 6
- Routed
- Yes
- KiCad
- KiCad 9.0 (file 20241229)
- Created
- 17 Nov 2014
- Updated
- 11 May 2026
Overview
Cryptostick is an open-source printed circuit board by Nitrokey, from the Nitrokey/nitrokey-pro-hardware repository on GitHub. It is a 2-layer board of 21.8 × 16.3 mm with 37 parts on 35 nets, routed with 413 tracks and 42 vias.
It is built around the STM32F103TBU6 and DF5A5.6JE,LM. Its parts include 11 capacitors, 8 resistors, 8 connectors, 3 ICs and 1 diode. It belongs with the STM32 boards of this library.
Main components
2STM32F103TBU6
VFQFPN36(6x6)-40℃~+85℃ 128KB 12bit 20KB 26 2V~3.6V 32 Bit 72MHz ARM Cortex-M3 Built-in FLASH VFQFPN36(6x6) Microcontrollers (MCU/MPU/SOC) ROHSSTMicroelectronicsMicrocontrollers (MCU/MPU/SOC)DF5A5.6JE,LM
SOT-553-51uA 2.5V 5.3V 65pF ESD IEC 61000-4-2 SOT-553-5 ESD and Surge Protection (TVS/ESD) ROHSToshibaESD And Surge Protection (TVS/ESD)
README
README.mdNitrokey Pro PCB Design
Nitrokey Pro is a USB 32-bit computer with STM32F103 processor and an OpenPGP smart card. It has a minimalistic design, the MCU is running at 72MHz, and it has a SWD port for main flash ROM update.
This is Nitrokey PCB design for KiCAD, based on Niibe Yutaka's Flying Stone Tiny 01 (FST-01).
Files
README: This file
BOM.csv Part list including Digikey product number.
ChangeLog: History of this project
cryptostick.pro: Project file of KiCAD
cryptostick.sch: Schematic
cryptostick.cmp: Component
cryptostick.net: Netlist
cryptostick.stf: Component and Module
cryptostick.brd: PCB design
library: schematic library
module: footprint modules for PCB
fabrication: Gerber files of the PCB
datasheet: Datasheets of partsNote that files under datasheet directory is copyrighted by vendors.
Revisions
| Revision | MCU |
|---|---|
| 1 | ST STM32F103TB |
| 2 | ST STM32F103TB |
| 3 | ST STM32F103TB |
| 4 | ST 32F103B7 |
| 5 | GigaDevice GD32F103CB |
| 6 | ST STM32F103TB |
Terms and conditions
This work is based on Niibe Yutaka's Flying Stone Tiny 01 (FST-01) PCB Design.
I would like to ask users to keep the design as "Open Hardware". See the page for the definition of "Open Hardware": http://www.opencollector.org/Whyfree/open_hardware.html
Nevertheless, schematic design is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (CC BY 3.0). See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Schematic design can be used for any purpose and you don't need to open your modifications to my design.
For PCB, it is distributed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0). See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
External modules
For module/SMT_CAP.mod and module/SMT_RES.mod, module drawings are copied from w_smd_cap.mod and w_smd_resistors.mod by W.Lain. Files are available at: http://smisioto.no-ip.org/elettronica/kicad/kicad-en.htm
Its copyright notice is like following:
Kicad Library by W. Lain - kcswalter@member.fsf.org
This library is released under the terms of the Creative Commons license v3.0, Attribution-Share Alike.
The author holds no responsibility for any damage that can be caused by the usage of this library. You are however welcome to report any error or discrepance to the author, provided that you give also the correct information and its source (i.e. the correct datasheet).
Note that the author used publicly available data sheets from many different companies, and that package dimensions, pin numeration and schematic symbols may vary slightly between companies.
Flashing
For instructions on flashing the device please have a look at the Nitrokey Pro firmware repo.
Parts
37| Qty | Value | Footprint | References |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 0.1uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric | C3, C4, C5, C6, C7, C8 |
| 5 | debug-pin | footprints:Prog_Pad_Circular | p1, p2, p3, p5, p6 |
| 3 | Fiducial_0.5mm_Dia_1mm_Outer | footprints:Fiducial_0.5mm_Dia_1mm_Outer | FID1, FID2, FID4 |
| 2 | 10k | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R3, R4 |
| 2 | 22 | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R5, R6 |
| 2 | 27pF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric | C1, C2 |
| 2 | 4.7uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric | C9, C11 |
| 2 | 510 | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R1, R2 |
| 1 | 0.01uF | Capacitor_SMD:C_0402_1005Metric | C10 |
| 1 | 1.5k | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R7 |
| 1 | 12MHz | ABM8G | X1 |
| 1 | 20k | Resistor_SMD:R_0402_1005Metric | R8 |
| 1 | CAT6217-330 | Package_TO_SOT_SMD:TSOT-23-5 | U2 |
| 1 | CONN_4 | SIL-2-2-drilled-offset | JT1 |
| 1 | DF5A5.6JE | Package_TO_SOT_SMD:SOT-553 | U3 |
| 1 | DUAL_LED | KPHBM-2012SURKCGKC | D1 |
| 1 | Fiducial_0.5mm_Dia_1mm_Outer | Fiducial:Fiducial_0.5mm_Dia_1mm_Outer | FID3 |
| 1 | PROG_VCC | footprints:Prog_Pad_Circular | p4 |
| 1 | SIM_JACKET | molex78646-3001 | J1 |
| 1 | STM32F103TB | Package_DFN_QFN:QFN-36-1EP_6x6mm_P0.5mm_EP4.1x4.1mm_ThermalVias | U1 |
| 1 | USB_A | USB-A-PLUG | J2 |
Questions
How big is the Cryptostick PCB?
It measures 21.8 × 16.3 mm and has 2 copper layers, 1 mm thick.
What parts does the Cryptostick use?
37 parts, built around the STM32F103TBU6 and DF5A5.6JE,LM. The full list of its parts is on this page, with links to each part's symbol and footprint where PCBKit's library has them.
Where can I download the Cryptostick KiCad files?
From the Nitrokey/nitrokey-pro-hardware repository on GitHub, at the commit this page was made from: the board is src/cryptostick.kicad_pcb and its schematic src/cryptostick.kicad_sch. PCBKit opens the board in the browser, with nothing to install.
Can I use the Cryptostick design in my own project?
Its repository states no licence, so its author keeps all rights: ask Nitrokey before reusing the design.
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