NXP Unveils Affordable MCX MCU Series

NXP has expanded its MCX A microcontroller series, which was initially announced in 2022. The 'A' series serves as the lower-cost branch of the MCX family and, like other MCX MCUs, is built around an Arm Cortex-M33 core, specifically the security-enabled M3.

The first components introduced in this series are the MCX A14x (48MHz core) and MCX A15x (96MHz core), available in LQFP and QFN packages with 32 to 64 pads. According to NXP, these devices support brushless DC and permanent magnet synchronous motor control, and integrate I3C, I2C, and SPI sensor interfaces. The MCX A series will continue to expand throughout 2024, offering various package and memory options, including up to 1Mbyte flash.

One notable feature of these microcontrollers is the ability of certain peripherals to operate autonomously, reducing power consumption by the CPU. These peripherals include serial communications (buffers, programmable data collection range, and DMA), a 4Msample/s 12-bit ADC (with hardware windowing and averaging), DAC, op-amp (with averaging and peak detection), PWM (with three output pairs and dead-time control), and an encoder for motor applications.

For development purposes, NXP provides the FRDM-MCXA153 board, which is supported by the company's MCUXpresso ecosystem of software and tools. Developers can choose to work with either MCUXpresso for Visual Studio Code or the Eclipse-based MCUXpresso IDE from NXP. Additionally, IDEs from IAR and Keil, which offer safety certification, are also compatible. NXP offers drivers, middleware, examples, and tools for device configuration and security. FreeRTOS and Zephyr are also supported.

The MCX A processors are expected to find applications in various fields, including industrial sensors, motor control, battery management, and IoT devices.

For more information on the MCX A processors, visit the NXP website.