.. zephyr:board:: mcx_n9xx_evk

Overview

MCX-N9XX-EVK is a full featured evaluation kit for prototyping of MCX N94 / N54 MCUs. They offer industry standard headers for access to the MCU’s I/Os, integrated open-standard serial interfaces and an on-board MCU-Link debugger with power measurement capability. MCX N Series are high-performance, low-power microcontrollers with intelligent peripherals and accelerators providing multi-tasking capabilities and performance efficiency.

Hardware

MCX-N947 Dual Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller running at 150 MHz
2MB dual-bank on chip Flash
512 KB RAM
External Quad SPI flash over FlexSPI
USB high-speed (Host/Device) with on-chip HS PHY.
USB full-speed (Host/Device) with on-chip FS PHY.
10x LP Flexcomms each supporting SPI, I2C, UART
FlexCAN with FD, I3Cs, SAI
1x Ethernet with QoS
On-board MCU-Link debugger with CMSIS-DAP
Arduino Header, FlexIO/LCD Header, mikroBUS, M.2

For more information about the MCX-N947 SoC and MCX-N9XX-EVK board, see:

MCX-N947 SoC Website_
MCX-N947 Datasheet_
MCX-N947 Reference Manual_
MCX-N9XX-EVK Website_
MCX-N9XX-EVK Board User Manual_
MCX-N9XX-EVK Schematics_

Supported Features

.. zephyr:board-supported-hw::

Shields for Supported Features

Some features in the table above are tested with Zephyr shields. These shields are tested on this board:

:ref:lcd_par_s035 - supports the Display interface. This board uses the MIPI_DBI interface of the shield, connected to the FlexIO on-chip peripheral.

Dual Core samples

+-----------+-------------------+----------------------+ | Core | Boot Address | Comment | +===========+===================+======================+ | CPU0 | 0x10000000[1856K] | primary core flash | +-----------+-------------------+----------------------+ | CPU1 | 0x101d0000[192K] | secondary core flash | +-----------+-------------------+----------------------+

+----------+------------------+-----------------------+ | Memory | Address[Size] | Comment | +==========+==================+=======================+ | srama | 0x20000000[320k] | CPU0 ram | +----------+------------------+-----------------------+ | sramg | 0x20050000[64k] | CPU1 ram | +----------+------------------+-----------------------+ | sramh | 0x20060000[32k] | Shared memory | +----------+------------------+-----------------------+

Targets available

The default configuration file :zephyr_file:boards/nxp/mcx_nx4x_evk/mcx_n9xx_evk_mcxn947_cpu0_defconfig only enables the first core. CPU0 is the only target that can run standalone.

CPU1 does not work without CPU0 enabling it.

To enable CPU1, create System Build application project and enable the second core with config :kconfig:option:CONFIG_SECOND_CORE_MCUX.

Please have a look at some already enabled samples:

:zephyr:code-sample:ipc-static-vrings
:zephyr:code-sample:openamp
:zephyr:code-sample:mbox
:zephyr:code-sample:mbox_data

Connections and IOs

The MCX-N947 SoC has 6 gpio controllers and has pinmux registers which can be used to configure the functionality of a pin.

System Clock

The MCX-N947 SoC is configured to use PLL0 running at 150MHz as a source for the system clock.

Serial Port

The MCX-N9XX-EVK SoC has 10 FLEXCOMM interfaces for serial communication. Flexcomm 4 is configured as UART for the console.

Ethernet

To use networking samples with the Ethernet jack, change jumper JP13 to pins 2-3.

Programming and Debugging

Build and flash applications as usual (see :ref:build_an_application and :ref:application_run for more details).

Configuring a Debug Probe

A debug probe is used for both flashing and debugging the board. This board is configured by default to use the MCU-Link CMSIS-DAP Onboard Debug Probe.

Using LinkServer

LinkServer is the default runner for this board, and supports the factory default MCU-Link firmware. Follow the instructions in :ref:mcu-link-cmsis-onboard-debug-probe to reprogram the default MCU-Link firmware. This only needs to be done if the default onboard debug circuit firmware was changed. To put the board in ISP mode to program the firmware, short jumper JP24.

Using J-Link

There are two options. The onboard debug circuit can be updated with Segger J-Link firmware by following the instructions in :ref:mcu-link-jlink-onboard-debug-probe. To be able to program the firmware, you need to put the board in ISP mode by shortening the jumper JP24. The second option is to attach a :ref:jlink-external-debug-probe to the 20-pin SWD connector (J11) of the board. Additionally, the jumper JP6 must be shorted. For both options use the -r jlink option with west to use the jlink runner.

.. code-block:: console

west flash -r jlink

Configuring a Console

Connect a USB cable from your PC to J5, and use the serial terminal of your choice (minicom, putty, etc.) with the following settings:

Speed: 115200
Data: 8 bits
Parity: None
Stop bits: 1

Flashing

Here is an example for the :zephyr:code-sample:hello_world application.

.. zephyr-app-commands:: :zephyr-app: samples/hello_world :board: mcx_n9xx_evk/mcxn947/cpu0 :goals: flash

Open a serial terminal, reset the board (press the RESET button), and you should see the following message in the terminal:

.. code-block:: console

*** Booting Zephyr OS build vX.X.X *** Hello World! mcx_n9xx_evk/mcxn947/cpu0

Building a dual-core image

The dual-core samples are run using mcx_n9xx_evk/mcxn947/cpu0 target.

Images built for mcx_n9xx_evk/mcxn947/cpu1 will be loaded from flash and executed on the second core when :kconfig:option:CONFIG_SECOND_CORE_MCUX is selected.

For an example of building for both cores with System Build, see :zephyr:code-sample:ipc-static-vrings

Here is an example for the :zephyr:code-sample:mbox_data application.

.. zephyr-app-commands:: :app: zephyr/samples/drivers/mbox_data :board: mcx_n9xx_evk/mcxn947/cpu0 :goals: flash :west-args: --sysbuild

Debugging

Here is an example for the :zephyr:code-sample:hello_world application.

.. zephyr-app-commands:: :zephyr-app: samples/hello_world :board: mcx_n9xx_evk/mcxn947/cpu0 :goals: debug

Open a serial terminal, step through the application in your debugger, and you should see the following message in the terminal:

.. code-block:: console

*** Booting Zephyr OS build vX.X.X *** Hello World! mcx_n9xx_evk/mcxn947/cpu0

Debugging a dual-core image

For dual core builds, the secondary core should be placed into a loop, then a debugger can be attached. As a reference please see (AN13264_, section 4.2.3 for more information). The reference is for the RT1170 but similar technique can be also used here.

Using QSPI board variant

The MCX-N9XX-EVK board includes an external QSPI flash. The MCXN947 can boot and XIP directly from this flash using the FlexSPI interface. The QSPI variant enables building applications and code to execute from the QSPI.

Programming the ROM bootloader for external QSPI

By default, the MCXN947 bootloader in ROM will boot using internal flash. But the MCU can be programmed to boot from external memory on the FlexSPI interface. Before using the QSPI board variant, the board should be programmed to boot from QSPI using the steps below.

To configure the ROM bootloader, the Protected Flash Region (PFR) must be programmed. Programming the PFR is done using NXP's ROM bootloader tools. Some simple steps are provided in NXP's MCUXpresso SDK example hello_world_qspi_xip readme. The binary to program with blhost is found at bootfromflexspi.bin. A much more detailed explanation is available at this post Running code from external memory with MCX N94x_. The steps below program the MCX-N9XX-EVK board. Note that these steps interface to the ROM bootloader through the UART serial port, but USB is another option.

Disconnect any terminal from the UART serial port, since these steps use that serial port. #. Connect a micro USB cable to the host computer and J5 on the board, in the upper left corner. This powers the board, connects the debug probe, and connects the UART serial port used for the blhost command. #. Place the MCU in ISP mode. On the MCX-N9XX-EVK board, the ISP button can be used for this. Press and hold the ISP button SW3, on the bottom right corner of the board. Press and release the Reset button SW1 on the lower left corner of the board. The MCU has booted into ISP mode. Release the ISP button. #. Run the blhost command:

.. tabs::

.. group-tab:: Ubuntu

  This step assumes the MCU serial port is connected to `/dev/ttyACM0`

  .. code-block:: shell

     blhost -t 2000 -p /dev/ttyACM0,115200 -j -- write-memory 0x01004000 bootfromflexspi.bin

.. group-tab:: Windows

  Change `COMxx` to match the COM port number connected to the MCU serial port.

  .. code-block:: shell

     blhost -t 2000 -p COMxx -j -- write-memory 0x01004000 bootfromflexspi.bin

Successful programming should look something like this:

.. code-block:: console

$ blhost -t 2000 -p /dev/ttyACM0,115200 -j -- write-memory 0x01004000 bootfromflexspi.bin { "command": "write-memory", "response": [ 256 ], "status": { "description": "0 (0x0) Success.", "value": 0 } }

Reset the board with SW1 to exit ISP mode. Now the MCU is ready to boot from QSPI.

The ROM bootloader can be configured to boot from internal flash again. Repeat the steps above to program the PFR, and program the file bootfromflash.bin_.

Build, flash, and debug with the QSPI variant

Once the PFR is programmed to boot from QSPI, the normal Zephyr steps to build, flash, and debug can be used with the QSPI board variant. Here are some examples.

Here is an example for the :zephyr:code-sample:hello_world application:

.. zephyr-app-commands:: :app: zephyr/samples/hello_world :board: mcx_n9xx_evk//cpu0/qspi :goals: flash

MCUboot can also be used with the QSPI variant. By default, this places the MCUboot bootloader in the boot-partition in QSPI flash, with the application images. The ROM bootloader will boot first and load MCUboot in the QSPI, which will load the app. This example builds and loads the :zephyr:code-sample:blinky sample with MCUboot using Sysbuild:

.. zephyr-app-commands:: :app: zephyr/samples/basic/blinky :board: mcx_n9xx_evk//cpu0/qspi :west-args: --sysbuild :gen-args: -DSB_CONFIG_BOOTLOADER_MCUBOOT=y :goals: flash

Open a serial terminal, reset the board with the SW1 button, and the console will print:

.. code-block:: console

*** Booting MCUboot vX.Y.Z *** *** Using Zephyr OS build vX.Y.Z *** I: Starting bootloader I: Image index: 0, Swap type: none I: Bootloader chainload address offset: 0x14000 I: Image version: v0.0.0 I: Jumping to the first image slot *** Booting Zephyr OS build vX.Y.Z *** LED state: OFF LED state: ON

Troubleshooting

.. include:: ../../common/segger-ecc-systemview.rst.inc

.. include:: ../../common/board-footer.rst.inc

.. _MCX-N947 SoC Website: https://www.nxp.com/products/processors-and-microcontrollers/arm-microcontrollers/general-purpose-mcus/mcx-arm-cortex-m/mcx-n-series-microcontrollers/mcx-n94x-54x-highly-integrated-multicore-mcus-with-on-chip-accelerators-intelligent-peripherals-and-advanced-security:MCX-N94X-N54X

.. _MCX-N947 Datasheet: https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/data-sheet/MCXNP184M150F70.pdf

.. _MCX-N947 Reference Manual: https://www.nxp.com/webapp/Download?colCode=MCXNP184M150F70RM

.. _MCX-N9XX-EVK Website: https://www.nxp.com/design/design-center/development-boards-and-designs/MCX-N9XX-EVK

.. _MCX-N9XX-EVK Board User Manual: https://www.nxp.com/webapp/Download?colCode=UM12036

.. _MCX-N9XX-EVK Schematics: https://www.nxp.com/webapp/Download?colCode=SPF-55276

.. _AN13264: https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/application-note/AN13264.pdf

.. _MCUXpresso SDK example hello_world_qspi_xip readme: https://github.com/nxp-mcuxpresso/mcuxsdk-examples/blob/main/_boards/mcxn9xxevk/demo_apps/hello_world_qspi_xip/example_board_readme.md

.. _bootfromflash.bin: https://github.com/nxp-mcuxpresso/mcuxsdk-examples/blob/main/_boards/mcxn9xxevk/demo_apps/hello_world_qspi_xip/cm33_core0/bootfromflash.bin

.. _bootfromflexspi.bin: https://github.com/nxp-mcuxpresso/mcuxsdk-examples/blob/main/_boards/mcxn9xxevk/demo_apps/hello_world_qspi_xip/cm33_core0/bootfromflexspi.bin

.. _Running code from external memory with MCX N94x: https://community.nxp.com/t5/MCX-Microcontrollers-Knowledge/Running-code-from-external-memory-with-MCX-N94x/ta-p/1792204