MCUXpresso SDK Release Notes

Overview

The MCUXpresso SDK is a comprehensive software enablement package designed to simplify and accelerate application development with Arm Cortex-M-based devices from NXP, including its general purpose, crossover and Bluetooth-enabled MCUs. MCUXpresso SW and Tools for DSC further extends the SDK support to current 32-bit Digital Signal Controllers. The MCUXpresso SDK includes production-grade software with integrated RTOS (optional), integrated enabling software technologies (stacks and middleware), reference software, and more.

In addition to working seamlessly with the MCUXpresso IDE, the MCUXpresso SDK also supports and provides example projects for various toolchains. The Development tools chapter in the associated Release Notes provides details about toolchain support for your board. Support for the MCUXpresso Config Tools allows easy cloning of existing SDK examples and demos, allowing users to leverage the existing software examples provided by the SDK for their own projects.

Underscoring our commitment to high quality, the MCUXpresso SDK is MISRA compliant and checked with Coverity static analysis tools. For details on MCUXpresso SDK, see MCUXpresso-SDK: Software Development Kit for MCUXpresso.

MCUXpresso SDK

As part of the MCUXpresso software and tools, MCUXpresso SDK is the evolution of Kinetis SDK, includes support for LPC, DSC,PN76, and i.MX System-on-Chip (SoC). The same drivers, APIs, and middleware are still available with support for Kinetis, LPC, DSC, and i.MX silicon. The MCUXpresso SDK adds support for the MCUXpresso IDE, an Eclipse-based toolchain that works with all MCUXpresso SDKs. Easily import your SDK into the new toolchain to access to all of the available components, examples, and demos for your target silicon. In addition to the MCUXpresso IDE, support for the MCUXpresso Config Tools allows easy cloning of existing SDK examples and demos, allowing users to leverage the existing software examples provided by the SDK for their own projects.

In order to maintain compatibility with legacy Freescale code, the filenames and source code in MCUXpresso SDK containing the legacy Freescale prefix FSL has been left as is. The FSL prefix has been redefined as the NXP Foundation Software Library.

Development tools

The MCUXpresso SDK is compiled and tested with these development tools:

  • MCUXpresso IDE, Rev. 24.12

  • IAR Embedded Workbench for Arm, version is 9.60.3

  • MCUXpresso for VS Code v24.12

  • GCC Arm Embedded Toolchain 13.2.1

Supported development systems

This release supports board and devices listed in following table. The board and devices in bold were tested in this release.

Development boards

MCU devices

FRDM-MCXE31B

MCXE31BMPB

MCUXpresso SDK release package

The MCUXpresso SDK release package content is aligned with the silicon subfamily it supports. This includes the boards, CMSIS, devices, middleware, and RTOS support.

Device support

The device folder contains the whole software enablement available for the specific System-on-Chip (SoC) subfamily. This folder includes clock-specific implementation, device register header files, device register feature header files, and the system configuration source files. Included with the standard SoC support are folders containing peripheral drivers, toolchain support, and a standard debug console. The device-specific header files provide a direct access to the microcontroller peripheral registers. The device header file provides an overall SoC memory mapped register definition. The folder also includes the feature header file for each peripheral on the microcontroller. The toolchain folder contains the startup code and linker files for each supported toolchain. The startup code efficiently transfers the code execution to the main() function.

Board support

The boards folder provides the board-specific demo applications, driver examples, and middleware examples.

Demo application and other examples

The demo applications demonstrate the usage of the peripheral drivers to achieve a system level solution. Each demo application contains a readme file that describes the operation of the demo and required setup steps. The driver examples demonstrate the capabilities of the peripheral drivers. Each example implements a common use case to help demonstrate the driver functionality.

RTOS

FreeRTOS

Real-time operating system for microcontrollers from Amazon

Release contents

Provides an overview of the MCUXpresso SDK release package contents and locations.

Deliverable

Location

Boards

INSTALL_DIR/boards

Demo Applications

INSTALL_DIR/boards/<board_name>/demo_apps

Driver Examples

INSTALL_DIR/boards/<board_name>/driver_examples

eIQ examples

INSTALL_DIR/boards/<board_name>/eiq_examples

Board Project Template for MCUXpresso IDE NPW

INSTALL_DIR/boards/<board_name>/project_template

Driver, SoC header files, extension header files and feature header files, utilities

INSTALL_DIR/devices/<device_name>

CMSIS drivers

INSTALL_DIR/devices/<device_name>/cmsis_drivers

Peripheral drivers

INSTALL_DIR/devices/<device_name>/drivers

Toolchain linker files and startup code

INSTALL_DIR/devices/<device_name>/<toolchain_name>

Utilities such as debug console

INSTALL_DIR/devices/<device_name>/utilities

Device Project Template for MCUXpresso IDE NPW

INSTALL_DIR/devices/<device_name>/project_template

CMSIS Arm Cortex-M header files, DSP library source

INSTALL_DIR/CMSIS

Components and board device drivers

INSTALL_DIR/components

RTOS

INSTALL_DIR/rtos

Release Notes, Getting Started Document and other documents

INSTALL_DIR/docs

Tools such as shared cmake files

INSTALL_DIR/tools

Middleware

INSTALL_DIR/middleware

Known Issues

This section lists the known issues, limitations, and/or workarounds.

Cannot add SDK components into FreeRTOS projects

It is not possible to add any SDK components into FreeRTOS project using the MCUXpresso IDE New Project wizard.

I2C sometimes fails to initialize accelerometer after flash or reset

The example has problem with identification of accelerometer.

Solution: Reset the I2C bus to its default state before initializing the sensor. (Solution code will be added in next release.)

Examples: bubble, flexio_i2c_read_accel_value_transfer

Affected toolchains: mcux, iar, armgcc

Affected platforms: frdmmcxe31b

The flexcan_efifo cases fail to transmit data from each other

On some platform, if the High-resolution Timestamp feature is not enabled, the read enhanced RX FIFO High-resolution Timestamp field with memcpy API results in hard fault. When it is read with EDMA, the timestamp cannot be read.

Workaround: When read enhanced rx fifo, enable High resolution Timestamp if this feature exists. Read 20 words with EDMA if enhanced rx fifo feature exists.

flexcan_efifo_interrupt_transfer and flexcan_efifo_edma_transfer:

#if (defined(FSL_FEATURE_FLEXCAN_HAS_HIGH_RESOLUTION_TIMESTAMP) && FSL_FEATURE_FLEXCAN_HAS_HIGH_RESOLUTION_TIMESTAMP)
    /* Select free-running timer as message buffer TIME_STAMP field timebase. */
    flexcanConfig.captureTimeBase = kFLEXCAN_CANTimer;
    /* Enable high resolution timestamp feature to read HR TIMESTAMP in enhanced Rx FIFO. */
    flexcanConfig.capturePoint = kFLEXCAN_CANFrameStart;
#endif

flexcan_efifo_edma_transfer:

#if (defined(FSL_FEATURE_FLEXCAN_HAS_HIGH_RESOLUTION_TIMESTAMP) && FSL_FEATURE_FLEXCAN_HAS_HIGH_RESOLUTION_TIMESTAMP)
        rxEhFifoConfig.dmaPerReadLength = kFLEXCAN_20WordPerRead;
#else
        rxEhFifoConfig.dmaPerReadLength = kFLEXCAN_19WordPerRead;
#endif

Examples: flexcan_efifo_interrupt_transfer, flexcan_efifo_edma_transfer

Affected toolchains: mcux, iar, armgcc

Affected platforms: frdmmcxe31b

XBIC error data receive failed

The examples has problem when receiving error data.

Examples: xbic

Affected toolchains: mcux, iar, armgcc

Affected platforms: frdmmcxe31b