NXP i.MX 8ULP Evaluation Kit User Guide

: June 12, 2024
: NXP

Table of Contents

GET TO KNOW THE EVALUATION KIT BASED ON THE i.MX8ULP APPLICATIONS
FEATURES
HOW TO GET STARTED
SETTING UP THE SYSTEM
DIP SWITCH CONFIGURATION
BUTTON FUNCTIONS
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
References
Read User Manual Online (PDF format)
Download This Manual (PDF format)

NXP i.MX 8ULP Evaluation Kit User Guide

GET TO KNOW THE EVALUATION KIT BASED ON THE i.MX8ULP APPLICATIONS

PROCESSOR

Parts Description

ABOUT THE EVALUATION KIT BASED ON i.MX8ULP

The Evaluation Kit (EVK) based on the i.MX 8ULP introduces developers to the i.MX 8ULP applications processor.

The EVK enables HDMI output for simple out-of-the-box bring up but allows reconfiguration for MIPI displays.

The EVK is designed as System-OnModule (SOM) board that connects to an associated baseboard. The SOM provides 2 GB LPDDR4, 32 MB Octal SPI Nor flash on RTD, 64 MB Octal SPI Nor flash on APD, 8MB Octal SPI pSRAM on RTD, 32 GB eMMC and an NXP PCA9460A power management IC (PMIC).

The baseboard provides additional capabilities, including an M.2 Key-E slot for Wi-Fi/ Bluetooth based on NXP IW416, an audio codec, multiple sensors, a 10/100M ethernet RJ45 connector, a miniSAS connector for camera, a parallel EPDC connector, two USB 2.0 OTG with Type C connectors, an HDMI connector, and an alternate MIPI display connector.

Additionally, the EVK facilitates software development with the ultimate goal of faster time to market through the support of both Linux® OS and Android® rich operating systems, as well as FreeRTOSTM.

Hardware design files, tools and Board Support Packages (BSPs) for Linux® and Android® are available at www.nxp.com/iMX8ULPEVK.

FEATURES

The following features are available with the EVK based on the i.MX8ULP applications processor:

MX 8ULP applications processor with dual 800MHz Arm® Cortex®-A35 core and a 216MHz Arm® Cortex®-M33 core
2 GB LPDDR4 DRAM, up to 533 MHz
32 MB Octal SPI Nor flash on RTD
64 MB Octal SPI Nor flash on APD
8MB Octal-SPI pSRAM on RTD
32 GB eMMC
miniSAS connector for camera
10/100M ethernet RJ45 connector
M.2 Key-E slot for WIFI/BT
2x USB Type-C connector
HDMI Output connector
MIPI-DSI connector
CAN heade
3.5 mm audio stereo headphone jack
Parallel EPDC connector
Tamper detect switch
Li-ion battery socket
User buttons
RGB LED
JTAG 10-pin 1.27 mm connector
Arduino connector
Debug port for Arm® Cortex®-A35/ M33 core via USB micro-B connector
Sensors including:
- Accelerometer / Gyroscope
- Precision pressure sensor

HOW TO GET STARTED

This section describes how to use the evaluation kit and the required accessories to develop applications using the evaluation kit.

Table 1 — Unpacking the Kit
The evaluation kit is shipped with the items listed in Table 1. Ensure the items are available in the i.MX8ULP Evaluation Kit.

ITEM	DESCRIPTION
SOM board	SOM board with i.MX 8ULP applications processor, LPDDR4, PMIC,

Octal SPI NOR flash, Octal SPI pSRAM and eMMC
Base Board| Peripherals and connectivity board
Documentation| Quick Start Guide
Power Supply| Output: 5 V/5 A, Plug: 2.1 mm x 5.5 mm
USB Cable| USB cables (micro-B to standard-A and type-C to standard-A)

Table 1: Contents of the i.MX8ULP Evaluation Kit

Table 2 — Download Software and Tools
Download installation software and documentation under

ITEM	DESCRIPTION
Documentation

Schematics, layout and Gerber files
Quick Start Guide

Software development tools|

Linux® and Android® BSPs
FreeRTOSTM SDK

Demo images| Copy of the latest Linux and Android BSP images that are available to program on to the eMMC

Table 2: Download Software and Tools Contents

SETTING UP THE SYSTEM

Connect USB Debug Cable

Connect the micro-B end of the supplied USB cable into debug port J17 on the base board. Connect the other endof the cable to a PC acting as a host terminal. If needed, the serial to USB drivers can be found at https://www.ftdichip.com/FTDrivers.htm

Four COMs can be found in your PC. One is for A35 debug UART, another is for M33 debug UART, and please ignore the other two COMs

Open the terminal window (i.e., PuTTY or Tera Term) and apply the following configuration:

Baud rate: 115200
Data bits: 8
Stop bit: 1
Parity: None

Connect Power Supply

Connect the plug of the 5V power supply to the DC power jack P1 on the base board and slide power switch SW10 to ON, then green LED (POWER OK) D33 on the base board light up. When power is connected to the EVK, it will automatically begin the boot sequence.

BOOT PROCESS FOR LINUX IMAGE

Boot Process

Change SW5 on the base board to 1000_0000 (from MSB to LSB, 1-ON and 0-OFF) to boot from the eMMC0, as shown in Figure 2. After the board images are programmed and the boot switches are correctly configured, the system is ready to run.
Power on the EVK board. During the boot process, the operating system status information will be scrolling on the terminal window of the PC (if connected).
When the boot process is complete, the Linux® operating system splash screen will be displayed via HDMI connector.
To work from the terminal window on the host PC, press ‘Enter’ at the terminal window to get the command prompt. Account name: root, password none. For details on running FreeRTOS™ on Arm® Cortex®-M33 core, please visitwww.nxp.com/iMXtools.
Run “NXP Demo Experience” application to explore the preinstalled demos. The NXP Logo is displayed on the top left-hand corner of screen, as shown in Figure 3, start the demo launcher by clicking this logo. Refer to user guide for details — https://www.nxp.com/docs/en/user-guide/DEXPUG.pdf.

**Figure 2: SW5 setting for internal boot mode

**

Figure 3: NXP Demo Experience

DIP SWITCH CONFIGURATION

Table 3 shows the switch configuration of boot mode for i.MX8ULP EVK. Single Boot-eMMC is chosen as default.

BOOT MODE| D1 (LSB)| D2| D3| D4| D5| D6| D7| D8 (MSB)
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---
Boot From Fuses| X| X| X| X| X| X| OFF| OFF
Serial Downloader| X*| X| X| X| X| X| ON| OFF
A35-eMMC/ M33-SPI NOR| OFF| ON| OFF| OFF| OFF| OFF| OFF| ON
A35- SPI NOR/ M33-SPI NOR| OFF| ON| OFF| OFF| OFF| ON| OFF| ON
Single Boot-eMMC| OFF| OFF| X| X| OFF| OFF| OFF| ON
Single Boot-SPI NOR| OFF| OFF| X| X| OFF| ON| OFF| ON
A35-eMMC/M33-SPI NOR (LP Boot)| ON| X| OFF| OFF| OFF| OFF| OFF| ON
A35- SPI NOR/M33-SPI NOR (LP Boot)| ON| X| OFF| OFF| OFF| ON| OFF| ON

Set to OFF when the fuse [BT_FUSE_SEL] is not blown.

Table 3: i.MX8ULP EVK DIP switch configuration (SW5 on BB)

BUTTON FUNCTIONS

Table 4 shows the functions of the push buttons and switches on the board.]

ITEM	DESCRIPTION
SW6 ON BB

Evaluation kit ON/OFF button
Short press and long press will only generate an interrupt. The usage can be defined by upper software.
Prolonged depress (>5 sec) will force an immediate hardware shutdown.
If board is in the SHUTDOWN state, short press of the button will restart (boot) the system
If board is in the STANDBY state, short press of the button will bring the system out of standby (resume operations, no boot).

SW1 ON BB|

Evaluation kit RESET button
Prolonged depress (>8 sec) will reset the system and begin a boot sequence.

SW2/3 ON BB|

Evaluation kit switch
SW defined. SW2 connected to PTF7 and SW3 connected to PTF30.

SW7/8 ON BB|

Evaluation kit switch
SW defined. SW7 connected to PTB13 and SW8 connected to PTB12.

Table 4: i.MX8ULP EVK board button operations

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Do more with Accessory Boards

RK055HDMIPI4MA0 5.5-INCH TFT 720 x 1280 PIXELS PANEL| MINISASTOCSI MIPI-CSI CAMERA MODULE
---|---
Use this LCD display for display and touchscreen support.| Use this MIPI-CSI camera module for machine vision, video streaming and recording.
|
IMXEBOOKDC5
6-INCH E-PAPER PANEL DAUGHTER CARD

Use this panel for e-paper display and touchscreen support.

This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions:

This device may not cause harmful interference, and
This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation.

Attention that changes or modification not expressly approved by the party responsible for compliance
could void the user’s authority to operate the equipment.

Note: This product has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This product generates, uses, and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications. However, there is no guarantee that interference will not occur in a particular installation. If this product does cause harmful interference to radio or television reception, which can be determined by turning the equipment off and on, the user is encouraged to try to correct the interference by one or more of the following measures:

Reorient or relocate the receiving antenna.
Increase the separation between the equipment and receiver.
Connect the equipment into an outlet on a circuit different from that to which the receiver is connected.
Consult the dealer or an experienced radio/TV technician for help

This equipment should be installed and operated with a minimum distance 20cm between the radiator and your body.
The following information is provided per Article 10.8 of the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU:
(a) Frequency bands in which the equipment operates.
(b) The maximum RF power transmitted.

PN| RF TECHNOLOGY| (A) FREQ RANGES (EU)| (B) MAX TRANSMITTED POWER
---|---|---|---
MCIMX8ULP-EVK| WLAN 2.4 GHz Mode802.11b/g/n| 2400 MHz – 2484 MHz| 19.0 dBm
WLAN 5 GHz Mode 802.11a/n| 5150 MHz – 5850 MHz| 18.0 dBm
Bluetooth BLE/BR/EDR| 2400 MHz – 2484 MHz| 6.3 dBm

EUROPEAN DECLARATION OF CONFORMITY (Simplified DoC per Article 10.9 of the Radio
Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU)

This apparatus, namely MCIMX8ULP-EVK, conforms to the Radio Equipment Directive 2014/53/EU.

The full EU Declaration of Conformity for this apparatus can be found at this location:
www.nxp.com/iMX8ULP

GET STARTED

Download installation software
and documentation at
www.nxp.com/iMX8ULPEVK

SUPPORT
Visit www.nxp.com/support for a list of phone numbers within your region.

WARRANTY
Visit www.nxp.com/warranty for complete warranty information.

www.nxp.com/iMX8ULPEVK
NXP and the NXP logo are trademarks of NXP B.V. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.

The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by NXP Semiconductors is under license. Arm and Cortex are trademarks or registered trademarks of Arm Limited (or its subsidiaries) in the US and/or elsewhere. The related technology may be protected by any or all of patents, copyrights, designs and trade secrets. All rights reserved. © 2023 NXP B.V.

Document Number: IMX8ULPQSG REV 1
Agile Number: 926-47597 REV B