NXP AN14208 Migration Guide Mcxn User Guide

NXP AN14208 Migration Guide Mcxn

Product Information

Specifications:

• MCXN Series:
  • Advanced MCU with 32-bit Arm Dual Cortex-M33
  • Neural Processor Unit
  • Up to 2 MB flash size
  • Package options: 100HLQFP and 184MAPBGA
• MCXA Series:
  • Focuses on cost-effectiveness and ease of use
  • Multiple part numbers with varying memory sizes and core speeds
  • Package options: 64LQFP, 48HVQFN, and 32HVQFN

Product Usage Instructions

1. Part Number Selection:
   If you are migrating from MCXN to MCXA, ensure you select the right part number destination based on your requirements. Use the decoder provided to understand the meaning of the part numbers for MCXA.

2. Hardware and Software Changes:
   Migrating between MCXN and MCXA microcontrollers requires both hardware and software changes. Ensure you make the necessary adjustments to accommodate the new MCU.

3. Package Selection:
   For MCXA, choose from the available package options based on your project needs: 64LQFP, 48HVQFN, or 32HVQFN.

4. Orderable Part Numbers:
   Refer to the tables provided in the user manual to select the appropriate MCXA part number destination or MCXN part number origin for your migration.

Document information

(N94x, N54x) microcontrollers to MCXA (A143/2, A153/2) microcontrollers.

Introduction

This document provides information required to migrate from MCXN (N94x, N54x) microcontrollers to MCXA (A143/2, A153/2) microcontrollers. Migration between the two devices requires hardware and software changes. The following sections describe the changes required when migrating from MCXN to MCXA microcontrollers.

Part number selection

• The MCXN series (N94x, N54x) MCU is an advanced MCU that offers extensive integration, including a 32-bit Arm Dual Cortex-M33, Neural Processor Unit, and up to 2 MB flash size. It is offered in two package options, which are 100HLQFP and 184MAPBGA.
• On the other hand, the MCXA series (A143/2, A153/2) MCU focuses on cost-effectiveness and ease of use. If you have already designed MCXN-based products and intend to migrate from MCXN to MCXA for cost reduction, you must select the right part number destination first.
• To select the right MCU for your product, check the available device options. Currently, there are 12 MCXA part numbers available (see Table 1), with more MCXA parts to be released soon that will provide a lot of options in memory set and performance to address different customer needs. The advantage of those parts is that they are software compatible, pin compatible within the MCXA series. So, you can go to market with these 12 parts that are launched first, then you have the freedom to upgrade or downgrade within the whole MCXA series.
• The following is a simple decoder, which can help you understand the three numbers that come after MCXA. The first number, which is 1, is considered the baseline and indicates cost-effectiveness. The second number indicates the core speed, where 4 stands for 48 MHz and 5 stands for 96 MHz. Finally, the third number indicates the memory size, where 2 represents 64 KB flash.
• For the package of MCXA, you can choose from the following three packages: 64LQFP, 48HVQFN, and 32HVQFN.

Table 1. MCXA part number destination

Orderable part number [1]| Part number [2]| Embedded memory| Core Cortex- M33 (MHz)| Core cache (KB)| GPIO| Package
---|---|---|---|---|---|---
Flash (KB)| SRAM (KB)| Pin count| Type
MCXA143| MCXA143VLH| 128| 32| 48| 4| 52| 64| LQFP
MCXA143| MCXA143VFT| 128| 32| 48| 4| 41| 48| QFN
MCXA143| MCXA143VFM| 128| 32| 48| 4| 26| 32| QFN
MCXA142| MCXA142VLH| 64| 16| 48| 4| 52| 64| LQFP
MCXA142| MCXA142VFT| 64| 16| 48| 4| 41| 48| QFN
MCXA142| MCXA142VFM| 64| 16| 48| 4| 26| 32| QFN
MCXA153| MCXA153VLH| 128| 32| 96| 4| 52| 64| LQFP
MCXA153| MCXA153VFT| 128| 32| 96| 4| 41| 48| QFN
MCXA153| MCXA153VFM| 128| 32| 96| 4| 26| 32| QFN
MCXA152| MCXA152VLH| 64| 16| 96| 4| 52| 64| LQFP
MCXA152| MCXA152VFT| 64| 16| 96| 4| 41| 48| QFN
MCXA152| MCXA152VFM| 64| 16| 96| 4| 26| 32| QFN

1. To confirm the current availability of orderable part numbers, visit https://www.nxp.com and perform a part number search.
2. As marked on the package

Table 2. MCXN part number origin

Orderable part number [1]| Part number [2]| Embedded memory| Features| Package
---|---|---|---|---
Flash (MB)| SRAM (K)| Tamper pins (max)| GPIOs

(max)

| SRAM PUF| Pin count| Type
(P)MCXN547VNLT| (P)MCXN547VNLT| 2| 512| 2| 74| Y| 100| HLQFP
(P)MCXN546VNLT| (P)MCXN546VNLT| 1| 352| 2| 74| Y| 100| HLQFP
(P)MCXN547VDFT| (P)MCXN547VDFT| 2| 512| 8| 124| Y| 184| VFBGA
(P)MCXN546VDFT| (P)MCXN546VDFT| 1| 352| 8| 124| Y| 184| VFBGA
(P)MCXN947VDFT| (P)MCXN947VDFT| 2| 512| 8| 124| Y| 184| VFBGA
(P)MCXN947VNLT| (P)MCXN947VNLT| 2| 512| 2| 78| Y| 100| HLQFP
(P)MCXN946VNLT| (P)MCXN946VNLT| 1| 352| 2| 78| Y| 100| HLQFP
(P)MCXN946VDFT| (P)MCXN946VDFT| 1| 352| 8| 124| Y| 184| VFBGA

1. To confirm the current availability of orderable part numbers, visit https://www.nxp.com and perform a part number search.
2. As marked on the package

Feature comparison

This section provides a feature comparison between the MCXN and MCXA device.

High-level feature comparison
There are a significant number of differences between the two devices. However, a logical migration path exists between the two devices. The power management, system control architecture, and most of the peripherals on MCXA are reused from MCXN, providing exceptional continuity and compatibility across the devices. Table 3 outlines the system-level differences at a high level.

Table 3. High-level feature comparison between MCXA and MCXN

EZH, BSP32, PQ, Neutron, CoolFlux BSP32

| CM33 @ 96 MHz w/o FPU MPU DSP
Clocking| 2x PLL, FRO144M, FRO12M, OSC48M, OSC32K, FRO16K| FRO192M, FRO12M, OSC48M, FRO16K
Flash| 2x 1 MB array, w RWW NPX(FMC+Prince), MSF| 1x 128 KB array FMC, MSF
RAM| 512 KB with 32 KB ECC, Configurable ECC 16 KB LPCAC, 16 KB FlexSPI Cache| 32 KB with 8 KB ECC

4 KB LPCAC

ROM| 256 KB

Secure Boot, Secure Image Update, TP Flow

| 16 KB ROM Boot

24 KB flashloader

System| 2x DMA3, CRC, 2x WWDT, SPC, SCG, EIM, ERM, INTM, EWM, SYSCON, WUU, CMC, VBAT| 1x DMA3, CRC, WWDT, SPC, SCG, CMC, VBAT, EIM, ERM, SYSCON, WUU
Power supply| DCDC, SYS_LDO, CORELDO, VBAT, SRAM LDO, SRPG, TRO

1.2 V / 1.1 V / 1.0 V RUN Mode

| CORE_LDO, SRAM_RET_LDO

1.1 V / 1.0 V RUN Mode

Active / Sleep / Deep Sleep / Power Down / Deep Power Down
High-speed interface| USB HS, FlexSPI, SDHC, ENET, eSPI, SPI-filter LPSPI (LP_FlexCOMM)| LPSPI
Communications| USB FS, 10x LP_FLEXCOMM, 2x FlexCAN, 2x SAI, 2x I3C, FlexIO, 2x EMVSIM| 3x LPUART, 2x LPSPI, 1x LPI2C, 1x I3C
Timers| •   2x FlexPWM with four submodules each

•   2x QDC (quadrature decoder)

•   5x Ctimer (general-purpose timer)

•   1x FREQME (frequency measurement timer)

•   1x Micro-Tick timer

•   1x OS event timer

•   2x LPTMR (low-power timer)

•   1x RTC (real-time clock)

•   1x MRT (multirate timer)

•   1x SCT

| •   1x FlexPWM with three submodules

•   1x QDC (quadrature decoder)

•   3x CTimer (general-purpose timer)

•   1x FREQME (frequency measurement timer)

•   1x Micro-Tick timer

•   1x OS Event timer

•   1x LPTimer (low-power timer)

•   1x Wake timer

Analog| 2x 16 bit ADC, 3x DAC, 3x CMP, 3x OPAMP, VREF, TSI| 1x 16 bit ADC, 2x CMP
IO| Up to 124 GPIO, 100M / 50M / 25M IO| Up to 52 GPIO, 50M / 25M IO

High-drive IO, 5 V Tolerant IO

Security| S50, PKC, PUF, TRNG, SM3, 2x GDET, Tamper, eFuse, ITRC, 2x CDOG, LVD/HVD| LVD/HVD, ROP, 1x CDOG, GLIKEY
Package| 184VFBGA 9 x 9 x 0.86 mm, 0.5 mm

100HLQFP 14 x 14 x 1.4 mm, 0.5 mm

| 64LQFP 10 x 10 x 1.4 mm, 0.5 mm

32QFN 5 x 5 x 0.9 mm, 0.5 mm

48QFN 7 x 7 x 0.9 mm, 0.5 mm

System module comparison
This section outlines the system module differences when migrating from the MCXN device to the MCXA device.

Memory map comparison
The memory map of the MCXA device is different from the MCXN device. It is important that you update your linker control file and do not try to use the MCXN device linker control file when compiling your MCXA project or vice versa.

Table 4 is a side-by-side comparison of the two memory maps.

KB

| Program Flash
0300_0000| 0303_FFFF| 256 KB| ROM-BOOT| 0300_0000| 0300_3FFF| 16 KB| ROM-BOOT
0400_0000| 0401_7FFF| 96 KB| RAMX| 0400_0000| 0400_1FFF| 8 KB| RAM X0
0800_0000| 0FFF_FFFF| 128 MB| FlexSPI| 0400_2000| 0400_2FFF| 4 KB| RAM X1
MCXN (Nonsecure)| MCXA
---|---
Start address| End address| Size| Destination slave| Start address| End address| Size| Destination slave
2000_0000| 2000_7FFF| 32 KB| RAMA| 2000_0000| 2000_1FFF| 8 KB| RAM A0
2000_8000| 2000_FFFF| 32 KB| RAMB| 2000_2000| 2000_5FFF| 16 KB| RAM A1
2001_0000| 2001_FFFF| 64 KB| RAMC| 2000_6000| 2000_7FFF| 8 KB| RAM X0 Alias
2002_0000| 2002_FFFF| 64 KB| RAMD| –| –| | –
2003_0000| 2003_FFFF| 64 KB| RAME| –| –| | –
2004_0000| 2004_FFFF| 64 KB| RAMF| –| –| | –
2005_0000| 2005_FFFF| 64 KB| RAMG| –| –| | –
2006_0000| 2006_7FFF| 32 KB| RAMH| –| –| | –

Internal flash memory feature comparison
MCXN embeds up to 2 MB of flash. It is implemented as 2 x 1 MB flash block instances. MCXA embeds 128 KB of single-array flash, sector size of 8 Kbytes.

Table 5. Flash memory feature comparison

data. This code is immediately available for repeated execution without any wait states, if needed. It is a one-set, four-way associative cache with

128-bit (or 16-byte) size entries.

| 64 bytes| 16 bytes
Functional safety – Flash ECC| –| One-bit error correction; Two-bits error detection capability| One-bit error correction; Two-bits error detection capability
Functional safety – Flash ERM| ERM provides information and optional interrupt| Report ECC two-bits error| Report ECC two-bits error
Feature| Description| MCXN| MCXA
---|---|---|---
| notification on memory

ECC and parity error events.

| |
Functional safety – Flash EIM| EIM provides a method for diagnostic coverage of internal memories. It enables you to induce artificial errors on error- checking mechanisms.| Single-bit error injection Double-bit error injection| Single-bit error injection Double-bit error injection
Flash performance – Access frequency| Configured by FCTRL[RWSC].| 150 MHz / 4 = 37.5 MHz;

when RWSC = 3

| 96 MHz SD mode, 3 wait

states. 96 MHz / 3 = 32 MHz; when RWSC=2.

48 MHz, MD mode, 1 wait

state. 48 MHz / 2= 24 MHz; when RWSC=1.

Clocking comparison
The system clocking module provides the clock signals to the core, memories, and peripherals (register interfaces and peripheral clocks).

MCXN system clock generation (SCG) module includes these clock sources:

• FRO high-speed output (fro_hf) from internal oscillator. By default, its speed is 48 MHz. fro_hf is the default main clock.
• 12 MHz free-running oscillator (FRO) output (FRO_12M) from the internal oscillator.
• External oscillator.
• Output of PLL0.
• Output of PLL1.
• RTC 32 kHz oscillator.
• Output of USB PLL (usb_pll_clk).

MCXA system clock generation (SCG-Lite) is simplified, includes:

• FRO192M: FRO high-speed output (fro_hf) from internal oscillator. By default, its speed is 48 MHz. fro_hf is the default main clock.
• FRO12M: 12 MHz free-running oscillator (FRO) output (FRO_12M) from internal oscillator.
• FRO16K: 16.384 kHz clock output from FRO16K. It is the clock of peripherals in the VSYS domain.
• External oscillator, 8 MHz – 50 MHz.

It is important to note the differences in the clocking diagrams as these differences can significantly affect the setup of your application.

Figure 1 shows the MCXN clocking diagram and Figure 2 shows the MCXA clocking diagram.

Table 6 outlines the clock module differences at a high level.

| MCXN| MCXA
---|---|---

Internal source

| FRO144M| FRO192M
FRO12M| FRO12M
FRO16K| FRO16K

External clock

| System crystal (16 MHz – 40 MHz)| System crystal (8 MHz – 50 MHz)
32 K crystal| NA
PLL| 550 MHz PLL0, PLL1| NA

Table 7 outlines system clock requirements differences.

Table 7. System clock requirement comparison

| MCXN| MCXA
---|---|---
| Max. clock frequency| Max. clock frequency
| Over Drive mode (VDDCORE = 1.2 V)| Standard Drive mode (VDD CORE = 1.1 V)| Mid Drive mode (VDDCORE = 1.0 V)| Standard Drive mode (VDD CORE = 1.1 V)| Mid Drive mode (VDD_CORE =

1.0 V)

CPU_CLK (Core clock)| 150 MHz| 100 MHz| 50 MHz| 96 MHz| 48 MHz
SYSTEM_CLK

(Peripheral Bus Clock 0)

| ****

150 MHz

| ****

100 MHz

| ****

50 MHz

| ****

96 MHz

| ****

48 MHz

SLOW_CLK (Peripheral Bus Clock 1)| ****

37.5 MHz

| ****

25 MHz

| ****

12.5 MHz

| ****

24 MHz

| ****

12 MHz

Peripheral module comparison

• The peripheral modules are classified.
• The modules marked by Unchanged in the Software driver comments column of the peripheral module differences table (see Table 8) are compatible, and use the same SDK driver. Although the designs of these modules were not changed, there is a possibility that they have been integrated differently or that different clock sources are now sourcing these modules. Also, they may have different instances.
• The modified modules refer to the modules that have been updated to use newer/different versions or simply have some minor differences. The overall functionality provided is similar. However, changes are required in software and possibly hardware changes are required to utilize updated features. These modules are marked by Changed in the Software driver comments column of the peripheral modules differences table (see Table 8).
• The new modules refer to the new modules that have been added and how they can benefit your design. They are marked with + in the Software driver comments column of the peripheral module differences table (see Table 8).
• Take a note of the removed modules. These modules are marked with – in the Software driver comments column of the peripheral module differences table (see Table 8). Unpredictable results occur if a module that is present on the  MCXN is written on the MCXA. If your application is using a removed module, you should remove the code for this peripheral.
• Table 8 presents a comparison of the peripheral modules found on the MCXN device and the MCXA device.

Table 8. Peripheral module comparison

compatible with MCXN ENC
CTimer| 5x CTimer| 3x CTimer| Unchanged
SCTimer| 1x| –| –
Micro-tick timer (UTICK)| 1x| 1x| Unchanged
OS Timer| 1x| 1x| Unchanged
Frequency measurement (FREQME)| 1x| 1x| Unchanged
RTC| 1x| –| –
LPTIMER| 2x| 1x| Unchanged
Multi-rate timer (MRT)| 1x| –| –
ADC| 2x 16 bit ADC| 1x 16 bit ADC| Changed. The ADC on MCXA features a single- ended configuration, with a single sample/hold circuit. Supports up to 3.2 Msps in 16-bit mode.

MCXA ADC supports seven CMDs, one 8-entry conversion result FIFO; MCXN ADC supports 15 CMDs, two 16-entry conversion result FIFO.

CMP| 3x| 2x| Unchanged.
DAC| 3x| –| –
OPAMP| 3x| –| –
VREF| 1x| –| –
TSI| 1x| –| –
PORT| 6x| 4x| Changed. MCXN each port has the independent power supply VDD_Px. MCXA all ports have the same power supply VDD.
GPIO| 6x| 4x| Changed. MCXA added high drive and 5 V tolerant IOs

Hardware comparison

This section outlines the differences and hardware considerations when migrating from the MCXN device to the MCXA device.

Package / pinout differences
The MCXN device is offered in two package options, which are 100HLQFP and 184MAPBGA. On the other hand, the MCXA device is available in three packages, which are 64LQFP, 48HVQFN, and 32HVQN. These devices are not designed to be pin-to-pin compatible. You can find the package drawing in the Device datasheet.

Minimum system considerations
There are some additional hardware considerations when migrating from MCXN to MCXA.
Figure 3 shows the MCXA minimum system.
The MCXN and MCXA devices have similar reset, ISP, and debug circuits for the minimum system. However, MCXA integrates a simple capless LDO to power the core in a power supply circuit, while MCXN offers an additional DCDC converter with better power efficiency. Furthermore, MCXA does not have an external 32 K crystal circuit.

Revision history
Table 9 summarizes revisions to this document.

Table 9: Revision history

• Date of release: 18 March 2024
• Document identifier: AN14208

FAQ

Q: Can I directly migrate my software from MCXN to MCXA without any modifications?
A: No, migrating between MCXN and MCXA microcontrollers requires hardware and software changes to ensure compatibility and optimal performance.

Q: How do I select the right MCXA part number for my project?
A: Use the decoder provided in the user manual to understand the meaning behind the part numbers and choose based on your requirements for flash size, SRAM, core speed, and package type.

Q: Where can I find the latest orderable part numbers for MCXA?
A: Visit https://www.nxp.com to perform a part number search and confirm the current availability of orderable part numbers.

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