Highlights:

  • The MCX L14x and MCX L25x are the two MCX L products that are being introduced. They are microcontrollers rather than processors.
  • Circuits designed for cybersecurity duties are included within the two CPU cores of the MCX L25x. In addition to an implementation of Arm’s TrustZone technology, there is a module for data encryption and decryption.

NXP Semiconductors NV launched MCX L series, the latest chip series to power industrial devices like factory sensors.

Based in the Netherlands NXP is best known for being a vehicle processor supplier. Its silicon performs a number of functions, from obtaining software updates over the air to managing the engine. NXP is also involved in a variety of other areas, such as the industrial sector, where it provides robot motors, sensors, and semiconductors.

The company’s industrial hardware range is expanded with the new MCX L chip series. It is designed for battery-operated devices like smart meters for utilities and sensors on production lines. NXP claims that compared to its previous generation silicon, the MCX L series consumes three times less power.

The MCX L14x and MCX L25x are the two MCX L products that are being introduced. They are microcontrollers rather than processors. A microcontroller is a chip that powers a linked device, uses less electricity, and can do a smaller range of computations than a typical CPU.

Arm Holdings plc’s Cortex-M33 design serves as the basis for the single central processor unit core included in the entry-level MCX L14x. 48 megahertz is its maximum clock speed. The gigahertz, which is equivalent to 1,000 megahertz, is the unit of measurement used to describe the clock speed of standard processors.

The Cortex-M33 core of NXP’s other new device, the MCX L25x, has double the maximum clock speed of the MCX L14x. Additionally, a second CPU core based on Arm’s Cortex-M0 design—the British company’s most power-efficient CPU—is included. The surface area of the Cortex-M0 is less than one hundredth of a square millimeter.

The MCX L25x employs its second core as a low-power, always-on module to handle sensory readings when it is mounted in a smart sensor. The chip includes at least seven sleep modes to conserve energy. The MCX L25x uses less than a tenth of the electricity it uses when processing data actively when it is in its most power-efficient mode.

Circuits designed for cybersecurity duties are included within the two CPU cores of the MCX L25x. In addition to an implementation of Arm’s TrustZone technology, there is a module for data encryption and decryption. To reduce the danger of cyberattacks, the latter capability can separate encryption keys and sensitive application code from other workloads operating on a chip.

NXP claims that a 128-kilobyte SRAM cache and up to 512 kilobytes of flash can handle the logic circuits of the MCX L series. Computers use DRAM as their main memory, while SRAM is a form of RAM that is far faster. SRAM cells have six transistors each, but DRAM cells, the fundamental building blocks of a memory device, have just one.

“The MCX L design, architecture and operating modes make it easier for intelligent sensors to continuously acquire and process data with extremely low power,” said Charles Dachs, Senior Vice President and General Manager of NXP’s Industrial and IoT business. “This in turn enables devices with significantly longer battery life or smaller batteries, allowing for new form factors.”

NXP’s UBX100 transceiver chip, which is compatible with the MCX L series, allows devices to wirelessly send the data they gather to the cloud. Additionally, the business provides a number of development boards. A development board is a hardware testbed that enables engineers to design software for a new CPU, debug their code, and become acquainted with the chip.

In the upcoming months, NXP will start giving early customers samples of the MCX L series. The second half of the year is when general availability is planned.