Last year, NXP and Amzon introduced an advanced IoT module based on the LPC54018 Microcontroller. The voice control solution is one of the best in the market, which brings attention to NXP's new LPC540xx MCU Series. However, when taking a deeper look, it is suprising to find that there have been some upgrades and addition to the family already after launching for only less than a year!
The new members of the LPC540xx MCU series includes several highlights and feature addition to the original one, thus they have been defined into 2 families:
- LPC54S0xx
- LPC540xxJxM
Wait a sec... Let's take a look at the original LPC540xx first... Offering unique flashless design, the LPC540xx combines a 180MHz Arm Cortex-M4 core ith a power efficient and unique architecture, advanced HMI and flexible communication peripherals for real-time performance in the next generation IoT. Featuring flexibility with CAN, graphic LCD and up to 11 channels for FlexComm, the microcontroller provides the ability to adapt as requirements change.
So what's different about the new families I mentioned above?
After checking the NXP website, I found that the LPC54S0xx is added with more security function. It provides Physical Unclonable Function (PUF) root key using dedicated SRAM for silicon fingerprint making it possible to generate, sotre and reconstruct keys. I t also features an on-chip hardware AES engine to protect the image content and accelerate processing for data integrity and proof of origin. There is also a Seure Harsh Algrithm (SHA1/SHA2) module which support secure boot with dedicated DMA controller.
And the most recent addition, the LPC54018JxM MCUs, features 2/4 MB QSPI on-chip flash. This family offers both security and non security choices.
The newest additions has funneled the LPC540xx Series with better security level, and more flexible memory choices. Developers can leverage their needs and requirement and choose the part that suits best, with the best cost obviously. Also let me tell you a secret, the new families are not too more expensive than the standard LPC540xx, spend a tiny little bit more, and you can get a whole bunch of security features and 4MB Flash size... Best deal forever!
For evaluation, there are also 2 new boards developed: LPC54S018-EVK for the security chip and LPC54S018M-EVK for the family with on-chip flash.
For more information, please visit NXP.com/LPC540xx