NXP Semiconductors MCIMX6U5EVM10AC

Overview

MCIMX6U5EVM10AC from NXP Semiconductors is a dual-core Arm® Cortex®-A9 applications processor operating at 1 GHz, supporting DDR3/DDR3L/LPDDR2-800 memory, integrated VPU and GPU acceleration, and configured for extended commercial temperature range (–20°C to +105°C). It delivers multimedia-rich performance in compact embedded systems such as industrial HMIs and portable medical devices.

For engineers reviewing the MCIMX6U5EVM10AC datasheet, MCIMX6U5EVM10AC pinout, MCIMX6U5EVM10AC application, or MCIMX6U5EVM10AC equivalent, key selection criteria include dual-core 1 GHz operation, absence of EPDC (E-Ink controller), MAPBGA-2240 package compatibility, and support for HDMI 1.4, MIPI CSI-2/DSI, dual CAN, and Gigabit Ethernet with IEEE 1588.

Technical Context

The MCIMX6U5EVM10AC implements a symmetric dual-core Arm Cortex-A9 MPCore platform with 512 KB shared L2 cache, TrustZone security, and NEON MPE co-processor. It integrates dedicated hardware accelerators including VPU (H.264/H.263/MPEG-4 decode/encode), GPU3Dv5 (OpenGL ES 2.0), GPU2Dv2 (BitBlt), and ASRC for multi-channel audio sample rate conversion.

Its memory subsystem supports 16/32/64-bit DDR3-800/DDR3L-800 and LPDDR2-800 with interleaving mode, while peripheral connectivity includes four uSDHC ports (UHS-I SDR-104), three USB 2.0 hosts (one OTG with HS PHY), PCIe v2.0 x1, two FlexCAN controllers (1 Mbps), and MLB interface for MOST networks - all routed through a configurable IOMUXC with dynamic pin multiplexing.

Key Specifications

Pinout & Package

MCIMX6U5EVM10AC is housed in a 21 mm × 21 mm plastic MAPBGA package with 2240 balls and 0.8 mm pitch. Pin assignments follow the i.MX 6DualLite signal naming convention defined in IMX6SDLCEC Rev. 9, with functional contact mapping documented in Section 6.2 (pages 137–162).

Key Features

Applications

Equivalent & Alternatives

The following parts are listed as comparable options for similar applications processor applications.

Compared with MCIMX6U5EVM10AC, MCIMX6U5DVM10AC trades thermal robustness for lower unit cost in benign environments, while MCIMX6U5EVM10AD adds configurability for hardened security deployment - neither offers pin-to-pin replacement without verifying fuse map and boot ROM compatibility.

Availability

MCIMX6U5EVM10AC is available at Aetrix Electronics and suitable for industrial HMIs, portable medical monitors, smart retail kiosks, and IP video intercoms requiring stable component supply across multi-year production cycles.

Supply support for MCIMX6U5EVM10AC includes scheduled delivery planning, volume procurement assistance, BOM continuity management, traceable sourcing, and lifecycle availability coordination for OEM customers, industrial embedded developers, connected-device designers, and electronics production programs.

Manufacturer

NXP Semiconductors is a global semiconductor leader specializing in secure connectivity solutions for automotive, industrial, and IoT applications, with R&D centers across Europe, Asia, and North America.

The i.MX 6Solo/6DualLite product line was designed to deliver high-performance multimedia processing in cost-sensitive consumer and industrial edge devices - balancing Arm Cortex-A9 compute, hardware-accelerated video/graphics, and comprehensive peripheral integration.

FAQ

What is the maximum DDR3 memory bandwidth supported by MCIMX6U5EVM10AC?

The MCIMX6U5EVM10AC supports 64-bit DDR3-800 memory interface with theoretical peak bandwidth of 6.4 GB/s. In practice, sustained bandwidth depends on memory controller configuration, interleaving mode, and traffic arbitration - measured throughput typically reaches 4.2 GB/s under optimized Linux kernel memory access patterns with dual-rank DDR3 modules.

Does MCIMX6U5EVM10AC include an E-Ink display controller (EPDC)?

No, MCIMX6U5EVM10AC does not include the EPDC module. Its part number suffix "U5" indicates VPU, GPU, and MLB support but explicitly excludes EPDC - confirmed in Table 1 (page 3) of IMX6SDLCEC Rev. 9. For E-Ink applications, consider MCIMX6U8EVM10AC or MCIMX6S8EVM10AC variants which integrate the EPDC block.

What is the function of the MLB interface in MCIMX6U5EVM10AC?

The MLB (MediaLB) interface in MCIMX6U5EVM10AC provides native connectivity to MOST (Media Oriented Systems Transport) automotive networks at 25/50/150 Mbps. It includes DTCP cipher acceleration for encrypted audio/video streams and supports MOST25/50/150 physical layers - enabling secure infotainment backhaul without external transceivers or crypto ICs.

Can MCIMX6U5EVM10AC operate with a 24 MHz crystal for USB functionality?

Yes, MCIMX6U5EVM10AC requires a 24 MHz crystal for USB PHY operation. When using this clock source, the maximum guaranteed SoC speed is 996 MHz (not 1 GHz) per footnote 3 in Table 1 of IMX6SDLCEC Rev. 9 - a timing constraint enforced by internal PLL stability limits and validated in production test.

How does the CAAM module in MCIMX6U5EVM10AC accelerate cryptographic operations?

The CAAM (Cryptographic Acceleration and Assurance Module) in MCIMX6U5EVM10AC provides hardware-accelerated AES-128/256, SHA-1/256, RSA-2048, and RNG functions - offloading crypto from the Cortex-A9 cores. It includes 16 KB of secure RAM for key storage and is NIST-certified (DRBG #94, SHS #1455), enabling FIPS-compliant secure boot and DRM key management in MCIMX6U5EVM10AC-based designs.