NXP Semiconductors PCAL6416AEV-ARD

Overview

PCAL6416AEV-ARD from NXP Semiconductors is an Arduino-compatible daughter evaluation board designed to accelerate development and validation of the PCAL6416A 16-bit I²C-bus I/O expander IC. It features on-board LEDs and push-button switches connected directly to the DUT's P0 (output) and P1 (input) ports, a dedicated Arduino Uno R3 interface for host communication via Fast-mode I²C (400 kHz), and three control lines (RESET, ADDR, INT) routed through the Arduino port.

For engineers reviewing the PCAL6416AEV-ARD datasheet, PCAL6416AEV-ARD pinout, PCAL6416AEV-ARD application, or PCAL6416AEV-ARD equivalent, this board enables rapid functional verification, register-level configuration testing, interrupt behavior analysis, and I/O expansion prototyping with NXP i.MX RT1050, LPCXpresso55S69, and i.MX 8M Mini LPDDR4 EVKs - all using a single Windows GUI application.

Technical Context

The PCAL6416AEV-ARD operates as a hardware test platform-not a production component-connecting exclusively via Arduino Uno R3 headers (J1–J4) to host evaluation boards. It routes the PCAL6416A's I²C bus (SDA/SCL), RESET, ADDR, and INT signals through defined Arduino pins while delivering 5 V power from the host and regulating it to 3.3 V for the DUT and LEDs.

It integrates eight user-controllable LEDs (driven by P0 outputs), eight momentary switches (connected to P1 inputs), and a 16-pin external I/O connector (J5) mirroring the full 16-bit port. Jumpers JP1 and JP2 allow selective disabling of the INT monitor LED (D3) and on-board user LEDs to support external peripheral interfacing without conflict.

Key Specifications

Availability

PCAL6416AEV-ARD is available at Aetrix Electronics and suitable for embedded I/O expansion evaluation, MCU peripheral interface validation, industrial HMI prototyping, and educational Arduino-compatible hardware labs requiring stable component supply and documented reference integration paths.

Supply support for PCAL6416AEV-ARD 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 company headquartered in Eindhoven, Netherlands, specializing in secure connectivity solutions for automotive, industrial, IoT, and mobile applications.

The PCAL6416AEV-ARD belongs to NXP's PCAL6xxx evaluation kit family, purpose-built to simplify adoption of their programmable I/O expanders-enabling rapid register-level testing, interrupt-driven system design, and cross-platform compatibility across NXP's ARM-based EVK ecosystem.

FAQ

What is the primary function of the PCAL6416AEV-ARD?

The PCAL6416AEV-ARD is a dedicated evaluation daughter board for the PCAL6416A I/O expander IC. It does not function as a standalone product but serves as a hardware interface to validate the PCAL6416A's 16-bit I²C-controlled GPIO capabilities-including direction control, interrupt generation, pull-up/pull-down configuration, and register access-using Arduino-compatible host platforms and NXP's unified Windows GUI.

Which host evaluation boards are natively supported by the PCAL6416AEV-ARD?

The PCAL6416AEV-ARD is fully compliant with three NXP EVKs without modification: the i.MX RT1050 Evaluation Kit (MIMXRT1050-EVK), the LPCXpresso55S69 Development Board (LPC55S69-EVK), and the i.MX 8M Mini LPDDR4 Evaluation Kit (8MMINILPD4-EVK). For the latter, the IMX8MMINI-IARD interposer board is required to bridge the 2×20 expansion header to Arduino pinout.

Does the PCAL6416AEV-ARD require external power or firmware?

No external power supply is needed-the PCAL6416AEV-ARD draws 5 V directly from the host EVK's Arduino port. However, it does require pre-loaded firmware on the host EVK (e.g., IMXRT1050 target firmware) and the NXP PCAL6xxx GUI application installed on a Windows 10 PC to enable full register-level control, I²C configuration, and real-time I/O monitoring of the PCAL6416AEV-ARD.

Can the PCAL6416AEV-ARD be used with non-NXP Arduino-compatible boards?

Yes-any Arduino-compatible board with a standard Uno R3 footprint can physically accept the PCAL6416AEV-ARD. However, full functionality (including GUI integration and interrupt handling) requires custom firmware that implements the PCAL6416A's register map and I²C command protocol. The board's schematic (SPF-46663.pdf) and pin mapping (Table 1) provide the necessary electrical interface details for such adaptation.

How are the on-board LEDs and switches connected to the PCAL6416A?

The eight on-board LEDs are hardwired to the P0 port outputs (P0_0 through P0_7) of the PCAL6416A, while the eight push-button switches connect to the P1 port inputs (P1_0 through P1_7). Both ports are also exposed on the 16-pin J5 I/O connector. JP2 jumper allows disabling the LEDs to prevent contention when external devices drive the same P0 lines via J5.