Flashing and Debugging Cortex-M7 Firmware on i.MX8M Plus EVK (with and without Cortex-A53)

[Subrahmanyam1]

Hello,

I am working with the i.MX8M Plus EVK (8MPLUSLPD4-EVK) and using the MCUXpresso SDK (not MCUXpresso IDE or VS Code) for Cortex-M7 development. I can successfully build my project and generate the output files (.elf and .bin) using the ARM GCC compiler.

Now I need clear guidance on the next step:

Flashing and Running M7 Firmware

1. With Cortex-A53:

   • What is the detailed process to flash and run the M7 firmware using the Cortex-A53 side (for example via U-Boot commands or Linux remoteproc)?

2. Without Cortex-A53:

   • What is the detailed process to flash and debug the M7 firmware directly, without depending on the A53 core?

   • How is the M7 firmware typically loaded into OCRAM/TCM, and can it be run fully standalone?

Debugging Tools and Probes

• Which hardware debug probes are officially supported for connecting directly to the Cortex-M7 on this EVK (e.g., Segger J-Link)?

• Which probes/tool-chains work well with bare-metal development (no IDE, only MCUXpresso SDK and GCC tool-chain)?

• Is it possible to debug the M7 independently with JTAG/SWD, or must the A53 be involved for initialization?
  
  GOAL:

  I need a clear, step-by-step procedure for both development flows:

  • Flashing and debugging via Cortex-A53.

  • Flashing and debugging directly on Cortex-M7 (without A53).

  Any official documentation, application notes, or step-by-step references for these two methods would be very helpful.