Device manufacturers spend months or years developing application software for their end products, which is one of the most valuable assets.
During the software development phase, the engineering teams use development platforms with easy access to critical electronics development components, but this is no longer the case when the projects move to the manufacturing phase.
Once the project is ready to go to manufacturing the exposure of the electronics components changes drastically from a development environment. In Most cases the programming connector is not accessible because PCB now resides inside an assembled enclosure or has been removed to reduce PCB cost or very important, for security reasons.
On Any case you still need to download manufacture testing FW or final product firmware to the microcontrollers in the system and to help with that NXP MCX microcontrollers have embedded tools called the In-system programming to assist with the FW provisioning.
In-System programming (ISP) is a method of erasing and programing the on-chip FLASH or RAM memory using a ROM bootloader firmware without using an external Debug tool.
NXP MCX Microcontroller family have ISP support over several serial peripherals like:
- UART
- SPI
- I2C
- USB High-Speed
- USB Full-Speed
- CAN
Depending on the MCX microcontroller you are using the ISP supported peripherals will change so it is important to review the “In-system Programming” reference manual chapter on the specific MCX microcontroller that will be used.
One important thing to remark is that the ISP firmware resides inside a ROM section on the MCX microcontrollers, meaning that the entire flash of the device can be used for the main application without the need of reserving on-chip FLASH for a firmware provisioning bootloader.
The flash bootloader code is executed automatically every time the part is powered on or reset. The bootloader can execute the ISP command handler or pass execution to the user application code depending on several conditions.
When the internal flash in empty the MCX microcontroller automatically enters ISP mode. Translating this to the manufacturing, Microcontrollers are ready to get firmware using ISP after the PCB assembly process.
In-circuit programming features can be tested using any FRDM or EVK boards available for MCX family. You can find instructions of how to use the ISP mode alongside many other MCX examples, demos and tools directly on NXP Application Code Hub
Here are some Application Code Hub for ISP on MCX FRDM boards:
How to use In-System Programming (ISP) on FRDM-MCXN947
How to use In-System Programming (ISP) on FRDM-MCXA153
Security is at the core of NXP. Not only do we want each element of our devices or software to be safe and secure, but it is just as critical that we enable the manufacturing of each customer's product to be secure. Manufacturing processes should be worry-free and hassle-free with the backing of highly secure technology, even if the manufacturing site itself cannot provide strong assurances of security.
NXP is offers a variety of features that enable OEMs to protect their IP and revenue. Utilizing our MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning tool (SEC) and Secure Provisioning SDK (SPSDK)
MCXpresso Secure Provisioning tool (SEC)
The MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning tool (SEC) is a GUI-based application that provides firmware provisioning operations such as setting up e-fuses/OTP, building secure boot image, flash programming, keys generation, trust provisioning, etc.
NXP SEC tool features:
- Easy-to-use configuration of secure provisioning project settings
- Enables direct communication with attached device for provisioning and programming.
- Supports generation of executable scripts for production use
- Manufacturing mode for simplified production line use
Secure Provisioning SDK (SPSDK)
Secure Provisioning SDK (SPSDK) is an open-source development kit with its source code released on Github and PyPI. It contains a set of API modules for custom production tool development which requires more advanced secure provisioning flow. SPSDK enables connection and communication with NXP’s microcontrollers for the following purposes:
- Generation of Secure Binary (SB) bootable images
- Security features configuration (CMPA, CFPA, Trustzone, secure bootloader, debug authentication, etc.)
- Generation and management of cryptographic keys and certificates
- Trust provisioning and secure programming through MCU Bootloader
- Debug authentication through J-Link, PEmicro and PyOCD debug probes
For more information about NXP development ecosystem for microcontrollers please visit: MCUXpresso Suite of Software and Tools https://nxp.com/mcuxpresso
