NXP has launched the MCX A34 mixed-signal Arm Cortex-M33 industrial MCU, an upgrade of the MCX A14x and MCX A15x MCUs, which were introduced in 2024. While the A14x/A15x offered Cortex-M33 cores up to 96 MHz, 128 KB Flash, 32 KB SRAM, a 12-bit ADC, the A34 scales up with a 180 MHz core, up to 1 MB Flash, 256 KB SRAM, four 16-bit ADCs (3.2 Msps), four OpAmps, a 12-bit DAC, and FlexPWM with enhanced quadrature decoding.
It also features a dedicated Math Acceleration Unit (MAU) that executes trigonometric, reciprocal, and square root operations up to 17x faster than CMSIS-DSP, a SmartDMA coprocessor for offloading data transfers, and advanced security features with tamper detection and secure boot. Connectivity is also richer, with up to six UARTs, four I²C, two SPI, and a CAN FD interface.
MCX A34 specifications:
- MCU core – Arm Cortex-M33 core clocked at up to 180 MHz with DSP and SIMD extensions, FPU, MPU; up to 738 CoreMark (4.1 CoreMark/MHz)
- Memory/Storage
- Up to 256 KB SRAM (retention down to Deep Power Down)
- 8 KB cache RAM (optionally with ECC)
- Up to 1 MB Flash with ECC, single bank
- ROM with bootloader
- Accelerators – MAU (Math Accelerate Unit for trig, reciprocal, sqrt, sine/cos/arctan); SmartDMA co-processor for camera/keypad tasks
- Peripherals
- Up to 114 GPIOs (22 pins up to 50 MHz), 8 high-drive 20 mA pins, up to 29 wake-up sources; IO supply 1.71 V–3.6V (some 5V-tolerant pins)
- Sensor interfaces
- 2x LPSPI (up to 50 MHz in master mode)
- 4x LPI2C (standard, fast, fast+, ultra-fast)
- 6x LPUART
- 1x FlexCAN with CAN FD
- Analog
- 4x 16-bit ADC with up to 3.2 Msps in 16-bit mode and 4 Msps in 12-bit mode; up to 82 ADC input channels (package-dependent); multiple trigger inputs; integrated temperature sensor
- 1x 12-bit DAC (up to 1 Msps)
- 3x High-speed comparators with 8 input pins and integrated 8-bit reference DAC (one comparator functional down to Deep Power Down mode)
- 4x OpAmps (no PGA)
- Motor Control Subsystem
- Up to 2x FlexPWM, each with 4 submodules (16 PWM outputs total)
- 2x Quadrature Decoders (eQDC) for position/speed sensing
- 2x AOI (AND/OR/INVERT logic units)
- Timers
- 5x 32-bit general-purpose asynchronous timers/counters (4 capture inputs, 4 compare outputs, DMA request capability)
- Low Power Timer (LPTimer)
- Frequency measurement timer
- Windowed Watchdog Timer (WWDT)
- Wake timer
- MicroTick timer (runs from a 1 MHz clock to wake the device from deep sleep with Flash off)
- OS Event timer
- Security
- Life cycle management
- Protected Flash with read/write/execute permissions and lock control
- 128-bit Universal Unique Identifier (UUID) per device (RFC4122 v5 compliant)
- Code Watchdog (code flow integrity checking)
- Code Read Out Protection (ROP) with multiple access levels
- Glikey – glitch attack-resistant keyed access to sensitive registers
- 6x passive anti-tamper pins (BGA/LQFP144 packages)
- Â Misc
- Integrated temperature sensor
- RTC (no dedicated VBAT, internal only)
- Operating voltage – 1.71V to 3.6V
- Power consumption
- 78 μA/MHz active current (3.3V, 25 °C)
- 32 μA power-down mode with full SRAM retention (wake-up 18.8 μs)
- 473 nA Deep Power-down mode (wake-up 1.57 ms)
- Package options
- 169-ball WFBGA, 7×7 mm, 0.5 mm pitch (114 GPIOs)
- 144-pin LQFP, 20×20 mm (114 GPIOs)
- 100-pin LQFP, 14×14 mm (86 GPIOs)
- 64-pin LQFP, 10×10 mm (55 GPIOs)
- Temperature range – –40°C to +125°C
The MCX A34 family is supported by the MCUXpresso Developer Experience, which includes a full software development kit (SDK), configuration tools for pins, clocks, peripherals, and security, as well as secure provisioning utilities. The MCUXpresso tools also integrate with Visual Studio Code for easy development. Additionally, the devices are supported by the Zephyr RTOS for open-source and IoT projects.
NXP first unveiled the NXP MCX general-purpose Arm MCU at Embedded World back in 2022. Then, in 2024, the MCX A series was released, and just in January 2025, they released the MCX L series, which are ultra-low-power Arm Cortex-M33 MCUs for energy harvesting and battery-powered devices. In May 2025, they released the MCX W72x wireless series, which supports Bluetooth 5.2 and an 802.15.4 radio for Zigbee, Thread, and Matter. The MCX lineup has now been expanded with the release of the MCX A34 series for high-performance industrial applications.
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FRDM-MCXA346 development board specifications:
- Microcontroller – NXP MCX A346 Arm Cortex-M33 core @ up to 180 MHz
- USB – High-speed USB Type-C connector (onboard MCU-Link debugger)
- Expansion
- Arduino header
- FRDM header
- SmartDMA/camera header
- GPIO1 and GPIO2 headers
- CAN FD, I³C, SPI, I²C, UART through expansion headers
- Wi-Fi expansion connector (Arduino, mikroBUS, PMOD, DNP)
- Debug
- On-board MCU-Link debugger with CMSIS-DAP
- JTAG/SWD connector
- Misc – RGB LED Reset, ISP, and Wake-up buttons
To facilitate the development process, the company also provides the FRDM-MCXA346 development board designed for air conditioning units, brushless DC (BLDC) and permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) drives, and general industrial motor systems.
The MCX A34 family of MCUs starts at $4.41 for a single unit, and the price drops to $2.40 for a tray of 3,200 chips. The FRDM-MCXA346 development board costs around $20 and can be directly purchased from NXP’s website. More information can be found on the product page and the press release.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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