Getting Started with the LPC5536/LPC55S36 Evaluation Board | NXP Semiconductors

Getting Started with the LPC5536/LPC55S36 Evaluation Board

Last Modified: 2022-01-31 08:27:34Supports LPC5536-EVK

1. Plug It In

Let's take your EVK board for a test drive! You have the choice of watching the sequence in a short video or following the detailed actions listed below.

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1.1 Get Familiar with the Board

The LPC5500 board is pre-programmed with a diagnostic demo, which tests various features of the board. This program utilizes the MCU-LINK VCOM output connected to the debug probe(J1), which acts as a serial to USB bridge to a host computer, as well as providing the CMSIS-DAP debug interface.

LPC553X-BOARD-IMG

LPC553X-BOARD-IMG

1.2 Install Drivers

MCU-Link is supported on host computers running on Windows 10, MacOS X and Ubuntu Linux operating systems (OSs). For each OS, an MCU-Link firmware package is available that includes the host device drivers, MCU-Link firmware and scripts to program CMSIS-DAP and J-Link firmware options.

To download and install the host device drivers and update the MCU-Link firmware, follow these steps:

  1. Go to the MCU-Link board page on the NXP website
  2. Click Design Resources. Then, click Development Software under SOFTWARE category. Installation packages are displayed for all three OSs
  3. Download the package for your host OS and install it (Linux / MacOS) or execute the installer program (Windows). The package is installed/unzipped to the MCU-LINK_installer_Vx_xxx directory
  4. Switch MCU-Link to (USB) ISP mode by shorting jumper JP25
  5. Connect the J1 connector on the board to the USB port of the host computer through a USB micro-B cable. MCU-Link gets powered up in (USB) ISP mode. The red MCU-Link status LED (D16) lights up. The board gets enumerated as a human interface device (HID) class device
  6. Program the MCU-Link firmware into the MCU-Link internal flash using the instructions provided in the "Firmware Installation Guide" section of the "Readme.txt" file. Use the scripts provided to program the CMSIS-DAP or J-Link firmware option
  7. Disconnect the board from the host computer, remove jumper JP25 and reconnect the board

1.3 Serial Terminal

Most of the MCUXpresso SDK examples and this out-of-box demo set up for MCUXpresso IDE, IAR and Keil tools use the MCU UART for print output. If you are not sure how to use a terminal application, try one of these tutorials: MCUXpresso Terminal Tutorial, Tera Term Tutorial, PuTTY Tutorial.

1.4 Plug in the Board

Connect a micro USB cable from connector J1 to a host computer or power supply to power up the board and run the demo program. Open a terminal emulator program (such as Teraterm or PuTTY), and look for a port with a name of the form “COMxx MCU-LINK VCOM ...”, and connect to it. Set the serial port for 115200 baud rate, 8 bits, no parity.


1.5 Run the Out-of-Box Demo

  • The RED user LED will flash 3 times, then the green LED will flash 3 times and finally the BLUE led will also flash three times
  • The terminal will display the LED sequence that is shown in addition to the RTC starting time that was set
  • Press the SW1 button and the RED led will turn on. If you press the SW3 button then the GREEN led will turn on instead
  • The terminal will also print “Connect USB cable to J3 for mouse application test”. Connect another micro USB cable to J3 in order to enumerate the mouse device USB application. This will cause your mouse pointer to have a square movement.

2. Get Software

The software and tools installation is detailed in two short videos or you can choose to follow the steps below. The LPCXpresso55S36 is supported by MCUXpresso SDK, which is described in this guide.

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2.1 Install Your Toolchain

NXP offers a complimentary toolchain called MCUXpresso IDE. Please download MCUXpresso v11.3.0 or above.

Get MCUXpresso IDE

Want to use a different toolchain?

Need help with choosing

No problem! The MCUXpresso SDK includes support for other tools such as IAR , KEIL and command-line GCC .

Jump Start Your Design with the MCUXpresso SDK

Want to learn more about SDK

The MCUXpresso SDK is complimentary and includes full source code under a permissive open-source license for all hardware abstraction and peripheral driver software. You may install the MCUXpresso SDK directly form the MCUXpresso SDK website at mcuxpresso.nxp.com. Click on “Select Development Board” to search for the evaluation board.

  1. In the "Search for Hardware" search box, type in the selected board “LPCXpresso55S36”. Click on the board to select it
  2. On the right hand side you will see the option to build the SDK for the LPCXpress55S36. Click on this button to add the middleware needed
  3. To build the SDK, let’s “Select All” for the middleware available. Then scroll down and press “Download SDK”. The software terms and conditions will appear, select “I Agree” in order to begin the download
  4. Once the SDK package has been downloaded, drag and drop to the “Installed SDKs” window in the MCUXpresso IDE
  5. If you are using another toolchain, you can download the SDK release for the LPCXpresso55S36 using the link below
Get MCUXpresso SDK

2.2 MCUXpresso Config Tools

The MCUXpresso Config Tool is an integrated suite of configuration tools that guides users in creating new MCUXpresso SDK projects and also provides pin and clock tools to generate initialization C code for custom board support, It is fully integrated as a part of MCUXpresso IDE and also as a separate tool if using a different IDE.

Click the "Get MCUXpresso Config Tools" below to get the Config Tools installer.

Get MCUXpresso Config Tools

3. Build, Run

A short video is provided to walk you through this process or you can follow along the steps below.

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3.1 Explore the MCUXpresso SDK Example Code

The MCUXpresso SDK comes with a long list of example applications code. To see what's available, browse to the SDK boards folder of your SDK installation and select LPCXpresso55s36.
(<SDK_Install_Directory>/boards/LPCXpresso55s36).

To learn more about specific example code, open the readme.txt file in an example’s directory.

3.2 Building and Debugging MCUXpresso SDK Examples

If one or more of the demo applications or driver examples sounds interesting, you're probably wanting to know how you can build and debug yourself. The Getting Started with MCUXpresso SDK guide provides easy, step-by-step instructions on how to configure, build and debug demos for all toolchains supported by the SDK.

Use the guide below to learn how to open, build and debug an example application using the MCUXpresso IDE.

Using a different toolchain?

This demo is also available for IAR and KEIL.

4. Modify an SDK Example

A short video is provided to walk you through this process, or you can follow along the steps below.

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4.1 Clone an Example Project from MCUXpresso SDK

Option A: Use the MCUXpresso IDE to clone an example project.

Option B: Use the MCUXpresso Config Tool to clone an existing MCUXpresso SDK example for use with third-party IDEs.

4.2 Use the Pin Tool

Boot Options

Documents and Videos Application Note SW (if applicable) Description
Firmware Update Using Secondary Bootloader Application Note SW It implements a simple dual image update example on LPC55xx

Tools and References

MCUXpresso Secure Provisioning Tool  A GUI-based application provided to simply generation and provisioning of bootable executables on NXP LPC55Sxx

LPC Community Boot  Look for answers to your boot questions or submit new questions in our Community.

External Memory

Documents and Videos Application Note SW (if applicable) Description
FlexSPI CoreMark Performance on LPC553x/LPC55S3x This document emphasizes on how to port CoreMark project and run on external FlexSPI interface, including octal NOR flash and HyperRAM
LPC553x/LPC55S3x CoreMark on Cortex-M33 Porting Guide Application Note SW This application note describes how to port CoreMark code to LPC553x/LPC55S3x.
LPC553X FLEXSPI Memory Management Training video covering the basics of FlexSPI and how to use and expand the system memory.

MCUXpresso SDK Examples

Several examples, demos and drivers are available within the SDK to help you get started. Some common examples for external memory are listed below.

FlexSPI Octal DMA Transfer Example

How to use the FlexSPI driver with polling.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\driver_examples\flexspi\octal\dma_transfer

FlexSPI Octal Polling Transfer Example

How to use the FlexSPI driver with polling.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\driver_examples\flexspi\octal\polling_transfer

FlexSPI Octal Power Down Example

How to use the FlexSPI driver with polling.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\driver_examples\flexspi\octal\power_down

Power Management

Power Management

Documents and Videos Application Note SW (if applicable) Description
How to Allow Computer to Turn Off MCU to Save Power via USB (LPC553x) This application note describes the USB suspend/resume, remote wakeup-related knowledge, and how to use the LPC553x MCU USB module to implement this feature.
Using the DC-DC and LDO Features on the LPC553x/LPC55S3x Family This application note provides a hardware design guide for the internal DC-DC converter and the internal LDO regulator on LPC553x/LPC55S3x devices.
MCU-Link Energy Measurement Capabilities This document shows the results of the MCU-Link in different power settings using the LPC55S3x-EVK.
Low-power Modes and Wake-Up Time Application Note SW This application note introduces various low-power modes of the LPC553x/ LPC55S3x series.
Using FreeRTOS Tickless Mode on LPC5500 This application note describes how to implement the FreeRTOS tickless mode.
LPC553X Voltage Reference Training video discusses overview of VREF module in LPC55S3x/3x.
LPC553X Power Management Training video reviews the different power states, sources and capabilities of the power architecture of this device.

Security and Integrity

Security and Integrity

Documents and Videos Description
Using FreeRTOS on LPC55Sxx Series Microcontrollers with TrustZone This document takes an LPC55S69 as example to describe how to use FreeRTOS in an ARMv8-M processor that supports TrustZone.
Building the Right Level of Security for Your Application With NXP and IAR Systems In this training, experts from NXP and IAR Systems will give you an overview of C-Trust, show you how to take advantage of the available features and implement "security out of the box"

Safety

Documents and Videos Description
IEC 60730 Class B Software Development Guidelines for LPC553x MCUs The main purpose of this application note is to accelerate customer software development and certification processes for products based on LPC553x MCUs

MCUXpresso SDK Examples

Several examples, demos and drivers are available within the SDK to help you get started. Some common examples for external memory are listed below.

IEC60730B_Example_User_Guide_LPC55Sxx_v4_2

This example user's guide describes how to set the hardware correctly and how to use the example code with the IEC60730B Safety library.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\docs\safety

IEC60730B_Library_User_Guide_CM33_v4_2

The test architecture, implementation, test and validation of corresponding tests are comprehensively described in independent sections for each test.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\docs\safety

Safety Core Self-Test Example

This example demonstrates the core self-test of the IEC60730B.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\demo_apps\safety_iec60730b

Wired Communication

Wired Communication

Documents and Videos Application Note SW (if applicable) Description
Building an I3C Sensor Network Using LPC553x/LPC55S3x Application Note SW This application note describes how to use the LPC553x/LPC55S3x I3C controller as a master, take full advantage of some key features of the I3C such as DAA and IBI, how to build a sensor network and communicate with these slave sensors on the network
LPC553x/LPC55S3x Crystal-Less USB Solution Application Note SW This section describes the steps required to implement a crystal-less USB full-speed operation for the LPC553x/LPC55S3x family.
LPC553x/LPC55S3x Crystal-Less USB Solution Training video on I3C including specifications and features as well as advantages over I2C.

Multicore and Hardware Acceleration

Documents and Videos Application Note SW (if applicable) Description
Digital Signal Processing for NXP LPC553x/LPC55S3x Using PowerQuad Application Note SW The PowerQuad co-processor is a DSP accelerator that aids the CPU cores in performing mathematical operations such as matrix calculations, filtering and transform functions, including FFT.
Computing FFT with PowerQuad and CMSIS-DSP on LPC5500 Application Note SW This application note discusses fixed-point FFT and floating-point FFT using the PowerQuad.

MCUXpresso SDK Examples

Powerquad Examples

A vast variety of powerquad examples provided for different mathematical algorithms.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\driver_examples\powerquad

Audio

Documents and Videos Description
Implementation of 5.1-channel Audio Solution on LPC55xx The on-board DSP accelerator makes the LPC55S69 very suitable for USB audio applications.

MCUXpresso SDK Examples

Audio Examples

The maestro_demo application demonstrates audio processing on the ARM cortex core utilizing the Maestro Audio Framework library.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\audio_examples

USB Audio Examples

Bare metal and FreeRTOS examples that enumerate a recording or playback device.
USB Device: Audio generator, audio speaker, composite hid audio.
USB Host: Audio Speaker

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\usb_examples

Display and Graphics

MCUXpresso SDK Examples

emWin GUI Demo

Demonstrates the graphical widgets of the emWin library.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\emwin_examples

USB Audio Examples

A demo application to show LVGL widgets.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\littlevgl_examples

Tools and References

Graphical User Interfaces for NXP Microcontrollers  Learn more about your GUI options for NXP Microcontrollers.

Open Source LittlevGL GUI Library on Adafruit Touch LCDs with NXP LPC55S69-EVK   Driving Adafruit LDC Display with Capacitive Touch and MCULib.

LVGL Open-Source Graphics Library  LVGL is a free and open-source embedded graphic library with features that enable you to create embedded GUIs with intuitive graphical elements, beautiful visual effects and a low memory footprint.

GUI Guider  A user-friendly graphical user interface development tool from NXP that enables the rapid development of high quality displays with the open-source LVGL graphics library.

NXP emWin Libraries  NXP has partnered with SEGGER Microcontroller to offer the high performance emWin embedded graphics libraries in binary form for free commercial use with any Arm Cortex-M microcontrollers from NXP.

GUI Development With emWin and AppWizard  How to use the different features in AppWizard to create complete, ready-to-run projects based on emWin.

Camera Interfaces

Camera Interfaces

Documents and Videos Description
AN12868 Camera Interface in LPC55(S)xx Application Note SW Introduces the camera interface, features and API routines and demo.

Motor Control

Documents and Videos Application Note SW (if applicable) Description
Stepper Motor Control on LPC55S3x Application Note SW This application note deals with open loop control of bipolar stepper motor on LPC55S36 EVK equipped with two FRDM-MC-LVPMSM boards.
Dual Servo Motor Demo on LPC553x/LPC55S3x Application Note SW This application note describes the dual servo demo with the NXP LPC553x/ LPC55S3x processor.
BLDC Motor Control Demo on LPC553x/LPC55S3x Application Note SW This application note describes the implementation of the 3-phase Brushless DC motor (BLDC) control with Hall sensor based on the NXP LPC553x/ LPC55S3x processor
FreeMASTER Four-Part Webinar Series Introduces the camera interface, features and API routines and demo.

MCUXpresso SDK Examples

PMSMLPC55S36EVK

This user's guide describes the implementation of the sensor and sensorless motor-control software for a 3-phase Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM).

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\docs\MC

PMSM Example

This examples demonstrates the control of the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM).

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\demo_apps\mc_pmsm\pmsm_enc

PMSM Dual Example

This examples demonstrates the control of dual Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM).

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\demo_apps\mc_pmsm\pmsm_enc_dual

PMSM OPAMP Example

This examples demonstrates the control of the Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor (PMSM) with OPAMP.

Path:

1<SDK_PATH>\boards\lpcxpresso55s36\demo_apps\mc_pmsm\pmsm_enc_iopamp

Tool and References

FreeMASTER How To  A starting guide for engineers using FreeMASTER tool.

FreeMASTER 3.0 Installation Guide   This article will walk you through the installation process of FreeMASTER 3.0.

RTCESL Libraries  A group of algorithms ranging from basic mathematics operations to advanced transformations and observers, which can be easily incorporated into complex real-time control applications and used in our motor control reference designs.

Analog

Analog

Documents and Videos Application Note SW (if applicable) Description
OPAMP Usage on LPC553x/LPC55S3x Application Note SW This application note covers the aspects of the OPAMP and its different uses in the LPC55S3x.
LPC553x/LPC55S3x High-Speed Comparator - Evaluation of Advanced Features Application Note SW This application note describes the advanced comparator features of LPC55S3x devices.
LPC553x/LPC55S3x High-Speed Comparator - Evaluation of Basic Features Application Note SW This application note describes various design criteria that system designers should consider when implementing HSCMP designs with the LPC553x/ LPC55S3x family of microprocessors.
LPC553x/LPC55S3x ADC with Hardware Trigger and ADC Calculator Tool Application Note SW This application note introduces the ADC features that are available with the LPC553x/LPC55S3x device as well as the attached tool to calculate sampling time or source impedance
LPC 553X Analog Training videos reviews the overview of analog modules in LPC55S3x/3x.
LPC553X 12-Bit General Purpose Low Power DAC Training video reviews the details of the DAC module.

MCUXpresso Terminal Tutorial

MCUXpresso Terminal Tutorial

Tera Term is a very popular open source terminal emulation application. This program can be used to display information sent from your NXP development platform's virtual serial port.

  1. Download Tera Term from SourceForge. After the download, run the installer and then return to this webpage to continue.
  2. Download

  3. Launch Tera Term. The first time it launches, it will show you the following dialog. Select the serial option. Assuming your board is plugged in, there should be a COM port automatically populated in the list.
  4. Configure the serial port settings (using the COM port number identified earlier) to 115200 baud rate, 8 data bits, no parity and 1 stop bit. To do this, go to Setup → Serial Port and change the settings.
  5. Verify that the connection is open. If connected, Tera Term will show something like below in its title bar.
  6. You're ready to go

The most recent versions of MCUXpresso IDE count with a terminal emulation application. This tool can be used to display information sent from your NXP development platform's virtual serial port.

  1. Open the MCUXpresso IDE.
  2. Launch the MCUXpresso IDE terminal by clicking on the “Open a Terminal” button on the top of the IDE or press “Ctrl + Alt + Shift + T.”
  3. Select Serial Terminal
  4. Configure the serial port settings (using the MCU-LINK COM port number) to 115200 baud rate, 8 data bits, no parity and 1 stop bit, then press “OK” button.
  5. Verify that the connection is open. If connected, MCUXpresso IDE will look like the figure below at the Terminal view.

  6. You're ready to go

Tera Term Tutorial

Tera Term Tutorial

Tera Term is a very popular open source terminal emulation application. This program can be used to display information sent from your NXP development platform's virtual serial port.

  1. Download Tera Term from SourceForge. After the download, run the installer and then return to this webpage to continue.
  2. Download

  3. Launch Tera Term. The first time it launches, it will show you the following dialog. Select the serial option. Assuming your board is plugged in, there should be a COM port automatically populated in the list.
  4. Configure the serial port settings (using the COM port number identified earlier) to 115200 baud rate, 8 data bits, no parity and 1 stop bit. To do this, go to Setup → Serial Port and change the settings.
  5. Verify that the connection is open. If connected, Tera Term will show something like below in its title bar.
  6. You're ready to go

PuTTY Tutorial

PuTTY Tutorial

PuTTY is a popular terminal emulation application. This program can be used to display information sent from your NXP development platform's virtual serial port.

  1. Download PuTTY using the button below. After the download, run the installer and then return to this webpage to continue.
  2. Download

  3. Launch PuTTY by either double clicking on the *.exe file you downloaded or from the Start menu, depending on the type of download you selected.
  4. Configure In the window that launches, select the Serial radio button and enter the COM port number that you determined earlier. Also enter the baud rate, in this case 115200.
  5. Click Open to open the serial connection. Assuming the board is connected and you entered the correct COM port, the terminal window will open. If the configuration is not correct, PuTTY will alert you.
  6. You're ready to go

Support

Connect with other engineers and get expert advice on designing with the LPC55S36-EVK evaluation board using our community sites.

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