i.MX

The i.MX range is a family of Freescale Semiconductor (now part of NXP) proprietary microcontrollers for multimedia applications based on the ARM architecture and focused on low-power consumption. The i.MX application processors are SoCs (System-on-Chip), that integrate many processing units into one die, like the main CPU, a video processing unit and a graphics processing unit for instance. The i.MX products are qualified for automotive, industrial and consumer markets. Most of them are guaranteed for a production lifetime of 10 to 15 years.[1]
Many devices use i.MX processors, such as Ford Sync, Kobo_eReader, Amazon Kindle, Sony Reader, Onyx Boox readers/tablets, SolidRun SOM's (including CuBox), some Logitech Harmony remote controls and Squeezebox radio, some Toshiba Gigabeat mp4 players. The i.MX range was previously known as the "DragonBall MX" family, the fifth generation of DragonBall microcontrollers. i.MX originally stood for "innovative Multimedia eXtension".

The i.MX solutions consist of hardware (processors and development boards) and software optimized for the processor.

i.MX 1 series

Launched in 2001/2002, the i.MX1x series is based on the ARM920T architecture.

i.MX 2 series

The i.MX2x series is a family of processors based on the ARM9 architecture (ARM926EJ-S), designed in CMOS 90 nm process.

i.MX 21 family

The i.MX21 family is designed for low power handheld devices. It was launched in 2003.

i.MX 27 family

The i.MX27 family is designed for videotelephony and video surveillance. It was launched in 2007.

i.MX 25 family

The i.MX25 family was launched in 2009. It especially integrates key security features in hardware. The high-end member of the family, i.MX258, integrates a 400 MHz ARM9 CPU platform + LCDC (LCD controller) + security block and supports mDDR-SDRAM at 133 MHz.

i.MX 23 family

The i.MX233 processor (formerly known as SigmaTel STMP3780 of the STMP37xx family), launched in 2009, integrates a Power Management Unit (PMU) and a stereo audio codec within the silicon. This unique integration removes the need for external power management chip and audio codec chip.

i.MX 28 family

The i.MX28 family was launched in 2010. It especially integrates key security features in hardware, an ADC and the power management unit. It supports mDDR, LV-DDR2, DDR2-SDRAM at 200 MHz.

i.MX 3 series

The i.MX3x series is a family of processors based on the ARM11 architecture (ARM1136JF-S mainly), designed in CMOS 90 nm process.

i.MX 31 family

The i.MX31 was launched in 2005. It integrates a 532 MHz ARM1136 CPU platform (with vector floating point unit, L1 caches and 128KB L2 caches) + Video Processing Unit (VPU) + 3D GPU (OpenGL ES 1.1) + IPU + security block It supports mDDR-SDRAM at 133 MHz.

i.MX 37 family

The i.MX37 processor is designed for Portable Media Players. It was launched in 2008.

It supports mDDR-SDRAM at 133 MHz.

i.MX 35 family

The i.MX35 family is the replacement of i.MX31. It was launched in 2009. The high-end member of the family, i.MX357, integrates an 532 MHz ARM1136 CPU platform (with Vector Floating Point unit, L1 caches and 128KB L2 cache) + 2.5D GPU (OpenVG 1.1) + IPU + security block It supports DDR2-SDRAM at 133 MHz.

i.MX 5 series

The i.MX5x series is based on the ARM Cortex A8 core. It comprises two families: the i.MX51 family (high-end multimedia devices like smartbook or automotive infotainment) and the i.MX50 family (eReaders). It is designed in CMOS 65 nm process. Some models have an Imageon z460 GPU.

i.MX 51 family

The high-end member of the family, i.MX515, integrates an 800 MHz ARM Cortex A8 CPU platform (with NEON co-processor, Vector Floating Point Unit, L1 caches and 256KB L2 cache) + multi-format HD 720p decode / D1 encode hardware video codecs (VPU, Video Processing Unit) + Imageon 3D GPU (OpenGL ES 2.0) + 2.5D GPU (OpenVG 1.1) + IPU + security block. It especially supports DDR2 SDRAM at 200 MHz. The imx51 family was launched in 2009.

i.MX 50 family

The i.MX508 processor is the result of Freescale collaboration with E Ink. It is dedicated for eReaders. Launched in 2010, it integrates the E Ink display controller within the silicon to save both BOM cost and space on the PCB. It especially supports LP-DDR2 SDRAM at 400 MHz.

i.MX 53 family

i.MX535 was announced in June 2010. Shipped since the first quarter of 2011.

i.MX 6 series

The i.MX6 series are based on the ARM Cortex A9 solo, dual or quad cores and typically comes with one or more Vivante GPUs. It is designed in CMOS 40 nm process. i.MX6 Solo, Dual and Quad were announced in January 2011, during Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

Name Clock speed CPU cores L2 cache
in kB		 Embedded
SRAM in kB		 3D GPU / shaders /
shader clock in MHz		 2D GPU Vector GPU VPU other graphics cores other cores
i.MX6 UltraLite 528 MHz
(Cortex-A7)		 1 128 128 1x PXP security
i.MX6 SoloLite 1.0 GHz 1 256 128 Vivante GC320 Vivante GC355 1x PXP security
i.MX6 SoloX 1.0 GHz 1 256 128 Vivante GC400T / 1 / 720 Vivante GC320 Vivante GC355 1x PXP Cortex-M4 core, security
i.MX6 Solo 1.0 GHz 1 512 128 Vivante GC880 / 1 / 528 Vivante GC320 Full HD (1080p decode) 1x IPUv3, 1x PXP security
i.MX6 DualLite 1.0 GHz 2 512 128 Vivante GC880 / 1 / 528 Vivante GC320 Full HD (1080p decode) 1x IPUv3, 1x PXP security
i.MX6 Dual 1.2 GHz 2 1024 256 Vivante GC2000 / 4 / 594 Vivante GC320 Vivante GC355 Full HD (1080p decode) 2x IPUv3 security
i.MX6 Quad 1.2 GHz 4 1024 256 Vivante GC2000 / 4 / 594 Vivante GC320 Vivante GC355 dual Full HD (1080p decode) 2x IPUv3 security
i.MX6 DualPlus 1.0(1.2) GHz 2 1024 512 Vivante GC2000+ / 4 / 720 Vivante GC320 Vivante GC355 Full HD (1080p decode) 2x IPUv3 security
i.MX6 QuadPlus 1.0(1.2) GHz 4 1024 512 Vivante GC2000+ / 4 / 720 Vivante GC320 Vivante GC355 dual Full HD (1080p decode) 2x IPUv3 security

i.MX 7 series

The i.MX7 series is based on the low-power ARM Cortex A7 CPU core with a secondary ARM Cortex M4 real-time co-processor. It is designed 28 nm fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FDSOI) process.[3] So far only low-powered single and dual-core models, designed for IoT applications have been released. i.MX 7Solo and i.MX 7Dual were announced in September 2013.[4][5]

Name Clock speed (MHz) CPU cores L2 cache (KB) 3D GPU 2D GPU Vector GPU VPU other graphics cores other cores
i.MX 7Solo 800 1 512 - - - - PXP Secondary CPU – ARM Cortex M4 real-time co-processor
i.MX 7Dual 1000 2 512 - - - - PXP Secondary CPU – ARM Cortex M4 real-time co-processor

i.MX 8 series

The i.MX8 series was announced in September 2013. The i.MX8 is based on CPU cores using the ARMv8-A 64-bit CPU architecture. NXP have written that the i.MX8 series is designed for Driver Information Systems (car computers) and applications have been released.[4][6]

In May 2016 the i.MX8 became available as a multisensory enablement kit (MEK) based on i.MX 8.[7][8][9] Slides from NXP FTF found on the web [10] indicated an initial total of 5 variants (with a main level of categorization into "Dual" and "Quad") with varying the CPU and GPU capabilities. The CPU was suggested to include varying counts of Cortex-A72, Cortex-A53 and Cortex-M4, while the GPU is either 1 or 2 units of the Vivante GC7000VX. Other publications supported this general image, some even including photos of an evaluation kit that is named "Multisensory Enablement Kit" (MEK) that got later promoted as a development support product by NXP.[11][12]

The i.MX8 was announced Q1 2017, based around 3 products.[13][14] All products include four Cortex-A53 and two Cortex-M4F CPU cores. The more powerful 'QuadPlus' and 'QuadMax' versions includes an additional one or two Cortex-A72 CPU cores, respectively. All i.MX8 SoCs include two Vivante GC7000 Series GPUs, with the lower end products using GC7000Lite cores, while the 'QuadMax' includes two full GC7000 GPUs.

Name Clock speed (MHz) CPU cores L2 cache GPU VPU other cores
i.MX 8QuadMax 1.2GHz + 1.8GHz[15] 4x Cortex-A53 + 2x Cortex-A72 2x 1MB 2x Vivante GC7000/XSVX h.265 decode 4K/2K, h.264 encode/decode 1080p 2x Cortex-M4F (266Mhz)
i.MX 8QuadPlus 1.2GHz + 1.8GHz 4x Cortex-A53 + 1x Cortex-A72 2x 1MB 2x Vivante GC7000Lite/XSVX h.265 decode 4K/2K, h.264 encode/decode 1080p 2x Cortex-M4F (266Mhz)
i.MX 8Quad 1.5GHz 4x Cortex-A53 1MB 2x Vivante GC7000Lite/XSVX h.265 decode 4K/2K, h.264 encode/decode 1080p 2x Cortex-M4F (266Mhz)

i.MX 8M

The i.MX 8M series were announced on January 4th at CES 2017.[16] Main features:[17]

Feature ARM Core ARM Core Audio GPU VPU Camera
i.MX 8M Dual 2x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 1 x Cortex-M4F 20 channels in/out;

32-bit up to 384 KHz,

with DSD512 support

 GC7000Lite 4Kp60, h.265 and VP9  2 x MIPI-CSI
i.MX 8M Quad 4x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53
i.MX 8M QuadLite -
i.MX 8M Solo 1x 1.5GHz Cortex-A53 GC7000nanoULTRA -

i.MX 8X

The i.MX 8X series were announced on March 14th 2017.[18] Main features:[19]

Feature ARM Core ARM Core DRAM GPU VPU Ethernet USB with PHY
i.MX 8QuadXPlus 4x 1.2GHz Cortex-A35 1 x Cortex-M4F 32-bit DDR3L (ECC option)

LPDDR4 (no ECC)

 GC7000Lite 4K h.265 dec

1080p h.264 enc/dec

 2x Gigabit with AVB 1x USB 3.0

1x USB 2.0

i.MX 8DualXPlus 2x 1.2GHz Cortex-A35
i.MX 8DualX 16-bit GC7000UltraLite 1080p h.264 enc/dec 1x Gigabit with AVB

1x 10/100

 2x USB 2.0

For the automotive market a very similar series currently using ARM Cortex-A53 and/or ARM Cortex-M4 cores got presented in mid 2015 using the prefix S32.

Software support

Freescale proposes a layered approach of software with selection of software components optimized for its chips. The i.MX board support packages (BSP), common across all i.MX nodes, consists of kernel optimization, hardware drivers and unit tests. The company also provides a portfolio of multimedia Codecs (ARM and Video processing unit accelerated). The i.MX solution also includes middleware with reuse of open source frameworks like multimedia framework plugins, power management, security/DRM or graphics (OpenGL/OpenVG).

All software solutions for i.MX are publicly available on the company website.

Linux

Freescale i.MX development kits include a Linux software stack with a GNOME Mobile environment.

On the i.MX51 family, the reference user interface is Ubuntu. The last Ubuntu version supported is 10.04.1 (still available on mirrors). Ubuntu dropped the "official" i.MX51 family support since version 10.10.[20] Since Ubuntu 11.10 support for the i.MX53 Quickstart board is available as a preinstalled desktop or server SD card.[21]

The OpenEmbedded Linux distribution supports several i.MX platforms.

Commercial Linux support is available from companies like Lanedo, TimeSys, MontaVista, Wind River Systems and Mentor Graphics.

FreeBSD

Support for the Freescale i.MX51 was added to FreeBSD on 2013-03-20.[22] Support for other members of the i.MX5 family has been added since.

Support for the Freescale i.MX6 family was added to FreeBSD on 2013-10-31.[23]

NetBSD

NetBSD 6.0 comes with support for the Freescale i.MX51.[24] In version 7.0, support for i.MX6 based boards was added.[25]

OpenBSD

Support for the FreeScale's i.MX6 series SoC was added to [26] OpenBSD's head on the 2013-09-06.

Windows CE

Freescale i.MX development kits include WinCE.

Android

In February 2010, Freescale launched an Android platform for the i.MX5x family.[27]

Chromium

In early 2010 Freescale demoed Chromium OS running on the i.MX515 processor.[28] The company has not disclosed any further plans about Chromium or Chrome.

Real-time OS

Freescale has a range of partners providing real-time operating systems and software solutions running on the i.MX processors, such as Trinity Convergence, Adeneo, Thundersoft, Intrinsyc, Wind River Systems, QNX, Green Hills and Mentor Graphics.[29]

Reference designs

In January 2010, Freescale announced the first platform of its Smart Application Blueprint for Rapid Engineering (SABRE) series.[30] It is a smartbook (tablet form factor with 7" touch screen resistive), running on i.MX515.

In February 2010, Freescale demoed the SABRE platform for eReaders,[31] based on i.MX515.

Many more reference boards are mentioned and supported through the Freescale i.MX community website. These include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Product Longevity|NXP". Freescale.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  2. ↑ "i.MX6QP|i.MX 6QuadPlus Processors|Quad Core". NXP.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  3. ↑ "Freescale, Cisco, Ciena Give Nod to FD-SOI". EE Times. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  4. 1 2 "Freescale Launches i.MX 7 Series Cortex A7 + Cortex M4 Processors for IoT Applications". Cnx-software.com. 2015-06-23. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  5. ↑ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-02-23.
  6. ↑ Brad Linder. "Freescale unveils plans for i.MX 7, i.MX 8 chips". Liliputing.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  7. ↑ "NXP Semiconductors :: Press Release". Media.nxp.com. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  8. ↑ "i.MX 8 Multisensory Enablement Kit". NXP.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  9. ↑ "NXP Unveils i.MX 8 Multisensory Enablement Kit with Hexa Core ARMv8 Processor". Cnx-software.com. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  10. ↑ "拡大画像 013 | 【レポート】NXP FTF 2016 - 28nm FD-SOIで製造されるi.MX 8 (1) FTFがNX…… | マイナビニュース". News.mynavi.jp. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  11. ↑ "NXP Unveils i.MX 8 Multisensory Enablement Kit with Hexa Core ARMv8 Processor". Cnx-software.com. 2016-05-17. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  12. ↑ "i.MX 8 Multisensory Enablement Kit". NXP.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  13. ↑ Linder, Brad (6 October 2016). "NXP’s 64-bit i.MX8 chips coming in Q1, 2017". Liliputing. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  14. ↑ "i.MX8 Factsheet" (PDF). NXP. NXP. Retrieved 6 October 2016.
  15. ↑ "i.MX Presentation" (PDF). Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  16. ↑ "NXP Semiconductors :: Press Release". media.nxp.com. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
  17. ↑ "i.MX 8M Fact Sheet" (PDF).
  18. ↑ "NXP Semiconductors :: Press Release". media.nxp.com. Retrieved 2017-04-09.
  19. ↑ "i.MX 8X Fact Sheet" (PDF).
  20. ↑ "ARM/MaverickReleaseNotes - Ubuntu Wiki". Wiki.ubuntu.com. 2011-09-23. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  21. ↑ "OneiricOcelot/ReleaseNotes - Ubuntu Wiki". Wiki.edubuntu.org. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  22. ↑ "Svn commit: r248557 Controller". Lists.freebsd.org. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  23. ↑ "Wandboard support". Lists.freebsd.org. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  24. ↑ "Announcing NetBSD 6.0". Netbsd.org. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  25. ↑ "NetBSD Blog". Blog.netbsd.org. 2014-11-06. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  26. ↑ "'CVS: cvs.openbsd.org: src' - MARC". Marc.info. 2013-09-06. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  27. ↑ "Android OS for i.MX Applications Processors|NXP". Freescale.com. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  28. ↑ "Chromium OS on a $199 Tablet". YouTube. 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  29. ↑
  30. ↑
  31. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2010-04-22.
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