Getting Started with i.MX 93 Auto EVK

This section is applicable ONLY if attempting to load a Linux® operating system on the board.

The i.MX Linux board support package (BSP) is a collection of binary files, source code and support files that are used to boot an Embedded Linux image on a specific i.MX development platform.

Current releases of Linux binary demo files can be found on Linux download page. Additional documentation is available in the i.MX Linux documentation bundle under the Linux sections of the i.MX Software and Development Tools.

2.1 Overview

Before the Linux OS kernel can boot on an i.MX board, the Linux kernel is loaded to a boot device (SD card, eMMC and so on) and the boot switches are set to boot that device.

There are various ways to download the Linux BSP image for different boards and boot devices.

This Getting Started guide only outlines a few methods of flashing the Linux BSP image to an SD card. Experienced Linux developers can explore other options if desired.

2.2 Download NXP Linux BSP Pre-Built Image

The latest pre-built images for the i.MX 93 Auto EVK are available on the Linux download page under the most current version on Linux.

The pre-built NXP Linux binary demo image provides a typical system and basic set of features for using and evaluating the processor. Without modifying the system, the users can evaluate hardware interfaces, test SoC features and run user space applications.

When more flexibility is desired, an SD card can be loaded with individual components (boot loader, kernel, dtb file and rootfs file) one-by-one or the *wic image is loaded and the individual parts are overwritten with the specific components.

2.3 Burn NXP Linux BSP Image Using Universal Update Utility (UUU)

In addition to the connections from Out of the Box section, connect the USB1 to the host machine using the proper USB cable.

Turn off the board. Refer to the Boot Switch Setup section and configure the board to boot on serial download protocol (SDP) mode.

Depending on the OS used in the host machine, the way to transfer the Linux BSP image onto boot devices can vary. Choose an option below for detailed instructions:

$ chmod a+x uuu
$ sudo ./uuu -b sd_all imx-boot-imx93-14x14-lpddr4x-evk-sd.bin-flash_singleboot imx-image-full-imx93evk.wic 

 uuu.exe -b sd_all imx-boot-imx93-14x14-lpddr4x-evk-sd.bin-flash_singleboot imx-image-full-imx93evk.wic 

 uuu.exe -b emmc_all imx-boot-imx93-14x14-lpddr4x-evk-sd.bin-flash_singleboot imx-image-full-imx93evk.wic 

$ chmod a+x uuu
sudo ./uuu -b emmc_all imx-boot-imx93-14x14-lpddr4x-evk-sd.bin-flash_singleboot imx-image-full-imx93evk.wic

In the section, a brief guide of how to build Yocto BSP image for i.MX93 Auto EVK is introduced.

The MCUXpresso software development kit (MCUXpresso SDK) provides comprehensive software source code to be executed in the i.MX 93 M33 core. If you do not wish to enable the Arm® Cortex®-M33 on i.MX 93 at this moment you can skip sub-section 3.2 and 3.3.

3.1 i.MX93 Auto EVK Yocto BSP

To build i.MX93 Auto EVK image from source code, please first check i.MX Yocto Project User's Guide to get familiar with Yocto project and Yocto build. Then please follow below steps to build image for i.MX93 Auto EVK.

1. Download i.MX SW 2025 Q1 BSP Release:

   $ repo init -u https://github.com/nxp-imx/imx-manifest -b imx-linux-styhead -m imx-6.12.3-1.0.0.xml 
   $ repo sync  

2. Yocto Project Setup:

   $ DISTRO=fsl-imx-xwayland MACHINE=imx93-14x14-lpddr4x-evk source imx-setup-release.sh -b build-xwayland 

3. Build images:

   $ bitbake imx-image-full 

4. Flashing SD card image:

   $ imx-image-full-imx93-14x14-lpddr4x.rootfs.wic.zst | sudo dd of=/dev/sdx bs=1M && sync 
   $ uuu -b sd_all imx-image-full-imx93-14x14-lpddr4x.rootfs.wic.zst 

5. Or using uuu to burn image into SD card:

   $ uuu -b sd_all imx-image-full-imx93-14x14-lpddr4x.rootfs.wic.zst 

6. Change boot switch SW5[1:4] to "0100" to select SD card boot, insert the SD card and power up the i.MX 93 Auto EVK.

3.2 MCUXpresso SDK Overview

The MCUXpresso SDK is designed for the development of embedded applications for Cortex®-M33 standalone or collaborative use with the A cores. Along with the peripheral drivers, the MCUXpresso SDK provides an extensive and rich set of example applications covering everything from basic peripheral use case examples to demo applications. The MCUXpresso SDK also contains RTOS kernels and device stack and various other middleware to support rapid development.

This guide shows how to run the m33_image.bin demo provided by the release. For detailed information on MCUXpresso SDK and how to build and deploy custom demos, please visit MCUXpresso SDK site.

3.3 Run Applications Using U-Boot

This section describes how to run applications using an SD card and pre-built U-Boot image for i.MX processor.

1. Following the steps from section Get Software, prepare an SD card with a pre-built U-Boot + Linux image from the Linux BSP package for the i.MX 93 processor. If you have already loaded the SD card with a Linux image, you can skip this step
2. Insert the SD card in the host computer (Linux or Windows) and copy the application image (for example m33_image.bin) to the FAT partition of the SD card
3. Safely remove the SD card from the PC
4. Insert the SD card to the target board. Make sure to use the default boot SD slot and double check the Boot Switch Setup guide
5. Connect the DEBUG UART connector on the board to the PC through a USB cable. The Windows OS installs the USB driver automatically, and the Ubuntu OS will find the serial devices as well. See Connect USB Debug Cable section for more instructions on serial communication applications. Open a second terminal on the i.MX93 Auto EVK board's fourth enumerated serial port
6. This is the Cortex-M33's serial console. Set the speed to 115200 bit/s, data bits 8, 1 stop bit (115200, 8N1), no parity Power up the board and stop the boot process by pressing any key before the U-Boot countdown reaches zero. At the U-Boot prompt on the first terminal, type the following commands

=> fatload mmc 1:1 0x80000000 m33_image.bin
=> cp.b 0x80000000 0x201e0000 0x10000
=> bootaux 0x1ffe0000 0 

These commands copy the image file from the partition of the SD card into the Cortex-M33's TCM and releases the Cortex-M33 from reset.

To enable faster development for users of all skill levels, NXP provides extensive example applications to showcase various features and capabilities of the platform.

4.1 Application Code Hub

The Application Code Hub (ACH) repository enables engineers to easily find microcontroller and processor software examples, code snippets, application software packs and demos developed by NXP in-house experts. This space provides a quick, easy and consistent way to find microcontroller and processor applications.

ACH provides filter and search options to quickly find specific applications. With the support of Git capabilities, there is an easy way to import and use applications within user’s development environments.

To learn more details of ACH, please visit this link.

4.2 GoPoint for i.MX Applications Processors

The GoPoint for i.MX Application Processors is a user-friendly application that launches pre-built applications packed with the Linux BSP, giving users an excellent out-of-the-box experience and hands-on experience with i.MX SoC's capabilities. GoPoint highlights advanced features while providing practical solutions for implementation, with source code and build recipes for the applications provided in GitHub.

To learn more details of GoPoint, please visit this link.

Serial Communication Console Setup

On the command prompt of the Linux host machine, run the following command to determine the port number:

$ ls /dev/ttyUSB*

The smaller number is for Arm® Cortex®-A55 core and the bigger number is for Arm Cortex-M33 core.

Minicom

Use the following commands to install and run the serial communication program (minicom as an example):

• Install Minicom using Ubuntu package manager

$ sudo apt-get install minicom

• Launch Minicom using a console window using the port number determined earlier

$ sudo minicom /dev/ttyUSB* -s

• Configure Minicom as show in Figure
• The next step is to Connect the HDMI cable

Serial Communication Console Setup

The FTDI USB-serial chip on i.MX 93 enumerates 4 serial ports. Assume that the ports are COM11,COM12,COM13,COM14. The third Port(COM13) is for the serial console communication from Arm® Cortex®-A55 core and the fourth port(COM14) is for Arm Cortex-M33 core. The serial-to-USB drivers are available at FTD Chip Drivers  .

Note: To determine the port number of the i.MX board virtual COM port, open the Windows device manager and find USB serial Port in Ports (COM and LPT)

Tera Term

Is an open source terminal emulation application. This program displays the information sent from the NXP development platform’s virtual serial port.

• Download Tera Term. After the download, run the installer and then return to this webpage to continue
• Launch TeraTerm. The first time it launches, it shows the following dialog. Select the serial option. Assuming your board is plugged in, there should be a COM port automatically populated in the list
• 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
• Verify that the connection is open. If connected, Tera Term shows something like below in its title bar
• The next step is to Connect the HDMI cable

Serial Communication Console Setup

TThe FTDI USB-serial chip on i.MX 93 enumerates 4 serial ports. Assume that the ports are COM11,COM12,COM13,COM14. The third Port(COM13) is for the serial console communication from Arm® Cortex®-A55 core and the fourth port(COM14) is for Arm Cortex-M33 core. The serial-to-USB drivers are available at FTD Chip Drivers  .

Note: To determine the port number of the i.MX board virtual COM port, open the Windows device manager and find USB serial Port in Ports (COM and LPT).

PuTTY is a popular terminal-emulation application. This program displays the information sent from the NXP development platform’s virtual serial port.

• Download PuTTY After the download, run the installer and then return to this webpage to continue.
• Launch PuTTY by either double clicking on the executable file you downloaded or from the Start menu, depending on the type of download you selected
• 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
• Click Open to open the serial connection. Assuming the board is connected and you entered the correct COM port, the terminal window opens. If the configuration is not correct, PuTTY alerts you
• The next step is to Connect the HDMI cable