NXP Semiconductors NV introduced LPC-Link 2 – the first standalone debug adapter of its kind, which can link a variety of popular IDEs (integrated development environments) to any microcontroller development board. The LPCXpresso-IDE, developed by Code Red Technologies, works out of the box with LPC-Link 2. In addition, several firmware images are available for LPC-Link 2 which make it compatible with other tools, including the popular SEGGER J-Link and the CMSIS-DAP debugger designed by ARM. Firmware images of SEGGER J-Link and the CMSIS-DAP debugger can be downloaded for free from LPCware.com and loaded via a user-friendly DFU (device firmware update) tool. The LPC-Link2 is powered by an NXP LPC4300 series microcontroller, and includes a standard 10-pin JTAG/SWD connector; a 20-pin JTAG/SWD/ETM connector; and analog, digital and serial expansion headers, making it a highly extensible platform. The LPC-Link2 is available for ordering immediately from NXP as OM13054 for a recommended price of $20.00.

NXP Semiconductors NV introduced 15 new reference design boards featuring NXP’s broad portfolio of mains-dimmable and non-dimmable solid-state lighting (SSL) driver ICs. Each reference board is built around a best-in-class GreenChip LED driver IC, and has been designed to minimize the total EBOM (engineering bill of materials) cost while maintaining expected performance requirements for specific lighting applications. NXP’s cost-effective LED driver solutions simplify lamp design with the right form factor to streamline the design-in process, and extend lifetime and reliability. NXP also simplifies customer choices with newly created selection tables broken down by lamp form factor and function, non-dimmable/dimmable, non-isolated/isolated, and power factor (PF). The LED driver reference boards are featured in the new NXP LED Driver Solutions Selection Guide.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. announced the launch of the UCODE 7 UHF IC, which sets a new industry standard for performance, versatility and speed in RFID supply chain applications. Working with key players in the industry including Avery, Motorola Solutions and Zebra, NXP has produced a best-in-class solution that delivers consistently high performance in all global markets, reinforcing the company’s leadership in UHF chips. UCODE 7 establishes its best-in-class credentials in three key areas: global versatility – UCODE 7 enables the creation of RFID labels and tags that can be used across different regions operating at different frequency ranges. This means that manufacturers and retailers can maintain consistently high performance using the same label or tag across the entire global supply chain, significantly reducing operating costs. Higher sensitivity – UCODE 7’s higher sensitivity enables both smaller tag designs with equal performance to current tag geometries – which means that retailers and suppliers can tag much smaller items – and for current tag geometries to be read from a much greater distance. It also means that inventory management and stock-taking becomes easier and quicker, even in harsh RFID- environments. Fastest encoding – UCODE 7 delivers the fastest encoding capability on the market, with 100 items programmed in a matter of milliseconds. This unprecedented level of performance can significantly increase throughput when encoding apparel, shoes, pharmaceuticals and other items in manufacturing and distribution centers or in-store; enabling high-speed brand protection and tracking processes.