Microcontroller Assist™

The Microcontroller Assist, or MCA, is a small microcontroller that is deeply integrated into the design of the ConnectCore 6UL module. It assists the i.MX6UL processor with advanced operations related to power management, security, and system reliability. The functionality provided by the MCA includes:

• Advanced power management such as power key button, wake up sources, and PMIC control in low power.
• Peripheral extensions such as RTC, watchdog, and tamper pins.

The MCA and the i.MX6UL are connected through an I2C interface and an interrupt line. The microcontroller provides up to 20 general purpose IOs that can be configured with different modes to provide functionality such as digital input/output or ADC.

The i.MX6UL can update the MCA firmware over the I2C bus. See the MCA software documentation for additional information about this process.

ConnectCore 6UL module lines related to the MCA

Pin number	Pin name	Pin direction	Type	Definition
A2	MCA_IO0	Bi-directional	Digital and analog	General purpose Input/Output.
A3	MCA_IO4	Bi-directional	Digital and analog	General purpose Input/Output.
A4	MCA_VIN_DET	Input	Analog	Input voltage detection line. Connect to VCC_MCA.
A5	MCA_RESET	Input	Digital	Reset input line, active low.
A6	SWD_CLK/PWR_IO	Input	Digital	Power on/off input line, active low. SWD interface clock line.
A7	SWD_DIO/MCA_IO7	Bi-directional	Digital	General purpose Input/Ouput. SWD interface data line.
A8	VCC_MCA	Input	Analog	Input power supply of the MCA.
B2	MCA_IO1	Bi-directional	Digital and analog	General purpose Input/Output.
B5	MCA_IO2	Bi-directional	Digital	General purpose Input/Output.
B6	MCA_IO5	Bi-directional	Digital and analog	General purpose Input/Output.
C3	MCA_IO3	Bi-directional	Digital and analog	General purpose Input/Output.
C4	MCA_IO6/CLKOUT32K	Bi-directional	Digital	General purpose Input/Output. 32KHz clock output.
W8	PWR_ON	Output	Digital	Output power on/off line. Set to low level during power off.