News Item

28 Mar 2017

Extended MDK editions and ULINKplus

At Embedded World 2017 in Nuremberg, ARM announced new editions of the popular Keil MDK Microcontroller Development Kit and extensions to the ULINK Debug Adapter Series. The new products will become available in June 2017.

• MDK-Essential supports Cortex-M microcontrollers and includes non-secure programming for Cortex-M23 and Cortex-M33. Users of the MDK-Cortex-M edition with valid support and maintenance are entitled for a free upgrade to MDK-Essential.
• MDK-Plus is extended with DS-MDK for software development of heterogenous Cortex-A/Cortex-M systems.
• ULINKplus is an innovative universal debug/trace adapter that includes power measurement and test I/O support.

Cortex-M TrustZone for secure execution

The Cortex-M23 and Cortex-M33 processors include TrustZone that offers secure and non-secure execution areas. Devices may contain pre-programmed firmware in the secure execution area. Using MDK-Essential allows the creation of software for the non-secure area which extends the functionality of such devices.

MDK-Plus or MDK-Professional can access both secure and non-secure execution area. Access rights to the secure area enables debug and trace visibility to the complete system.

Heterogenous Cortex-A/Cortex-M systems

Heterogeneous computing system based on Cortex-A/Cortex-M processors combine best-in-class technology for application software and deterministic real-time I/O. DS-MDK supports software development for such systems and is in future part of MDK-Plus and MDK-Professional.

Cortex-A and Cortex-M processor-based heterogeneous computing system

Debugging with energy awareness and test I/O

The new ULINKplus is an innovative universal debug/trace adapter that connects to the ARM CoreSight debug/trace logic integrated in ARM Cortex processor based devices. The compact enclosure of ULINKplus allows usage in harsh environments and provides standard target connectors for JTAG, power measurement, and general purpose test I/O.

ULINKplus with power measurement and test I/O support

ULINKplus offers multi-core debugging and uses a CMSIS-DAP interface which is widely supported by many debuggers. It provides isolated JTAG/Serial-Wire and isolated power measurement connections to the target hardware - essential for testing applications such as motor control, power converters, or systems with sensitive analog inputs. The power measurement is synchronized to event tracing which makes it easy to optimize the energy efficiency of a system.

The unit also provides nine additional test I/O pins to interact with the target under test or control automated test stands. The test I/O pins provide digital and analog capabilities and virtual debug registers allow access in various debug views or from debug scripts.