August 19, 2026 / SemiMedia / — NXP Semiconductors has introduced the MCX A5 family of microcontrollers, combining Ethernet connectivity and post-quantum security for industrial and IoT edge applications.

According to NXP, the MCX A5 is the industry’s first wired MCU implementation to combine topology discovery with an integrated 10BASE-T1S Ethernet digital PHY. The architecture allows more distributed industrial nodes to connect to Ethernet while reducing the component count, cost and complexity associated with conventional industrial networking.

The MCX A5 family is based on an Arm Cortex-M33 core operating at up to 240 MHz. Its integrated 10BASE-T1S digital PHY supports compact, low-cost multidrop Ethernet networks for industrial automation, building control, energy infrastructure and other distributed edge applications.

When paired with NXP’s TJF1410 10BASE-T1S Physical Medium Dependent transceiver, the MCX A5 provides a complete single-pair Ethernet solution. The TJF1410 serves as the analog front end for the MCU’s integrated digital PHY and supports IEEE 802.3cg-compliant 10BASE-T1S networks.

The family combines PSA Certified Level 3 security with post-quantum cryptography support. Security capabilities include a PQC-based hardware root of trust, secure boot, secure firmware updates, secure attestation and secure debug authentication.

Selected MCX A5 devices also support the Rust programming language, allowing developers to use memory-safe software development practices in products with extended operating lifecycles.

MCX A5 devices offer up to 2 MB of Flash memory and 640 KB of RAM. Available interfaces include UART, I²C, I3C, SPI, CAN FD, High-Speed USB and FlexIO.

Development support includes the MCUXpresso SDK, Long Term Support software releases, Visual Studio Code integration, NXP FRDM development boards and Zephyr RTOS. NXP said the software and security framework is intended to support long-term maintenance and evolving cybersecurity requirements, including those introduced by the European Cyber Resilience Act.

The MCX A5 family is sampling now.