IT Internal Auditor

NXP's P3B1602DP brings the industry's first I3C bus buffer to market. * October 14, 2026 * by Bob Gee As I3C adoption accelerates across next-generation computing and embedded systems, NXP recognized a critical infrastructure gap: designers needed a purpose-built buffer that could preserve I3C performance while supporting voltage translation, larger bus capacitance, and longer PCB traces. The new P3B1602DP addresses that need with a 2-bit I3C bus buffer supporting up to 12.5 MHz SDR and DDR operation, voltages as low as 0.72 V, and capacitive loads up to 100 pF. Interview with Bob Gee on the NXP P3B1602DP. Q1: NXP appears to be first-to-market with an I3C bus buffer. Why did NXP decide to develop this product? Bob Gee: NXP Semiconductors NV saw a clear need emerging as the industry transitions from I[2]C to I3C. New processors, SoCs, application processors, MCUs, and system controllers are increasingly adopting I3C because it provides significantly higher performance, greater efficiency, and better system scalability than legacy interfaces. As adoption increased, system designers began running into practical challenges. I3C buses are optimized for higher speeds and generally lower bus capacitance, but many real-world systems require longer PCB traces, connectors, multiple board-to-board links, or voltage translation between devices operating at different supply rails. What was missing from the market was a dedicated buffer designed specifically for I3C. NXP recognized that gap early and developed the P3B1602DP to help customers extend I3C buses without sacrificing the performance advantages that motivated their migration to I3C in the first place. The result is a device that combines buffering, bidirectional level translation, automatic direction sensing, and support for larger capacitive loads, making I3C easier to deploy in demanding system architectures. Q2: Modern processors continue to operate at lower voltages. How does the P3B1602DP address this challenge? Bob Gee: One of the key strengths of the P3B1602DP is its exceptionally wide and low voltage operating range. Port A supports supply voltages from 0.72 V to 1.98 V, while Port B supports 1.08 V to 3.63 V, allowing seamless communication between next-generation low-voltage controllers and higher-voltage peripheral devices. This is particularly important in modern AI servers, data center accelerators, networking equipment, robotics platforms, and telecom infrastructure. The latest SoCs and application processors often operate at core voltages around 0.8 V to 1.2 V, while attached sensors, power devices, DDR memory, and management ICs may operate at higher voltages. The P3B1602DP eliminates the need for designers to compromise between performance and interoperability. It allows customers to leverage the benefits of low-voltage silicon while maintaining compatibility across mixed-voltage systems through automatic bidirectional voltage-level translation. Q3: I3C is known for its speed. How does the P3B1602DP help maintain signal integrity at high bandwidths? Bob Gee: The promise of I3C is high bandwidth. The P3B1602DP fully supports I3C operation with data rates up to 12.5 MHz SDR and DDR, while also supporting legacy I[2]C and SMBus interfaces. However, high-speed operation alone is not enough. System designers frequently need to drive larger loads than a typical I3C bus was originally intended to support. That's where the P3B1602DP stands out. The device is designed to support up to 100 pF capacitive loading, which is double the allowable capacitance for an I3C bus. It also incorporates a longer one-shot accelerator pulse, specifically engineered to drive larger capacitive loads and compensate for longer signal propagation paths. In practical terms, this means customers can support: * Longer PCB traces * Larger backplanes * Board-to-board interconnects * Greater round-trip signal delays * Higher capacitive loading Without giving up the performance advantages of I3C. The datasheet specifically notes support for larger capacitive loads, longer round-trip delays, and PCB traces up to approximately 40 inches. For applications such as AI servers, accelerator cards, telecom line cards, industrial robotics, and advanced embedded computing, this capability can significantly simplify system-level design while maintaining reliable high-speed communication. Q4: Why is it important to use an industry-standard TSSOP8 package and pinout? Bob Gee: Ease of adoption was a major design goal. Engineers don't just evaluate electrical performance; they also consider how quickly a device can be integrated into existing hardware platforms. The P3B1602DP is offered in an industry-standard TSSOP8 package with a familiar pinout and a compact 3 mm x 3 mm footprint. This allows customers to adopt the device with minimal layout disruption and often reuse existing design practices and manufacturing processes. Just as importantly, the device is specified across a-40°C to +125°C temperature range, making it suitable for environments that require industrial and infrastructure-grade robustness. This combination of standard packaging, broad voltage support, high-speed I3C capability, and extended temperature operation make it an attractive solution for: * AI data centers * Enterprise servers * Telecom infrastructure * Industrial automation * Robotics platforms * Edge computing equipment Ultimately, NXP Semiconductors NV wanted customers to benefit from cutting-edge I3C performance without introducing unnecessary adoption barriers, and the standard TSSOP8 footprint helps accomplish exactly that. Closing thoughts. Bob Gee: The P3B1602DP demonstrates NXP's commitment to enabling the next generation of system architecture. By being first to address the emerging need for an I3C-specific buffer, NXP has created a solution that combines ultra-low-voltage support, high-speed I3C performance up to 12.5 MHz, robust 100 pF drive capability for longer signal paths, and an industry-standard TSSOP8 package that simplifies implementation across data center, server, robotics, industrial, and telecom applications. Product Marketing Director of General Purpose and High Speed Interface Products at NXP Semiconductors He has more than 30 years of technical marketing experience in multi-market applications and electronic distributor business. He is currently focused on general purpose I/O expanders, voltage level translators, high speed interface, and legacy analog devices. He graduated with a BSEE from University of Massachusetts at Amherst and currently lives in Sunnyvale California.

NXP & Forlinx: empowering industrial Edge AI with i.MX 95 and Ara240 M.2 AI accelerator. October 10, 2026 Forlinx, an NXP Gold Partner, is bringing higher AI performance to industrial edge applications with the FAI-ARA240-M, an M.2 AI accelerator based on the Ara240 discrete NPU. With decades of experience in ARM architecture and deep integration within NXP's ecosystem, Forlinx and NXP are helping advance Edge AI capabilities with the FAI-ARA240-M AI accelerator. Multi-Modal industrial security solution. Across industries like industrial IoT, edge AI, and autonomous systems, single-sensor data is rarely enough. Real-time decision-making requires fusing high-bandwidth data streams to execute complex, safety-critical tasks smoothly. To address these requirements, Forlinx and NXP have developed a multimodal AI solution for industrial security based on i.MX 95 platform and the FAI-ARA240-M. The solution provides a complete processing pipeline capable of handling multiple data types, including text, images and video, enabling them to be processed and analyzed at the edge. The solution combines the 8 eTOPS eIQ Neutron NPU integrated into the NXP i.MX 95 with the Ara240 DNPU, delivering up to 40 eTOPS of additional AI acceleration. By distributing AI workloads across the two NPUs, the architecture provides additional compute capacity for demanding inference tasks while allowing the host processor to remain available for other system functions. This approach demonstrates how dedicated AI acceleration can be integrated into an existing embedded platform without requiring a complete redesign of the host system. FAI-ARA240-M Built for the industrial Edge. The FAI-ARA240-M is a purpose-built M.2 module designed to bring massive AI throughput to existing industrial platforms. It enables complex AI workloads to run independently, ensuring the host processor remains responsive for primary control tasks. Key technical highlights: Massive Throughput: With up to 40 equivalent tera operations per second (eTOPS) of dedicated AI compute performance, the FAI-ARA240-M enables real-time execution of advanced models that were previously limited to cloud platforms. This makes it ideal for demanding workloads such as high-speed computer vision, multi-stream intelligent video analytics, large-scale industrial inspection and autonomous navigation systems. Large-Scale Model Support: Available with 8GB or 16GB of low-power double data rate 4 (LPDDR4) memory, the accelerator handles larger models and high-throughput workloads, including vision, intelligent video analysis and large language learning models (LLMs) directly at the edge. Seamless Software Ecosystem: Built on NXP's mature AI software ecosystem, the FAI-ARA240-M supports popular frameworks including TensorFlow, PyTorch, ONNX. Using the eIQ AI software environment, developers can rapidly deploy trained models while benefiting from support for multiple precision formats such as INT4, INT8, and mixed precision. This significantly reduces development complexity and accelerates time-to-market. Standardized Integration: The M.2 M-Key (2280) form factor with PCIe Gen4 (and USB 3.2 Gen1 support) allows for easy integration into NXP-based platform, such as the i.MX 8M Plus or i.MX 95 series. Hardened Security & Reliability: Features secure boot and root-of-trust capabilities, industrial temperature ratings, and a 10-15 year product longevity. YOLOv8 multi-stream video detection demo. To showcase the integration of the hardware and software platform, Tryitfirst India Private Limited. demonstrate a YOLOv8-based video detection application that highlights the ease of SDK deployment and the flexibility of the solution. The setup is straightforward: the FAI-ARA240-M is connected to the OK-MX9596-C development board through an M.2 adapter and PCIe interface. After installing the Ara240 SDK and YOLOv8 GStreamer package, developers can run single-, four-, or eight-stream video object detection directly on the platform. This demonstration provides a practical example of how dedicated AI acceleration can be applied to multi-stream computer vision workloads at the industrial edge. Powering next-generation applications. Industrial Automation: Real-time defect detection, machine vision, and multi-modal inspection. Intelligent Security: Multi-stream video analytics, people/vehicle detection, and perimeter monitoring. Robotics: On-device perception, object detection, and autonomous navigation. Smart Transportation: Traffic monitoring and real-time video analytics. The FAI-ARA240-M gives developers a practical way to scale AI performance without replacing the host platform. By combining dedicated AI acceleration, flexible memory configurations, and NXP's software ecosystem, it helps bridge the gap between prototype and production for industrial Edge AI applications.