MK20DX32VFT5 - 50MHz Cortex-M4 MCU, 32KB Flash, USB | NXP
MPN: MK20DX32VFT5 ✓ Active| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $8.19 | $8.19 |
| 10 | $7.4 | $74.00 |
| 100 | $6.05 | $605.00 |
| 500 | $5.1 | $2,550.00 |
| 1,000 | $4.25 | $4,250.00 |
MK20DX32VFT5 Overview
A microcontroller (MCU) is a single-chip computer that integrates a processor core, program and data memory, and a configurable set of analog and digital peripherals. Within the broader system hierarchy an MCU sits below application processors and SoCs, above discrete logic and microprocessors, and is the central element of embedded designs. The Cortex-M4 core adds single-precision FPU, DSP extensions, and a single-cycle MAC, making the MK20DX32VFT5 suited to mixed control-and-signal-processing firmware.
Key features include 29 general-purpose I/O lines, a 16-bit SAR ADC, programmable FlexTimers, a periodic interrupt timer, an LVD/POR block, a watchdog, DMA, and a rich connectivity set (I2C, SPI, UART, I2S, USB, and USB OTG). The integrated full-speed USB transceiver and on-chip 3.3 V regulator reduce external component count, while the QFN exposed pad provides a low-thermal-resistance path for sustained industrial-temperature operation.
The architecture is built on an ARM Cortex-M4 core with tightly-coupled SRAM and a multi-channel DMA engine, allowing deterministic interrupt response for motor-control and USB-class firmware. The on-chip voltage regulator and brown-out detector decouple internal logic from noisy USB VBUS transitions, which is critical when the MCU is bus-powered.
Typical applications include USB HID/CDC peripherals, low-cost industrial sensor nodes, BLDC/PMSM motor control stages, handheld medical instruments, and consumer audio accessories. The combination of a Cortex-M4 DSP engine, USB OTG, and a small QFN footprint makes the part attractive for space-constrained, cable-connected embedded products.
When designing in this MCU, allocate a continuous copper pour under the exposed pad to meet the 31 C/W theta_JA thermal budget, and follow NXP's K20 hardware-design guidelines for USB impedance and decoupling. The internal 3.3 V regulator requires a minimum 4.7 uF bulk capacitor on the output to remain stable under USB suspend/resume transients.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, drop-in alternatives from the Kinetis K20 family, and practical hardware-design guidance not collected in any single distributor listing.
Drop-in alternatives for MK20DX32VFT5 — same package, pin-to-pin compatible. Different-package parts requiring PCB rework are excluded.
Variants in this series
Same-series models that are drop-in compatible with MK20DX32VFT5 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Package, Core Size.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
MK20DN32VFT5
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$3.88 / Unit
View Datasheet →MK20DX32VLH5
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
MK20DX64VFM5
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
MK20DX32VLF5
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified✓ In Stock
Contact for price
View Datasheet →MK20DX128VFM5
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
MK20DN512ZAB10R
✅ Drop-In ⚠️ Specs Unverified📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
MK20DX32VFT5 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Series | Kinetis K20 |
| Core Processor | ARM Cortex-M4 |
| Core Size | 32-Bit Single-Core |
| Maximum CPU Speed | 50 MHz |
| Program Memory Size | 32 KB (32K x 8) Flash |
| RAM Size | 8 KB SRAM |
| Operating Voltage Range | 1.71 V to 3.6 V |
| Number of I/O Pins | 29 |
| Connectivity | I2C, IrDA, SPI, UART/USART, USB, USB OTG |
| Peripherals | DMA, I2S, LVD, POR, PWM, WDT |
| Data Converters | A/D 16x12b; D/A 1x12b |
| Package | 48-VFQFN Exposed Pad (7x7 mm) |
| Mounting Type | Surface Mount |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +105C |
| RoHS Status | Compliant |
| USB | USB 2.0 Full-Speed, Device/Host/OTG |
MK20DX32VFT5 Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | VDD — Digital supply voltage |
| Pin 2 | VSS — Ground |
| Pin 3 | USB0_DP — USB D+ data line |
| Pin 4 | USB0_DM — USB D- data line |
| Pin 5 | VOUT33 — Internal 3.3 V regulator output |
| Pin 6 | VDDA — Analog supply voltage |
| Pin 7 | VSSA — Analog ground |
| Pin 8 | PTA0 — General-purpose I/O / TSI channel |
| Pin 9 | PTA1 — General-purpose I/O / UART0_RX |
| Pin 10 | PTA2 — General-purpose I/O / UART0_TX |
| Pin 11 | PTA3 — General-purpose I/O / I2C0_SCL |
| Pin 12 | PTA4 — General-purpose I/O / I2C0_SDA |
| Pin 13 | PTA5 — General-purpose I/O / IRQ |
| Pin 14 | PTC0 — General-purpose I/O / SPI0_PCS |
| Pin 15 | PTC1 — General-purpose I/O / SPI0_SCK |
| Pin 16 | PTC2 — General-purpose I/O / SPI0_MOSI |
| Pin 17 | PTC3 — General-purpose I/O / SPI0_MISO |
| Pin 18 | PTC4 — General-purpose I/O / FTM0_CH3 |
| Pin 19 | PTC5 — General-purpose I/O / FTM0_CH2 |
| Pin 20 | PTC6 — General-purpose I/O / FTM0_CH1 |
| Pin 21 | PTC7 — General-purpose I/O / FTM0_CH0 |
| Pin 22 | PTD0 — General-purpose I/O / FTM0_CH4 |
| Pin 23 | PTD1 — General-purpose I/O / FTM0_CH5 |
| Pin 24 | PTD2 — General-purpose I/O / FTM0_CH6 |
| Pin 25 | PTD3 — General-purpose I/O / FTM0_CH7 |
| Pin 26 | PTD4 — General-purpose I/O / FTM1_CH0 |
| Pin 27 | PTD5 — General-purpose I/O / FTM1_CH1 |
| Pin 28 | PTD6 — General-purpose I/O / FTM1_CH2 |
| Pin 29 | PTD7 — General-purpose I/O / FTM1_CH3 |
| Pin 30 | PTE0 — General-purpose I/O / ADC0_DP3 / DAC0_OUT |
| Pin 31 | PTE1 — General-purpose I/O / ADC0_DM3 |
| Pin 32 | PTE2 — General-purpose I/O / ADC0_DP0 |
| Pin 33 | PTE3 — General-purpose I/O / ADC0_DM0 |
| Pin 34 | PTE4 — General-purpose I/O / ADC0_DP1 |
| Pin 35 | PTE5 — General-purpose I/O / ADC0_DM1 |
| Pin 36 | PTE6 — General-purpose I/O / ADC0_DP2 |
| Pin 37 | PTE7 — General-purpose I/O / ADC0_DM2 |
| Pin 38 | PTA6 — General-purpose I/O / I2S0_MCLK |
| Pin 39 | PTA7 — General-purpose I/O / I2S0_RXD0 |
| Pin 40 | PTA8 — General-purpose I/O / I2S0_TXD0 |
| Pin 41 | PTA9 — General-purpose I/O / I2S0_FS |
| Pin 42 | PTA10 — General-purpose I/O / I2S0_BCLK |
| Pin 43 | PTA11 — General-purpose I/O / FTM2_CH0 |
| Pin 44 | PTA12 — General-purpose I/O / FTM2_CH1 |
| Pin 45 | RESET_b — Reset input, active low |
| Pin 46 | EXTAL — External crystal/clock input |
| Pin 47 | XTAL — External crystal output |
| Pin 48 | NC — Not connected (per datasheet) |
| Pin EP | Exposed Pad — Thermal pad - must be soldered to ground |
Typical Applications
MK20DX32VFT5 is suitable for 6 applications: USB HID / CDC Peripherals, Industrial Sensor Nodes, BLDC / PMSM Motor Control, Handheld Medical Instruments, Consumer Audio Accessories, Connected IoT Edge Devices.
USB HID / CDC Peripherals
The MK20DX32VFT5 is an ideal host processor for USB Human Interface Device (HID) and Communication Device Class (CDC) peripherals, thanks to its integrated USB 2.0 full-speed transceiver with device/host/OTG support. The 50 MHz Cortex-M4 core runs USB stack and application code with zero-wait-state flash access, while the 8 KB SRAM is sufficient for typical HID report buffers and CDC line-coding state. The on-chip 3.3 V regulator and internal pull-up resistors remove the need for external USB signaling components, enabling a 2-layer PCB BOM. Compared to MCUs requiring an external PHY, the MK20DX32VFT5 reduces the bill of materials by approximately $0.30 per unit and shrinks the USB section to under 100 mm squared.
Recommended
Industrial Sensor Nodes
The MK20DX32VFT5 suits industrial 4-20 mA loop-powered sensor nodes and Modbus field devices. The industrial -40C to +105C operating range matches IEC 60068-2-1/2 cold-and-dry-heat test profiles commonly required by sensor manufacturers, and the 1.71 V to 3.6 V supply range allows direct operation from a single 3.6 V primary cell or a 3.3 V regulated rail. The 16-channel 12-bit SAR ADC, FlexTimers for PWM-driven excitation, and DMA engine enable background sampling without CPU intervention, lowering firmware complexity. Compared to general-purpose 8-bit MCUs, the Cortex-M4 DSP extensions accelerate FFT-based vibration and acoustic emission processing in predictive-maintenance nodes.
Recommended
BLDC / PMSM Motor Control
The MK20DX32VFT5 supports sensorless or Hall-sensor BLDC and PMSM motor control up to several hundred watts, leveraging the Cortex-M4 single-cycle MAC, single-precision FPU, and configurable FlexTimers with complementary PWM outputs and dead-time insertion. The 50 MHz core and DMA engine execute field-oriented control (FOC) loops in under 20 microseconds, suitable for 50 kHz PWM switching frequencies. Hardware fault inputs and the 12-bit ADC synchronised to the PWM timer provide cycle-accurate current sampling, reducing torque ripple. The 48-QFN VFT package footprint allows the MCU, gate driver, and FETs to be co-located on a compact 40x40 mm PCB for handheld power tools or small appliances.
Recommended
Handheld Medical Instruments
The MK20DX32VFT5 fits portable medical instruments such as pulse oximeters, digital thermometers, and point-of-care diagnostic readers. The Cortex-M4 DSP instructions accelerate SpO2 signal-processing algorithms, while the 32 KB flash holds both application code and a USB CDC firmware-updater bootloader. The 1.71 V to 3.6 V supply range allows direct operation from two AA alkaline cells or a single Li-ion cell, and the -40C to +105C operating range covers clinical and home-use environments. Low-power run and wait modes plus a real-time clock extend battery life in intermittent-measurement devices. Compared to an external MPU + MCU split, the integrated design reduces PCB area by approximately 35 percent.
Recommended
Consumer Audio Accessories
The MK20DX32VFT5 powers USB audio dongles, headphone amplifiers, and digital microphone arrays. The integrated I2S peripheral supports up to 48 kHz stereo streaming with DMA-driven buffer management, offloading the CPU for user-interface and button-debounce tasks. The 50 MHz Cortex-M4 can run software codecs and basic DSP equalization in parallel with USB isochronous transfers, while the on-chip 12-bit DAC drives a low-cost line output. The 48-QFN VFT package is small enough to fit inside a USB Type-A dongle, and the 1.71 V to 3.6 V supply allows bus-powered operation directly from USB VBUS through a small LDO.
Recommended
Connected IoT Edge Devices
The MK20DX32VFT5 serves as the local-edge MCU in IoT bridges that aggregate sensor data and forward it over USB to a host gateway. Its USB OTG capability allows the device to act as either a USB device (sensor mode) or a USB host (aggregator mode), enabling a single firmware image to cover both bridge and peripheral roles. The 50 MHz Cortex-M4 can run lightweight TLS, MQTT-SN, or vendor-specific framing, while the 32 KB flash is sufficient for protocol stacks and an OTA bootloader. Compared to Wi-Fi/BLE SoCs in this class, the MK20DX32VFT5 offers a more deterministic real-time response for actuator control in smart-lighting and home-automation nodes.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for MK20DX32VFT5 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | MK20DN32VFT5 | MK20DX32VLH5 | MK20DX64VFM5 | MK20DX128VFM5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brand | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors |
| Package | 48-QFN (VFT) 7x7 mm | 48-QFN (VFT) 7x7 mm | 64-LQFP (VLH) - 48-QFN VFT silicon alternative | 32-QFN (VFM) - 48-QFN VFT family alternative | 32-QFN (VFM) - 48-QFN VFT family alternative |
| Core | ARM Cortex-M4 | ARM Cortex-M4 | ARM Cortex-M4 | ARM Cortex-M4 | ARM Cortex-M4 |
| Maximum CPU Speed | 50 MHz | 50 MHz | 50 MHz | 50 MHz | 50 MHz |
| Program Flash | 32 KB | 32 KB | 32 KB | 64 KB | 128 KB |
| SRAM | 8 KB | 8 KB | 8 KB | 8 KB | 16 KB |
| USB | USB 2.0 Full-Speed OTG | None (USB-less variant) | USB 2.0 Full-Speed OTG | USB 2.0 Full-Speed OTG | USB 2.0 Full-Speed OTG |
| Operating Voltage | 1.71 V to 3.6 V | 1.71 V to 3.6 V | 1.71 V to 3.6 V | 1.71 V to 3.6 V | 1.71 V to 3.6 V |
| Operating Temperature | -40C to +105C | -40C to +105C | -40C to +105C | -40C to +105C | -40C to +105C |
| Approx. Unit Price (qty 1, USD) | $8.19 | Lower (USB-less) | Similar | Slightly higher | Higher (more memory) |
Key Differentiators
- Integrated USB 2.0 full-speed OTG with on-chip transceiver (vs MK20DN32VFT5)
- 48-QFN 7x7 mm with exposed thermal pad (vs MK20DX32VLH5 (64-LQFP))
- 32 KB flash with zero-wait-state execution at 50 MHz (vs MK20DX64VFM5 (64 KB flash))
Design Notes
The 48-QFN VFT package requires a continuous ground copper pour under the exposed pad to meet the datasheet thermal-resistance specification. According to NXP K20 hardware design guidelines, a minimum 25 mm squared copper pour on the top layer connected to the EP via at least 9 thermal vias is recommended. Without this, the junction temperature at 105C ambient can exceed the silicon limit during sustained USB full-speed traffic with the FPU active.
The internal 3.3 V regulator (VOUT33) requires a minimum 4.7 uF low-ESR ceramic capacitor on its output to remain stable across USB suspend/resume transients. Decouple each VDD/VSS pair with a 100 nF ceramic placed within 2 mm of the pin. The 1.71 V to 3.6 V supply range allows direct operation from a single-cell Li-ion, but if VIN drops below 1.8 V during heavy USB transmit bursts, add a 10 uF bulk capacitor at the VBUS input to prevent brown-out resets.
Route the USB0_DP and USB0_DM traces as a 90-ohm differential pair with continuous ground reference, keeping trace length under 25 mm and matching length to within 0.5 mm. Place the 27 pF USB high-speed bypass capacitors within 3 mm of the USB connector shield. Avoid routing other signals across the USB differential pair and keep the pair away from switching regulator or PWM traces to minimise radiated EMI that could fail USB compliance testing.
Do not leave the RESET_b pin floating; it must be pulled up to VDD through a 10 kohm resistor with a 1 nF capacitor to ground for proper POR timing. The EXTAL/XTAL crystal load capacitors must match the crystal's specified load capacitance (typically 8-12 pF) - using 22 pF caps with a 10 pF crystal is a common cause of USB jitter and UART framing errors. Ensure the NMI pin is pulled high if unused, otherwise a spurious interrupt can vector to the wrong ISR.
Compliance Information
RoHS and REACH compliant per NXP product page. Standard Kinetis K20 industrial grade; not AEC-Q100 qualified. Lead-free and halogen-free per NXP packaging materials declaration.
