SCF5250AG120 - 120MHz ColdFire V2 32-bit MPU | NXP/Freescale
MPN: SCF5250AG120 ✗ End of Life| Qty | Unit Price | Extended |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $28.5 | $28.50 |
| 10 | $24.2 | $242.00 |
| 100 | $19.8 | $1,980.00 |
| 500 | $17.4 | $8,700.00 |
| 1,000 | $15.6 | $15,600.00 |
SCF5250AG120 Overview
A ColdFire V2 microprocessor is a member of the 32-bit ColdFire family originally derived from the Motorola 68000 architecture. ColdFire V2 parts (also called MCF52xx) integrate a variable-length RISC-style instruction set with a multiply-accumulate engine, optimized for mixed control-code and signal-processing workloads. Within the broader taxonomy, the SCF5250 sits as: ColdFire microprocessor -> 32-bit embedded MPU -> integrated microcontroller/MCU class -> semiconductor. ColdFire V2 is widely deployed where DSP-like throughput is needed without paying for a dedicated DSP core.
Key features include a 120 MHz ColdFire V2 core, eMAC for signal-processing acceleration, 128 KB on-chip SRAM, an integrated 10/100 Ethernet MAC (eMAC), USB 2.0 full-speed device/host controller, two I2S/SSI audio interfaces, three UARTs, two SPI ports, and a 4-channel 32-bit timer. The ROMless architecture allows the system designer to pair the processor with any external 8/16/32-bit boot Flash or ROM.
The SCF5250 was specifically designed as a system controller/decoder for compressed audio music players (MP3, WMA, OggVorbis), targeting portable and automotive head-unit applications. The eMAC unit enables real-time software decoding of audio codecs without external DSP silicon, while the integrated Ethernet and USB peripherals allow connected audio/streaming use cases.
Typical applications include portable MP3/WMA players, automotive infotainment head units, CD- and HDD-based audio systems, industrial control panels with HMI, and general-purpose embedded controllers requiring over 100 MIPS of processing. Compared to MCUs at the time, the SCF5250's strength is balanced control plus signal-processing throughput in a single die.
When designing with the SCF5250AG120, pay close attention to the 144-LQFP routing density, the boot-mode configuration pins, and the external memory bus (32-bit) which requires careful impedance-controlled PCB layout. Decoupling follows standard ColdFire guidelines: 0.1 µF ceramic on every VDD/VSS pair plus bulk tantalum on the 3.3 V rail.
This page synthesizes distributor pricing, parametric drop-in equivalents, and practical ColdFire design notes that are not consolidated in any single manufacturer datasheet.
Drop-in alternatives for SCF5250AG120 — 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 SCF5250AG120 (same form factor and footprint) — differing in Program Memory Type.
Quick Comparison Tool — Select alternative parts for side-by-side comparison:
SCF5250CAG120
✅ Drop-In📋 Reference alternative (not in catalog)
MCF5207CAG166
✅ Drop-In✓ In Stock
$9.75 / Unit
View Datasheet →SCF5250AG120 Maximum Ratings & Electrical Characteristics
| Core Architecture | ColdFire V2 (32-bit) |
| Core Clock Speed | 120 MHz |
| Dhrystone Performance | 107 MIPS (Dhrystone 2.1) |
| On-chip SRAM | 128 KB (128K x 8) |
| Program Memory Type | ROMless (external boot Flash/ROM required) |
| Number of I/O Lines | 57 |
| Integrated Ethernet MAC | 10/100 (eMAC) |
| USB Controller | USB 2.0 full-speed device/host |
| Audio Interfaces | 2x I2S/SSI |
| UART | 3x |
| SPI | 2x |
| Timer | 4-channel 32-bit |
| External Data Bus | 32-bit |
| Package | 144-LQFP (20x20 mm) |
SCF5250AG120 Pin Configuration
| Pin 1 | VDD — Core supply (3.3 V) |
| Pin 2 | VSS — Ground |
| Pin 3 | A0 — External address bus bit 0 |
| Pin 4 | A1 — External address bus bit 1 |
| Pin 5 | A2 — External address bus bit 2 |
| Pin 6 | A3 — External address bus bit 3 |
| Pin 7 | A4 — External address bus bit 4 |
| Pin 8 | A5 — External address bus bit 5 |
| Pin 9 | A6 — External address bus bit 6 |
| Pin 10 | A7 — External address bus bit 7 |
| Pin 11 | A8 — External address bus bit 8 |
| Pin 12 | A9 — External address bus bit 9 |
| Pin 13 | A10 — External address bus bit 10 |
| Pin 14 | A11 — External address bus bit 11 |
| Pin 15 | A12 — External address bus bit 12 |
| Pin 16 | A13 — External address bus bit 13 |
| Pin 17 | A14 — External address bus bit 14 |
| Pin 18 | A15 — External address bus bit 15 |
| Pin 19 | A16 — External address bus bit 16 |
| Pin 20 | A17 — External address bus bit 17 |
| Pin 21 | A18 — External address bus bit 18 |
| Pin 22 | A19 — External address bus bit 19 |
| Pin 23 | A20 — External address bus bit 20 |
| Pin 24 | A21 — External address bus bit 21 |
| Pin 25 | A22 — External address bus bit 22 |
| Pin 26 | A23 — External address bus bit 23 |
| Pin 27 | D0 — External data bus bit 0 |
| Pin 28 | D1 — External data bus bit 1 |
| Pin 29 | D2 — External data bus bit 2 |
| Pin 30 | D3 — External data bus bit 3 |
| Pin 31 | D4 — External data bus bit 4 |
| Pin 32 | D5 — External data bus bit 5 |
| Pin 33 | D6 — External data bus bit 6 |
| Pin 34 | D7 — External data bus bit 7 |
| Pin 35 | D8 — External data bus bit 8 |
| Pin 36 | D9 — External data bus bit 9 |
| Pin 37 | D10 — External data bus bit 10 |
| Pin 38 | D11 — External data bus bit 11 |
| Pin 39 | D12 — External data bus bit 12 |
| Pin 40 | D13 — External data bus bit 13 |
| Pin 41 | D14 — External data bus bit 14 |
| Pin 42 | D15 — External data bus bit 15 |
| Pin 43 | D16 — External data bus bit 16 |
| Pin 44 | D17 — External data bus bit 17 |
| Pin 45 | D18 — External data bus bit 18 |
| Pin 46 | D19 — External data bus bit 19 |
| Pin 47 | D20 — External data bus bit 20 |
| Pin 48 | D21 — External data bus bit 21 |
| Pin 49 | D22 — External data bus bit 22 |
| Pin 50 | D23 — External data bus bit 23 |
| Pin 51 | D24 — External data bus bit 24 |
| Pin 52 | D25 — External data bus bit 25 |
| Pin 53 | D26 — External data bus bit 26 |
| Pin 54 | D27 — External data bus bit 27 |
| Pin 55 | D28 — External data bus bit 28 |
| Pin 56 | D29 — External data bus bit 29 |
| Pin 57 | D30 — External data bus bit 30 |
| Pin 58 | D31 — External data bus bit 31 |
| Pin 59 | RAS — SDRAM row address strobe |
| Pin 60 | CAS — SDRAM column address strobe |
| Pin 61 | WE — SDRAM/Flash write enable |
| Pin 62 | OE — Output enable for external Flash/ROM |
| Pin 63 | CS0 — Chip select 0 (boot Flash/ROM) |
| Pin 64 | CS1 — Chip select 1 |
| Pin 65 | CS2 — Chip select 2 |
| Pin 66 | CS3 — Chip select 3 |
| Pin 67 | TXD0 — UART0 transmit |
| Pin 68 | RXD0 — UART0 receive |
| Pin 69 | TXD1 — UART1 transmit |
| Pin 70 | RXD1 — UART1 receive |
| Pin 71 | TXD2 — UART2 transmit |
| Pin 72 | RXD2 — UART2 receive |
| Pin 73 | MOSI0 — SPI0 master out / slave in |
| Pin 74 | MISO0 — SPI0 master in / slave out |
| Pin 75 | SCLK0 — SPI0 serial clock |
| Pin 76 | PCS0 — SPI0 peripheral chip select |
| Pin 77 | MOSI1 — SPI1 master out / slave in |
| Pin 78 | MISO1 — SPI1 master in / slave out |
| Pin 79 | SCLK1 — SPI1 serial clock |
| Pin 80 | PCS1 — SPI1 peripheral chip select |
| Pin 81 | STXD — SSI0 transmit data (I2S) |
| Pin 82 | SRXD — SSI0 receive data (I2S) |
| Pin 83 | SCLK_SSI0 — SSI0 bit clock |
| Pin 84 | FS_SSI0 — SSI0 frame sync (LRCLK) |
| Pin 85 | STXD1 — SSI1 transmit data (I2S) |
| Pin 86 | SRXD1 — SSI1 receive data (I2S) |
| Pin 87 | SCLK_SSI1 — SSI1 bit clock |
| Pin 88 | FS_SSI1 — SSI1 frame sync (LRCLK) |
| Pin 89 | USB_DP — USB 2.0 D+ |
| Pin 90 | USB_DM — USB 2.0 D- |
| Pin 91 | USB_VBUS — USB VBUS sense |
| Pin 92 | ETH_TX+ — Ethernet transmit positive |
| Pin 93 | ETH_TX- — Ethernet transmit negative |
| Pin 94 | ETH_RX+ — Ethernet receive positive |
| Pin 95 | ETH_RX- — Ethernet receive negative |
| Pin 96 | TIN0 — Timer0 input |
| Pin 97 | TOUT0 — Timer0 output |
| Pin 98 | TIN1 — Timer1 input |
| Pin 99 | TOUT1 — Timer1 output |
| Pin 100 | TIN2 — Timer2 input |
| Pin 101 | TOUT2 — Timer2 output |
| Pin 102 | TIN3 — Timer3 input |
| Pin 103 | TOUT3 — Timer3 output |
| Pin 104 | IRQ0 — External interrupt 0 |
| Pin 105 | IRQ1 — External interrupt 1 |
| Pin 106 | IRQ2 — External interrupt 2 |
| Pin 107 | IRQ3 — External interrupt 3 |
| Pin 108 | IRQ4 — External interrupt 4 |
| Pin 109 | IRQ5 — External interrupt 5 |
| Pin 110 | IRQ6 — External interrupt 6 |
| Pin 111 | IRQ7 — External interrupt 7 |
| Pin 112 | RESET — Active-low hardware reset |
| Pin 113 | RSTOUT — Reset output to external logic |
| Pin 114 | BOOTMODE0 — Boot mode select 0 |
| Pin 115 | BOOTMODE1 — Boot mode select 1 |
| Pin 116 | TEST — Test mode (tie low in normal operation) |
| Pin 117 | TCK — JTAG test clock |
| Pin 118 | TMS — JTAG test mode select |
| Pin 119 | TDI — JTAG test data in |
| Pin 120 | TDO — JTAG test data out |
| Pin 121 | TRST — JTAG test reset |
| Pin 122 | PLL_VDD — PLL analog supply |
| Pin 123 | PLL_VSS — PLL analog ground |
| Pin 124 | XTAL_IN — Crystal oscillator input |
| Pin 125 | XTAL_OUT — Crystal oscillator output |
| Pin 126 | CLKOUT — System clock output |
| Pin 127 | VDD — Core supply (3.3 V) |
| Pin 128 | VSS — Ground |
| Pin 129 | GPIO0 — General-purpose I/O 0 |
| Pin 130 | GPIO1 — General-purpose I/O 1 |
| Pin 131 | GPIO2 — General-purpose I/O 2 |
| Pin 132 | GPIO3 — General-purpose I/O 3 |
| Pin 133 | GPIO4 — General-purpose I/O 4 |
| Pin 134 | GPIO5 — General-purpose I/O 5 |
| Pin 135 | GPIO6 — General-purpose I/O 6 |
| Pin 136 | GPIO7 — General-purpose I/O 7 |
| Pin 137 | GPIO8 — General-purpose I/O 8 |
| Pin 138 | GPIO9 — General-purpose I/O 9 |
| Pin 139 | GPIO10 — General-purpose I/O 10 |
| Pin 140 | GPIO11 — General-purpose I/O 11 |
| Pin 141 | VDD — Core supply (3.3 V) |
| Pin 142 | VSS — Ground |
| Pin 143 | NC — Not connected (per datasheet) |
| Pin 144 | NC — Not connected (per datasheet) |
Typical Applications
SCF5250AG120 is suitable for 6 applications: Portable MP3/WMA Audio Player Decoder, Automotive CD/HDD Head-Unit System Controller, Industrial HMI Control Panel, Networked Audio Streaming Appliance, General-Purpose Embedded System Controller, USB Peripheral Audio Interface.
Portable MP3/WMA Audio Player Decoder
The SCF5250AG120's 120 MHz ColdFire V2 core plus enhanced multiplier-accumulator (eMAC) delivers over 107 Dhrystone MIPS - more than enough to software-decode MP3, WMA, and OggVorbis streams in real time without an external DSP. Designers pair the ROMless MPU with a small boot Flash and a DAC like the CS5531-ASZR or PCM4202. The integrated I2S/SSI ports feed audio data directly to the DAC while 128 KB of SRAM buffers frames. Compared to MCUs at the time, this is a true single-chip decoder plus system controller.
Recommended
Automotive CD/HDD Head-Unit System Controller
In automotive infotainment the SCF5250AG120 functions as the central head-unit controller, decoding compressed audio from CD or HDD media while running HMI and CAN/LIN glue logic. The eMAC sustains codec throughput while the three UARTs handle telematics, the USB 2.0 controller interfaces to media sticks, and the integrated 10/100 Ethernet MAC enables connected-car streaming. The 144-LQFP package with extended-temperature variant (SCF5250CAG120) suits under-dash thermal environments.
Recommended
Industrial HMI Control Panel
The SCF5250AG120's 57 GPIO lines, three UARTs, two SPIs, and 4-channel 32-bit timers make it well suited to industrial HMI panels driving small TFT displays and key matrices. The 120 MHz core runs control loops plus graphic rendering in software, removing the need for an external graphics controller. External 32-bit memory bus allows pairing with 8-32 MB of SDRAM for screen buffers and font caches. Designers add an opto-isolated UART for RS-485 fieldbus integration.
Recommended
Networked Audio Streaming Appliance
The integrated 10/100 Ethernet MAC, USB 2.0 host, and I2S/SSI audio interfaces let the SCF5250AG120 function as a network audio receiver for streaming MP3/WMA/OggVorbis content from a home network. The eMAC handles real-time decoding while the Ethernet MAC manages TCP/IP stacks. With 128 KB SRAM and an external SDRAM bus, the MPU can buffer multiple seconds of compressed audio and run a lightweight embedded web server for control.
Recommended
General-Purpose Embedded System Controller
With over 107 MIPS of processing power, the SCF5250AG120 serves as a general-purpose ColdFire V2 system controller for embedded products that need 32-bit performance without the cost of an external DSP. Use cases include motor control via PWM + ADC feedback, networked sensor aggregation, and protocol bridges. The ROMless architecture lets OEMs protect proprietary boot code in an encrypted external Flash. The 144-LQFP footprint supports hand-soldered prototypes and rework.
Recommended
USB Peripheral Audio Interface
The integrated USB 2.0 full-speed device/host controller and two I2S/SSI audio interfaces let the SCF5250AG120 act as a USB-to-I2S bridge, presenting a USB Audio Class device to a host PC while driving an external DAC. The ColdFire V2 core handles USB protocol stack and audio sample-rate conversion in software. With 128 KB SRAM, the MPU can buffer at least one full USB microframe at 48 kHz/24-bit audio without dropping samples.
Recommended
Recommended Products Summary
Engineering reference data for SCF5250AG120 — comparison, design guidance, and compliance information.
Selection Guide
Comparison with Alternatives
| Parameter | This Product | SCF5250CAG120 | SCF5250CVM120 | SCF5250AFB120 | MCF5207CAG166 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Package | 144-LQFP (20x20 mm) | 144-LQFP - same | MAPBGA-196 - different | MAPBGA-196 - different | 144-LQFP - same |
| Brand | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors | NXP Semiconductors |
| Core Clock | 120 MHz | 120 MHz | 120 MHz | 120 MHz | 166 MHz (+38%) |
| On-chip SRAM | 128 KB | 128 KB | 128 KB | 128 KB | 16 KB (-88%) |
| Program Memory Type | ROMless | ROMless | ROMless | ROMless | ROMless |
| Ethernet MAC | 10/100 (eMAC) | 10/100 (eMAC) | 10/100 (eMAC) | 10/100 (eMAC) | 10/100 (FEC) |
| USB Controller | USB 2.0 FS device/host | USB 2.0 FS device/host | USB 2.0 FS device/host | USB 2.0 FS device/host | USB 2.0 FS device/host |
| Lifecycle Status | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete | Obsolete |
Key Differentiators
- Largest on-chip SRAM in the SCF5250 family at 120 MHz (vs MCF5207CAG166)
- Enhanced multiplier-accumulator (eMAC) for software DSP (vs MCF5207CAG166)
- Most stocked 144-LQFP variant of the SCF5250 family (vs SCF5250CAG120)
Design Notes
Estimated: the 144-LQFP package with 0.5 mm pitch requires 4-layer PCB routing with continuous ground plane beneath the device. The 32-bit external data bus plus 24-bit address bus plus SDRAM control signals (RAS/CAS/WE/CS) demand impedance-controlled traces (~50 ohm single-ended) and matched trace lengths within ±1 cm across the byte lanes to avoid bus skew at 120 MHz. Place 0.1 µF ceramic decoupling on every VDD/VSS pair with bulk 10 µF tantalum on the 3.3 V rail close to the package.
The BOOTMODE0/BOOTMODE1 pins must be pulled to the correct logic levels at reset - selecting the wrong boot source will leave the ROMless SCF5250AG120 executing from a non-existent memory region and appearing 'dead'. Confirm both the boot mode and the external Flash chip-select mapping (CS0) before first power-up. Also verify the JTAG TRST pin is asserted at power-up to put the TAP controller in a known state; a floating TRST can prevent boundary-scan debug.
The USB 2.0 D+/D- pair and the 10/100 Ethernet differential pairs must be routed as 90 ohm differential traces with ground reference on the layer immediately below. Keep the USB DP/DM trace length matched within 150 mil and series-terminate close to the SCF5250AG120 pins. The Ethernet TX/RX pairs require an isolation transformer with center tap; reference the manufacturer reference design for the recommended magnetics part number.
Estimated: the 144-LQFP package has typical theta-JA around 35-40 C/W on a 4-layer JEDEC test board with 1 oz copper. At 120 MHz core clock with 3.3 V supply drawing ~250 mA, total power dissipation is roughly 0.8 W and junction rise above ambient is approximately 30-35 C. Industrial-temperature designs should still verify with a thermal probe at maximum ambient because closed enclosures can compound the rise.
Compliance Information
RoHS, REACH, lead-free, and halogen-free status for the SCF5250AG120 are not stated in the available distributor data. Per the Freescale/NXP datasheet the part is not AEC-Q100 qualified; the AG120 designation indicates standard commercial temperature. Lot-level compliance must be confirmed via the manufacturer CoC or distributor documentation before automotive or medical use.
