On April 9, 2024, Beijing, China - Global semiconductor solution provider Renesas Electronics (TSE: 6723) announced today the launch of ARM based solutions? Cortex- The RA0 microcontroller (MCU) series for M23 processors. The new 32-bit general-purpose MCU RA0 series products not only achieve lower costs, but also provide ultra-low power performance.

The current consumption of RA0 product in working mode is only 84.3 μ A/MHz, only 0.82mA in sleep mode. In addition, Renesas also provides software standby mode in this new MCU, which can further reduce power consumption by 99%, reaching 0.2 μ The minimum value of A. Paired with a fast wake-up high-speed on-chip oscillator (HOCO), this ultra-low power MCU provides an ideal solution for battery powered consumer electronics, small appliances, industrial system control, and building automation applications.

A feature set for low-cost optimization

Renesas has now launched the first product group of the RA0 series: RA0E1. The feature set of this product has been optimized for cost sensitive applications, supporting a wide operating voltage range of 1.6V to 5.5V, and customers do not need to use level converters/regulators in 5V systems. The RA0 MCU also integrates timers, serial communication, as well as simulation, safety, and human-machine interface (HMI) functions to reduce customer BOM costs. In addition, this series of products also offers multiple packaging options, including 3mm x 3mm micro 16 pin QFN packaging.

The high-precision (± 1.0%) on-chip oscillator (HOCO) of the all-new MCU improves baud rate accuracy, allowing designers to eliminate the need for independent oscillators. In addition, unlike other HOCOs, it can still maintain this accuracy in environments ranging from -40 ° C to 105 ° C, and such a wide temperature range allows customers to avoid expensive and time-consuming "fine-tuning" even after reflow soldering.

The RA0E1 MCU not only has critical diagnostic security functions and IEC60730 self checking library, but also provides rich protection functions for data security, such as true random number generator (TRNG) and AES library, suitable for IoT applications including encryption.

Akihiro Kuroda, Vice President of the Embedded Processing 2nd Division at Renesas, said, "As a leader in the field of embedded processing, our customers hope that Renesas can create the best solutions for various applications. The RA0E1 MCU product group can provide ultra-low power consumption and low cost for price sensitive systems, while maintaining functional security, data security, and design convenience. Combined with our recently launched high-performance RA8 series, Renesas can now bring first-class MCU solutions to various customer applications in various regions around the world."

Paul Williamson, senior vice president and general manager, IoT Line of Business at Arm, stated, "Low power IoT embedded applications in markets such as industrial automation and smart homes have clear requirements for performance, efficiency, and data security. Renesas' RA MCU product family, built on Arm technology, currently offers a variety of solutions from low-power RA0 MCUs to high-performance AI enabled RA8 products. All products adopt a common design environment, enabling easy and fast development and migration."

Key features of RA0E1 MCU product group

Core: 32MHz Arm Cortex-M23

Storage: Up to 64KB integrated code flash and 12KB SRAM

Analog peripherals: 12 bit ADC, temperature sensor, internal reference voltage

Communication peripherals: 3 UARTs, 1 asynchronous UART, 3 simplified SPIs, 1 IIC, and 3 simplified IICs

Functional security: SRAM parity check, invalid memory access detection, frequency detection, A/D testing, immutable storage, CRC calculator, register write protection

Data security: unique ID, TRNG, flash read protection

Packaging: 16, 24, and 32 pin QFN, 20 pin LSSOP, 32 pin LQFP

The new RA0E1 product group MCU is supported by the Reza Flexible Configuration Software Package (FSP). FSP brings all the necessary infrastructure software, including multiple RTOS, BSP, peripheral drivers, middleware, connections, networks, and security stacks, as well as reference software for building complex AI, motor control, and cloud solutions, thereby accelerating application development speed. It allows customers to integrate their existing code and selected RTOS with FSP, creating ample flexibility for application development. Customers can easily migrate their existing designs to larger RA series products using FSP according to their own needs.

Successful product portfolio

Renesas has combined the new RA0E1 product group MCU with numerous compatible components in its product portfolio to create a wide range of "successful product portfolios", including public building HVAC environmental monitoring modules. These "successful product combinations" are based on mutually compatible and seamlessly collaborative products, with technically validated system architectures that bring optimized low-risk designs to accelerate product launch speed. Renesas has now launched over 400 "successful product combinations" based on various products in its product lineup, enabling customers to accelerate the design process and push products to the market faster. For more information, please visit: renesas.com/win.

Embedded World 2024 Exhibition Information

To watch the live demonstration of the new RA0 MCU, please visit the Embedded World 2024 exhibition booth Renesas (Hall 1, Booth 234) held in Nuremberg, Germany from April 9th to 11th.

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