Renesas Electronics Introduces Microcontrollers with Ultra Low Power and USB Connectivity

TOKYO, Japan, April 16, 2013 — Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, has introduced the first in its RX100 Series of powerful 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs)—the new RX111 Group. The RX111 is produced on an ultra low power zero wait state flash process supporting market leading 32-bit power consumption / performance levels as well as supporting fast wake-up, with a wide range of standard peripherals and multiple safety functions as well as an integrated USB 2.0 peripheral supporting host, device and on-the-go (OTG) functionality. This new device group brings the ultra low power features of the Renesas 8-/16-bit RL78 MCU Series to the 32-bit RX product lineup, offering a greater range of device scalability and functionality. The new RX111 devices are designed to support a broad range of low-end 32-bit embedded applications including mobile healthcare, smart meters, sensors/detectors, and industrial and building automation.

Renesas' True Low-Power capability offers designers the lowest possible power consumption across a vast range of temperatures and voltages, including all peripherals and Flash memory, while also providing maximum flexibility with multiple operational and sleep modes. This allows for the lowest possible power consumption for the user's application environment.

Key Features of the RX111 Group of MCUs:

(1) Flexible power management

Renesas' ultra low power technology delivers flexible power management and optimum power consumption for all use cases. The RX111 Group of MCUs offers three different run modes, three low power modes and a flexible clock system. For instance, the Low Power Fast Wake-up capability enables the MCUs to operate at 100 µA/MHz in Run Mode and 350 nA in Software Standby from which it can wake-up in only 4.8 µs. It integrates a Zero Wait State Flash with Erase/Write as low as 1.8 V, 1 KB erase block size and background operation (BGO), and offers erase times as low as 10 ms per block.

(2) High CPU processing performance

The new RX111 devices feature 32 MHz operating speeds and 1.56 Dhrystone MIPS (DMIPS)/MHz throughput, with power consumption as low as 64 µA/DMIPS. The MCUs also achieve 3.08 CoreMark/MHz and 14.9 CoreMark/mA.

(3) Multiple communications peripherals

The new devices support multiple communications peripherals, including USB 2.0 host/function and battery charging, OTG, I2C, and SPI (serial peripheral interface) protocols. Analog functions include a 12-bit ADC (analog-to-digital converter) with internal voltage reference, an 8-bit DAC (digital-to-analog converter) and a temperature sensor.

(4) Solution kit

Renesas provides a Renesas Starter Kit (RSK) with sample drivers (mass storage class, communication class and HID class), applications of high-speed charging by USB, various middleware such as memory card, evaluation board with Renesas' MCU and development environment required for MCU evaluation and first installation.

The RX111 Group of MCUs is software compatible with the RX600 and RX200 Series, providing greater flexibility and an easy migration path to higher performance MCUs. The RX111 MCUs are available in low pin counts ranging from 36 to 64 pins and 16 KB to 128 KB embedded flash memory with a roadmap to higher memory size. As part of the RX Family, the new MCUs also feature a compatible instruction set, hardware and software tools set, peripherals, and hardware safety features to comply with safety standards, including Cyclic Redundancy Checks (CRCs), Clock Accuracy Circuit (CAC), independent watch dog timer, a motor control timer (MTU2) and I/O ports.

Renesas provides a comprehensive development ecosystem for the RX series, including a powerful Eclipse-based IDE, as well as compilers, debugger emulators, code generation and flash programmers.

The RX111 devices are supported by IAR Systems' EWRX tool chain compiler and IDE. IAR Systems will provide the 64 KB free version of its EWRX tools to support all RX devices, including the new RX111 MCUs.

Pricing and Availability

Samples of the RX111 devices are available from July 2013. Mass production is scheduled to begin in September 2013 and is expected to reach a scale of 1,000,000 units per month in April 2014 with pricing ranging from US$1.89 resale for a 64 KB Flash, 48-pin configuration to US$2.34 resale for a 128 KB Flash, 64-pin configuration. (Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.)

(Remarks)
The new RX111 uses SuperFlash® technology licensed from Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. SuperFlash® is a registered trademark of Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., of the U.S.A. in the United States, Names of products or services mentioned in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Refer to the separate sheet for product specifications

About Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live. A global leader in microcontrollers, analog, power and SoC products, Renesas provides comprehensive solutions for a broad range of automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT applications that help shape a limitless future. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

The content in the press release, including, but not limited to, product prices and specifications, is based on the information as of the date indicated on the document, but may be subject to change without prior notice.