Renesas Electronics Announces Industry's First Low-Power 16-bit Microcontrollers with Integrated USB that Enables High-Speed Charging (BC1.2 Standard)

TOKYO, Japan, November 13, 2012 — Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the release of the RL78/G1C Group of microcontrollers (MCUs), which are the industry's first 16-bit MCUs that conform to the USB Battery Charging Specification, Revision 1.2 and provide USB host/function interfaces.

The battery charging function of the new RL78/G1C conforms to the USB BC 1.2 standard, which enables high speed charging up to 1.5 A. Furthermore, by adopting the RL78 core, which features the lowest power consumption class in the industry, power consumption during USB operation is reduced by about 60% (Note 1).

The USB interface is not only used between PCs and PC peripheral equipment, but is also used as a convenient general-purpose interface for consumer and industrial equipment in a wide range of areas such as smartphone accessories, portable healthcare devices, AV accessories, game equipment and industrial equipment. Recently, the needs for charging from a USB terminal have been increasing. However, USB ports as defined in the earlier USB 2.0 standard could not use currents in excess of 500 mA and, as a result, cannot support high-speed charging. Thus support for the USB BC 1.2 standard, which allows currents of up to 1.5 A to be used, is strongly desired.

The first series within the RL78/G1C Group of MCUs will feature 32 to 48-pin devices in packages down to 5 × 5 mm, and up to 32 KB of flash and 5.5 KB of on-board RAM. The RL78/G1C also integrates a 1% accurate high-speed oscillator. Renesas is moving forward aggressively with the new RL78 series product deployments. At the same time as being able to contribute to lower power consumption in end products, with the new RL78/G1C Group of MCUs, Renesas now provides an extensive lineup that supports the addition of products that include USB battery charging functionality.

Key Features of the RL78/G1C Group of MCUs:

(1) Industry's first USB BC 1.2 compliance enables high-speed charging and power supply control while performing USB communication

These MCUs include USB ports that conform to the USB BC 1.2 standard that allows currents up to 1.5 A to be used during charging (Note 2). This enables USB communication and high-speed charging concurrently.

(2) Extremely low power consumption achieved by the adoption of the RL78 Family

By adopting the RL78 core, which achieves both low power and high performance, the RL78/G1C MCUs achieve 71 µA/MHz in full operation and just 0.23 µA in Stop Mode (RAM retained)

(3) Inclusion of USB host functionality allows support of a wide range of applications

These new MCUs include both USB host and function supporting both full-speed and low-speed USB communication. Thus they can support systems that take advantage not only of USB memory, but widely available peripherals such as keyboards and mouse.

The RL78/G1C Group of MCUs is optimal for a wide range of applications, including industrial equipment such as data loggers, consumer equipment such as smartphone accessories, portable healthcare devices, USB chargers and AV accessories.

(4) Member of the extensive RL78 Family with USB capability

These new products are the first RL78 Family MCUs that include USB host/function and can be easily deployed in existing systems that use other RL78 Family products. The integration of USB functionality alongside RL78's smart peripherals allows reduced bill of materials (BOM) whilst contributing to lower costs and miniaturisation in end products.

(Note 1) When compared to the current consumption of the existing Renesas R8C/3xU and 78K0R/KC3-L, in the state where USB peripheral communication is being performed.

(Note 2) In battery charging using a USB connector, the USB port VBUS pin current is used. The USB BC 1.2 standard defines a mechanism that detects whether or not the port of the connected device supports high power charging, so that the portable device can control the current value used for charging. This allows a maximum of 1.5 A to be used during charging.

Refer to the separate sheet for the main specifications of the RL78/G1C Group of MCUs.

Pricing and Availability

Samples of the RL78/G1C Group of MCUs are available now, prices vary by USB peripheral functions and USB host functions including packages and number of pins. For example, the 32-pin LQPF package R5F10KBCAFP device with USB peripheral function is priced at US$1.00 per unit, in 10K-unit quantities. Mass production of the RL78/G1C devices is scheduled to begin in March 2013 and is expected to reach a scale of 1,000,000 units per month in March 2014. (Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.)

(Remarks)
The new RL78/G1C Group incorporates SuperFlash® technology licensed from Silicon Storage Technology, Inc. SuperFlash® is a registered trademark of Silicon Storage Technology, Inc., U.S.A., in the United States, Japan, and other countries. All other names of products or services mentioned in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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.