Renesas Electronics Announces Low-Power Microcontrollers with Large Capacity Memory

TOKYO, Japan, February 25, 2011 — Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced the availability of its eight new 32-bit V850 microcontrollers (MCUs) in the existing J Series. These new V850ES/Jx3-L MCUs are an extension of the successful low power V850ES/Jx3-L 32-bit MCUs that were introduced in early 2010 and are designed for low power, portable applications with high density memory from 768 kilobyte (KB) flash/80 KB RAM to 1 megabyte (MB) flash/80 KB RAM to support increasing memory demand. Four of these high memory density MCUs are equipped with USB 2.0 function interface to support communication. The new MCUs achieve industry-leading low power consumption with built-in large capacity memory.

These new MCUs are ideal for applications, such as smart meters and healthcare equipment. Their low power capability with 1 MB flash and 80 KB RAM memory suits smart meters perfectly. Many smart meters are subjected to a regulatory power budget. Yet with more communication radios and more complex software, every component, including the MCU, has to be lower power to keep the system under budget. The increasing communication software can be adequately supported by the larger flash memory. Healthcare systems, especially portable measurement and monitor devices, such as blood glucose meters, can take advantage of the low power to extend battery life and utilize the large flash memory for data storage. The USB support enables these healthcare systems to support patient-doctor information exchange, such as the Continua Alliance standard. Moreover, the 32-bit processing power can support graphic computation for different displays, from segmented LCD to dot matrix and OLED.

Software complexity continues to increase in many applications. Product designers are faced with a difficult design decision between extending design cycle to reduce software size or paying for extra external memory to shorten design time. The high density Flash eliminates this design dilemma. These V850 MCUs with up to 1 MB Flash can support many applications without resorting to external memory.

Renesas Electronics' V850ES/JG3-L MCUs address these needs, and even in the J Series, these new products reduce the normal operating current by 50 percent from the company's existing products, achieving industry-leading low power consumption while providing large internal memory capacities.

Key features of the V850ES/JG3-L MCUs:

(1) Large-capacity on-chip memories contribute to reducing total costs associated with both the software development effort and the system structure

The new MCUs provide either 768 KB or 1 MB of on-chip flash memory and 80 KB of on-chip RAM. Compared to earlier products, these devices can help reduce the effort required to compress software programs, eliminating the need for costly external memory.

(2) High-speed processing achieved with the industry's top-class low power consumption

These new devices achieve a power consumption of 0.9 milliwatt (mW) per 1 MIPS (Note 1) at 20 megahertz (MHz) operation. Furthermore, while providing improved peripheral functionality such as USB 2.0 and real-time counter functions, these devices achieve the low current consumption of 0.7 µA (with the real-time counter operating) in standby mode. Furthermore, since they also support 2.0 V low-voltage operations when operating at 2.5 MHz, they can contribute to longer battery operating times in portable information terminals and other battery operated electronic equipment.

(3) Easy reuse of existing software assets from other J Series devices

With the introduction of these new products, the J Series now includes a total of 125 products with from 16 KB to 1 MB of flash memory, from 8 KB to 80 KB of RAM, and from 40 to 144 pins. Since it is easy to reuse software assets if the end-product manufacturer selects a device from the same series, the J Series provides powerful support for shortening development periods and reducing development costs.

Please refer to the separate sheet for the main specifications of the V850ES/JG3-L MCUs.

Pricing and Availability

Samples of Renesas Electronics' new V850ES/JG3-L MCUs are available now. The sample prices of these new products vary depending on memory capacity and package type. For example, the MCU equipped in a 100-pin LQFP package with 1 MB of flash memory is priced at US$7.65 per unit. Mass production is scheduled to begin in July 2011 and is expected to reach a combined volume of 3,000,000 units per month with all 8 products by FY2012. (Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.)

(Note 1) MIPS:
The ability to execute one million instructions per second. The Dhrystone benchmark is a program used to evaluate arithmetic performance in computers.

(Remarks)
SuperFlash memory technology used in Renesas Electronics' 32-bit devices is licensed from Silicon Storage Technology Inc. SuperFlash is registered of Silicon Storage Technology in the U.S., Japan, and other countries.

All other registered trademarks or trademarks are the property 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.