Renesas Adds Leading Power Efficiency to Ultra-Low Power Embedded Controller RE Family

TOKYO, Japan ― Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today expanded its RE Family lineup of embedded controllers with a new ultra-low power consumption member based on Renesas’ breakthrough silicon-on-thin-buried-oxide ( SOTB™) process technology and built around the Arm® Cortex®-M0+ core. The newest member of the RE01 Group lineup is a 256 kilobytes (KB) flash memory variant in addition to the 1.5 megabytes (MB) flash memory embedded controller, already in mass production. Featuring a minimum 3.16 mm × 2.88 mm WLBGA package size, the new embedded controller is optimized for use in more compact product designs in IoT devices for sensor control, for applications such as smart homes, smart buildings, environmental sensing, structure monitoring, trackers, and wearable devices.

The new embedded controller received a certified EEMBC® ULPMark™-CoreProfile (CP) score of 705, verifying its world’s top-class energy efficiency ^{(Note 1)}. This high score was achieved through the use of Renesas’ proprietary SOTB process technology, which enables extreme reduction in both active and standby current consumption.

“We are very pleased that the RE Family embedded controller’s ultra-low power consumption was officially certified,” said Hiroto Nitta, Senior Vice President, Head of SoC Business, IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit at Renesas. “We hope that this will lead to a wider adoption of the RE family, expanding the battery life of embedded devices and relieving more customers of their battery maintenance burden.”

The new embedded controller features current consumption as low as 25 μA/MHz during operation and 400 nA during standby, placing it among the world’s leaders in ultra-low current consumption. Customers can further reduce operation current consumption to 12 μA/MHz by using Renesas’ ultra-low Iq ISL9123 as an external step-down regulator.

With ultra-low power consumption, RE Family embedded controllers can dramatically extend the battery life of embedded devices. They are also capable of high-speed operation in applications that require real-time data processing from multiple sensors, even when powered by compact batteries with very small current output or by energy harvesting devices. Currently available RE Family MCUs with 1.5 MB of flash memory are optimal for applications requiring a large memory capacity, such as image data processing or wireless firmware updating via wireless communication, while the new RE01 Group is optimal for compact devices and IoT devices for sensor control.

Key features of the new RE01 Group R7F0E01182xxx:

• Arm Cortex^®-M0+ core with maximum operating frequency of 64 MHz
• 256 KB flash memory and 128 KB SRAM
• Operating current: 25 µA/MHz (when using on-chip LDO), 12 µA/MHz (when using external DC/DC converter)
• Software standby: 400 nA
• Operating voltage range: 1.62V - 3.6V with high-speed operation of up to 64 MHz from 1.62V
• Package lineup: approx. 3 mm square 72-pin WLBGA, 7 mm square 56-pin QFN, 14 mm square 100-pin and 10 mm square 64-pin LQFP
• On-chip energy harvesting control circuit (fast boot condenser charging, secondary battery charge protection functionality)
• Approximately 4 µA ultra-low power-consumption and 14-bit A/D converter
• Support for flash programming on approximately 0.6 mA of power
• Robust security functions using Trusted Secure IP core
• Deep standby with real-time clock (RTC) operating 380 nA at 1.8V

RE Family Development Environment

The EK-RE01 256 KB Evaluation Kit can be used in combination with user systems to evaluate all peripheral functions, including energy harvesting systems. The evaluation board included in this kit includes the ISL9123 ultra-low Iq DC/DC converter, which enables measurement of the extremely low operating current of 12 μA/MHz. In addition to the energy harvesting element interface required by energy harvesting systems and a secondary battery connection interface, the evaluation board is equipped with an Arduino-compatible interface to simplify extended evaluation capabilities for sensor boards, and a Pmod™ connector for extended evaluation using wireless functionality.

Compatible development tools include IAR Embedded Workbench^® for Arm, which supports the IAR C/C++ compiler, and e² studio, which supports the GNU compiler – both available free of charge. Driver software supporting Arm’s Cortex Microcontroller Software Interface Standard (CMSIS) is available. A low-level sample code for use in low-power applications that cannot permit the power loss from the overhead imposed by driver software is also available.

By strengthening its SOTB-based RE Family product lineup, Renesas aims to help enable an environmentally-conscious smart society by supporting the development of low-power systems.

Pricing and Availability:

Sample shipments of the new RE01 embedded controller are available now with mass production scheduled to begin in late July 2020. The reference price for the R7F0E01082CFM in the LQFP package is US $3.33 per 10,000 unit. The EK-RE01 256 KB Evaluation Kit is scheduled for release in late August 2020.

For more details on the RE Family, visit:
https://www.renesas.com/products/microcontrollers-microprocessors/re.html

Note 1: The Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium (EEMBC) is a nonprofit industry group that works to promote standardization of benchmarks. Its certified benchmark scores are widely regarded as indispensable data for the impartial evaluation of products from several manufacturers. For more details on the EEMBC ULPMark™, visit: https://www.eembc.org/ulpmark/

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.

(Remarks) All registered trademarks or trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Arm and Arm Cortex are trademarks or registered trademarks of Arm Limited in the EU and other countries. ULPMark is a trademark and EEMBC is a registered trademark of the Embedded Microprocessor Benchmark Consortium. IAR Embedded Workbench is a trademark or registered trademark owned by IAR Systems AB. SOTB is a registered trademark of Renesas Electronics Corporation in the US and other countries.

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.