Renesas Technology to Release R8C/Mx MCU Series With Power Consumption Among the Lowest in the Industry and First R8C to Support 1.8V Reprogramming
Starting With 14-Pin Options, the R8C/Mx Series is the Newest Entry Line Within the R8C Family of MCUs Designed for Low Power Applications
SAN JOSE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Renesas Technology America, Inc., today announced the release of the R8C/Mx Series of low-pin-count MCUs with on-chip flash memory (flash MCUs) offering power consumption among the lowest in the industry and a cost optimized peripheral set for applications requiring low power consumption, such as motion detectors, electric toothbrushes, smoke detectors and dedicated safety sensors for home appliances.
The R8C/Mx Series is a new addition to the R8C Family of flash MCUs, which has an established track record based on low pin count and high performance. The new series combines extremely low power consumption and a low pin count. The first products to appear will be the R8C/M11A, with a 14-pin package, and the R8C/M12A, with a 20-pin package. They will comprise a total of six types with 18 products. Sample shipments are scheduled to begin in Q2, 2010.
According to Ritesh Tyagi, director of marketing, system LSI business unit, Renesas Technology America, Inc., “Renesas Technology has invested heavily in the R8C Family to deliver superior technologies to a number of markets over the last five years. One of the biggest strengths of the R8C product offering has been its exceptional scalability and now Renesas takes that to a new level with the R8C/Mx Series. The R8C/Mx devices are not your typical low pin count MCUs. This new lineup is designed with advanced process technology tuned for low power and low voltage re-programmability of flash memory, while still supporting a 1.8V to 5.5V operating range. With the R8C/Mx series, engineers can get the best current consumption per MHz within the R8C Family and take advantage of the peripheral set optimized for low-cost designs.”
Product Background
The R8C Family is a key product family in Renesas Technology’s well-established line of MCUs for the consumer field, which have the top market share*2 worldwide. With a variety of package options, memory configurations, and advanced on-chip peripheral functions, the R8C Family of MCUs have been widely adopted for system control in a broad range of products. In recent years, demand for reduced power consumption in compact electrical household appliances has risen along with concern for the environment. There is demand for lower current consumption both during system standby and during operation. In addition, the need to reduce system cost has spurred demand for low pin counts, compact packages, and on-chip peripheral functions to reduce the number of external devices.
Against this background, Renesas Technology has developed the new R8C/Mx Series specifically with compact electrical household appliances in mind. Improvements to the fabrication process designed to reduce current consumption during both standby and operation have cut power consumption by about half compared with earlier Renesas Technology MCUs. The R8C/Mx Series also combines low pin counts with on-chip control functions for sensors, etc.
Product Details
The R8C/Mx Series is built around the R8C CPU core and delivers high-performance, powerful functionality, and excellent flexibility. The R8C is a 16-bit CPU, but the CPU and peripheral functions are linked by an 8-bit bus. Its maximum operating frequency is 20 MHz, and its wide operating voltage range extends from 1.8 V to 5.5 V. The data flash can be reprogrammed, erased, and read using a voltage of only 1.8 V. On-chip peripheral functions include a high-speed on-chip oscillator, a power-on reset function,*3 and a low-voltage detection function*4 (two on-chip circuits supporting two and eight setting levels, respectively). This reduces the number of external devices required, such as EEPROM, oscillators, reset chips, and pull-up resistors, contributing to reduced system cost and smaller wiring board size.
The E8a emulator, an on-chip debugger that uses a single-pin interface, will be offered as a development environment for the MCU. Since only a single pin is needed for connection, all of the I/O pins can be used during debugging, enabling efficient program development. The E8a emulator functions not only as an emulator, but can also be used as a flash memory programmer.
The future evolution of the R8C Family will include products with even smaller packages, lower power consumption, and on-chip functions selected for specific fields. Renesas Technology will continue to extend its MCU lineup in response to evolving market needs, contributing to the development of products that are more compact, operate on lower voltage, and consume less power.
Notes
1.
Data flash: Proprietary Renesas Technology flash memory used mainly for data storage separate from flash memory normally used for software storage.
2.
Source of sales figures: 2008 WW Microcontroller for Consumer Revenue market share
3.
Power-on reset function: A function that resets all of the MCUs internal circuits when the device is powered on. The power-on reset function of Renesas Technology MCUs is designed to respond flexibly even when the power supply voltage rise is gradual.
4.
Low-voltage detection function: A function that issues an internal reset signal or an interrupt when the voltage drops below a specified level.
Typical Applications
About Renesas Technology Corp.
Renesas Technology Corp. is the world’s No.1 supplier of microcontrollers and one of the world’s leading semiconductor system solutions providers for mobile, automotive and PC/AV (Audio Visual) markets. It is also a leading provider of Power MOSFETs, Smart Card microcontrollers, RF-ICs, High Power Amplifiers, Mixed Signal ICs, System-on-Chip (SoC), System-in-Package (SiP) and more. Established in 2003 as a joint venture between Hitachi, Ltd. (TSE:6501) (NYSE:HIT) and Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TSE:6503), Renesas Technology achieved consolidated revenue of 702.7 billion JPY in FY2008 (end of March 2009). Renesas Technology is based in Tokyo, Japan and has a global network of manufacturing, design and sales operations in 16 countries with 25,000 employees worldwide. For further information, please visit http://www.renesas.com
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