In the semiconductor field, Renesas, a provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, recently launched the RA4L1 microcontroller (MCU) family, bringing to the market a total of 14 new devices that combine ultra-low power consumption, advanced security features, and segment LCD support, which is expected to reshape the development landscape of related applications.
At present, the Internet of Things, smart devices and other industries are booming, and more stringent requirements are put forward for the performance, power consumption and function of microcontrollers. Renesas' RA4L1 series MCUs are based on the 80MHz Arm Cortex M33 processor, which supports TrustZone technology, achieving an excellent combination of performance, functionality, and energy savings, providing strong technical support for a wide range of application scenarios. It can play an important role in the processing of accurate metering data of smart water meters, the safe and stable operation of smart door locks, and the information collection and transmission of various Internet of Things sensors.
In terms of power consumption, the RA4L1 series MCUs feature Renesas' unique low-power technology, which delivers only 168μA/MHz in active mode at 80MHz and as low as 1.70μA in standby mode, even with all static random access memory (SRAM) data retained. This excellent low-power performance greatly extends the battery life of the device, which is of great significance for portable devices. In addition, the MCUs are available in a variety of small packages, including a 3.64 x 4.28mm wafer-level chip-scale package (WLCSP), which can meet the needs of products such as portable printers, digital cameras, smart labels, and other devices that require the highest device size, further expanding the application scenarios of the products.
At the software support level, the RA4L1 series MCUs are paired with Renesas' Flexible Software Package (FSP). FSP integrates a rich set of infrastructure software including multiple real-time operating systems (RTOS), board support packages (BSPs), peripheral drivers, middleware, connectivity, and networking functions, as well as support for TrustZone technology and even reference software for building complex AI, motor control, and cloud solutions. This enables developers to develop applications faster with the help of FSP. At the same time, FSPs allow customers to integrate their legacy code, as well as selected RTOSs, with FSPs, providing great flexibility for application development and facilitating the migration of existing intellectual property between RA6 or RA2 series devices.
Figure: Renesas Electronics Unveils Ultra-Low-Power RA4L1 Microcontroller (Source: Renesas)
Daryl Khoo, Vice President of Embedded Processing Marketing at Renesas, said, "Since its launch in 2020, Renesas' RA2L1 family of MCUs has achieved remarkable success in the market and is widely used in a wide range of low-power applications that require capacitive touch functionality. Based on the same low-power technology, the RA4L1 series is another precise response to our customers' needs for a combination of ultra-low power consumption, better CPU performance, segment LCD display support, and advanced security features."
Take a deep dive into the key features of the RA4L1 family of MCUs, which offer excellent storage, peripherals, security, and more, in addition to the powerful cores and low power consumption mentioned above. In terms of storage, it is equipped with 256 - 512KB of dual bank flash memory, 64KB of SRAM, and 8KB of data flash memory, which can meet the data storage needs of different applications. Rich peripheral interfaces include segment LCD, capacitive touch, full-speed USB (USB - FS), flexible data rate controller area network (CAN FD), low-power universal asynchronous transceiver transmitter (UART), serial communication interface (SCI), serial peripheral interface (SPI), quad SPI (QSPI), integrated circuit bus (I2C), I3C, synchronous serial interface (SSI), and analog-to-digital converter (ADC), digital - Analog converters (DACs), comparators, low-power timers, and real-time clocks offer ample possibilities for connectivity and function expansion between devices.
Safety has always been an important consideration for microcontrollers, and the RA4L1 family of MCUs is no slouch in this regard. Each chip has a unique ID, and has a built-in RSIP security engine that supports True Random Number Generator (TRNG), Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC), and hashing algorithms to ensure the security of devices and data. In addition, the MCUs operate over a wide ambient temperature range, ranging from -40°C to +125°C in QFN, QFP, and CSP packages, and -40°C to +105°C in BGA packages, making them suitable for a wide range of complex environments.
