Renesas expands its RA6 Series MCUs, offering more communication options

Renesas Electronics Corporation, a supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, is expanding its RA6 Series microcontrollers (MCUs) with 20 new RA6M5 Group MCUs, completing the mainstream line of RA6 Series devices. The new parts offer a wide array of communications options, generous on-chip memory, and Renesas’ best-in-class security features, enabling customers to create innovative IoT designs.

The new MCUs offer numerous communication interface options, including CAN FD, Ethernet MAC with DMA, USB Full Speed and High Speed, and multiple serial interfaces. Designers of IoT systems will have unmatched flexibility in sharing critical data using the RA6M5 Group.

The MCUs integrate up to 2MB on-chip flash and 512KB on-chip RAM, enough to support a wide range of applications. They also provide an OctaSPI interface that enables designers to extend the on-chip flash and RAM and support error-correction code (ECC) in the RAM. The memory block swap feature, in conjunction with the intrinsic security built into RA Family devices, makes the RA6M5 Group an ideal choice for applications where in-field firmware updates are required.

After the new firmware is written to the flash using background operation (BGO), a selectable amount of 32kB flash blocks can be swapped to the new firmware.

The RA6M5 MCUs employ the Arm Cortex-M33 core based on Armv8-M architecture. They feature Arm TrustZonetechnology and Renesas’ Secure Crypto Engine. The Secure Crypto Engine incorporates multiple symmetric and asymmetric cryptography accelerators, advanced key management, security lifecycle management, power-analysis resistance, and tamper detection.

The new RA6M5 Group offers the same security features and software support as Renesas’ RA6M4 MCUs, which recently achieved PSA Certified Level 2 and SESIP1 certification. This combination of features enables customers to realize secure element functionality, delivering unmatched safety and security for highly connected IoT devices.

“The RA6M5 MCU Group offers our customers seemingly ‘endless’ communications options, enabling the flexibility to share data in a wide variety of different ways to address numerous IoT applications,” said Roger Wendelken, senior VP in Renesas’ IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit. “This functionality, combined with ample on-chip memory and our industry-leading security features, makes these devices true powerhouses for implementing IoT designs.”

Features of the RA6M5 Group:

Very Low power consumption of 107 μA/MHz in active mode (running the CoreMark algorithm from Flash at 200MHz); 30 µs wakeup time
200-MHz Arm Cortex-M33 with TrustZone technology
Renesas’ Secure Crypto Engine as part of a full security solution
Scalable from 100- to 176-pin LQFP packages; also available in 176-ball BGAs
Integrated flash memory of 1MB, 1.5MB or 2MB; 512K SRAM including 64kB with ECC
Capacitive touch sensing unit
BGO/Swap function
CAN FD or CAN
Ethernet MAC with DMA
USB 2.0 Full Speed and High Speed with crystal less operation
Advanced analog with two ADC (Analog-to-Digital Converter) units
QuadSPI and OctaSPI
SDHI

The RA6M5 Group is supported by the easy-to-use Flexible Software Package (FSP), which includes a best-in-class HAL driver. The FSP uses a GUI to simplify and dramatically accelerate the development process, while also making it easy for customers to transition from an original 8/16-bit MCU design. Designers using the RA6M5 MCUs also have access to the extensive Arm partner ecosystem, offering a wide range of tools that help speed time-to-market.