The new 32-bit RA2L1 from Renesas Electronics is a series of Arm Cortex-M23-based ultra-low-power MCUs with advanced capacitive touch sensing for cost-effective and energy-efficient IoT node HMI applications. These general-purpose MCUs operate up to 48 MHz and come with several integrated features to lower BOM costs, including capacitive touch sensing, embedded flash memory densities up to 256 KB, SRAM at 32 KB, analog, communications, and timing peripherals, and safety and security functions.
The RA2L1 MCUs are certified with an EEMBC ULPMark score of 304 at 1.8V ensuring best-in-class power rating enabling users to minimize power consumption close to the standby levels to extend battery life. The capacitive touch noise tolerance of these MCUs meet the requirements of IEC EN61000-4-3 level 4 (radiated) and EN61000-4-6 level 3 (conducted) to assure reliable operation with minimal sensing errors.
These MCUs also offer an IEC60730 self-test library and feature integrated safety functions that confirm normal operation to enable customers to perform MCU self-diagnostics. Besides, the RA2L1 MCU group includes an AES cryptography accelerator, a true random number generator (TRNG), and memory protection units that provide the fundamental blocks to develop a secure IoT system.
Key Features of the RA2L1 MCU Group
- 48 MHz Arm Cortex-M23 CPU core
- Ultra-low power consumption delivering an operating current of 64 μA/MHz and software standby current of 250 nA with less than 5 µs fast wakeup
- Employs Renesas’ 110nm low-power process for active and sleep/standby modes and special power-down modes designed for battery-driven applications
- Flexible power modes achieve lower average power for multiple applications Support for wide operating voltage range: 1.6V – 5.5V
- Enables system costs reduction with on-chip peripheral functions, including a high precision (1.0%), high-speed oscillator, temperature sensor, and multiple power supply interface ports
- Integrated next-generation innovative capacitive touch sensing unit with no external components required, lowering BOM costs
- Background operation data flash supporting 1 million erase/program cycles
- Scalable from 48-pin to 100-pin LQFP packages
The Flexible Software Package (FSP) of these MCUs enables customers to re-use their legacy code and combine it with software from partners across the vast Arm ecosystem to speed implementation of complex connectivity and security functions. The FSP uses a GUI to simplify the process and dramatically accelerate the development process, while also making it easy for customers to transition from an original 8/16-bit MCU design. These MCUs are available with pin counts ranging from 48-pin to 100-pin and can be bought from Renesas’ worldwide distributors.
