New ultra-low power MCU with advanced security and targeted peripheral set

Renesas Electronics Corporation has introduced the RA4C1 MCU group based on an 80MHz Arm Cortex M33 processor. The new devices offer ultra-low power consumption, advanced security features, abundant communication interfaces, and segment LCD support. This unique set of features and performance metrics is perfect for battery-powered applications that require strict security, including gas, water, and industrial flow meters, as well as smart locks, thermostats, building controls, and industrial user interfaces. These new MCUs precisely match the needs for system control applications used in utility meters worldwide.

The MCUs employ proprietary low-power technology that delivers 168µA/MHz active mode @ 80MHz and standby current of less than 1.79µA with all the SRAM retained; the series also supports an RTC with its own dedicated power domain, supporting easy battery backup for the time. This exceptional performance, coupled with support for input voltages as low as 1.6V, helps customers to design battery-powered applications that use smaller batteries or deliver higher performance for the existing battery size.

Strong security is an essential need for metering systems. The MCUs offer an RSIP-300 security engine that provides an isolated subsystem managed and protected by dedicated control logic. The new devices also include support for a 256-bit hardware unique key and TRNG, key management functionality with the capability to generate wrapped keys, SHA algorithms, hardware acceleration of AES, and ECC supporting NIST and Brainpool curves with a key length of up to 384 bits. The series has also achieved PSA Certified Level 1 certification with European Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) compliance extension in keeping with the company’s continuing commitment to cybersecurity and compliance with upcoming European regulations.

The new MCUs also provide a feature set that satisfies all the requirements of metering system designers. A 512KB dual bank on-chip flash allows easy and secure software updates with 96KB of SRAM and 8KB of dataflash for on-chip data storage. Peripherals include a low-power ADC, an on-chip temperature sensor accurate to 1%, and an on-chip LCD controller to drive low-power segment displays.

The MCUs are supported by the company’s Flexible Software Package (FSP). The FSP enables faster application development by providing all necessary infrastructure software, including multiple RTOS, BSP, peripheral drivers, middleware, connectivity, networking, and TrustZone support, and reference software for building complex AI, motor control, and cloud solutions. It permits customers to integrate their own legacy code and choice of RTOS with FSP, thus providing full flexibility in application development. The FSP eases migration of existing IP to and from either RA6 or RA2 Series devices.

“Renesas’ RA4C1 Group MCUs offer an unmatched solution for metering applications, a very larger market that is growing rapidly,” said Daryl Khoo, vice president of Embedded Processing Marketing Division at Renesas. “It’s an example of our sales, marketing and engineering teams working together with our customers to develop the right product for the right market at the right time.”

The company has combined the new RA4C1 Group MCUs with numerous compatible devices from its portfolio to offer the Smart 1-Ph E-Meter Winning Combination. Winning Combinations are technically vetted system architectures from mutually compatible devices that work together seamlessly to bring an optimised, low-risk design for faster time to market. It offers more than 400 Winning Combinations with a wide range of products from the Renesas portfolio to enable customers to speed up the design process and bring their products to market more quickly.

The RA4C1 MCUs are available now, along with the FSP software. The company is also shipping an RA4C1 Evaluation Board.