Renesas Electronics recently introduced the RA4C1 microcontroller (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 well suited 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 exactly match the requirements for system control applications used in utility meters worldwide.
The RA4C1 MCUs employ proprietary low-power technology that delivers 168 µA/MHz active mode @ 80MHz and standby current of less than 1.79 µA with all the SRAM retained; the RA4C1 also support a real-time clock (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, supports customers with designing battery-powered applications that use smaller batteries or provide higher performance for the existing battery size.
Strong security is a critical requirement for metering systems. The RA4C1 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 True Randon Number Generator (TRNG), key management functionality with the ability 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 RA4C1 has also achieved PSA Certified Level 1 certification with European Cyber Resilience Act (CRA) compliance extension aligning with Renesas’ continuing dedication to cybersecurity and compliance with upcoming European regulations.
Furthermore, Renesas’ new MCUs provide a feature set that meets all the needs of metering system designers. A 512 Kbyte dual bank on-chip flash enables easy and secure software updates with 96 kbytes of SRAM and 8 kbytes 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 RA4C1 MCUs are supported by Renesas’ Flexible Software Package (FSP). The FSP enables faster application development by providing all the infrastructure software needed, including multiple RTOS, BSP, peripheral drivers, middleware, connectivity, networking, and TrustZone support as well as reference software to build complex AI, motor control and Cloud solutions. It allows 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, 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.”
