Renesas Electronics Corporation, a provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, announced a new addition to its popular RL78 microcontroller (MCU) family, which includes 8-bit and 16-bit devices for power-sensitive applications.
The RL78/G24 features the highest performance among all devices in the RL78 family, boosting its performance with an application-specific Flexible Application Accelerator (FAA) and a fast CPU that can reach an operating frequency of 48MHz.
The device's enhanced peripheral functions, including analog and timer capabilities, are ideal for motor control, power supply control, and lighting control.
In particular, by utilizing FAA, the device can distribute tasks such as drive control, encryption, detection and arithmetic operations efficiently and independently of the CPU, thereby substantially increasing processing speed.
“We are excited to introduce the top-of-the-line product from the popular RL78 family, which currently holds the world's largest share of the 16-bit MCU market,” said Toshihiko Seki, Vice President of Renesas' MCU Device Solutions Division. “With a wide range of features and specifications, the RL78 family empowers our customers to achieve the highest performance while minimizing costs.”
Characteristics
- CPU operating at 48 MHz (max) and FAA operating independently of the CPU
- 12-bit A/D converter capable of simultaneous sampling of three channels with a maximum conversion speed of 1 µs (microsecond)
- High-speed comparator with 50 ns (nanosecond) latency type.
- Equipped with DALI-2 function for lighting communication standard
- Support high temperatures up to 125° C
- Compact packaging offering, with smallest packaging option of 3 x 3 mm
The RL78/G24 offers a standby function to reduce power consumption. Customers can choose between two modes, HALT mode, which reduces power consumption by 60% compared to normal operating mode, and STOP mode, which reduces power consumption by 99% compared to HALT mode . These power saving modes allow the device to use less power overall.
“Traditionally, processing was done solely by the CPU core and a significant load was placed on the CPU. Tuning to achieve a balance between high-speed processing and CPU load took considerable time,” added Osamu Ogura, Software Development Manager, Industrial Systems Development Division at TESSERA TECHNOLOGY, a Renesas ecosystem partner. “With the FAA feature that comes with the RL78/G24, we are able to split the communication processing for the CPU and power control like with the FAA. This allowed us to reduce development time overall.”