First general-purpose 32-bit RISC-V MCUs with internally developed CPU core

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Advanced semiconductor solutions supplier Renesas Electronics Corporation has announced the industry's first general-purpose 32-bit RISC-V-based microcontrollers (MCUs) built with an internally developed CPU core. While many MCU providers have recently joined investment alliances to advance the development of RISC-V products, Renesas has already designed and tested a new RISC-V core independently, which is now implemented in a commercial product and available globally. The new R9A02G021 group of MCUs provides embedded systems designers a clear path to developing a wide range of power-conscious, cost-sensitive applications based on the open-source instruction set architecture (ISA).

electronics360.globalspec.com/, Mar. 29, 2024 – 

While most of today's RISC-V solutions target specific applications, the R9A02G021 group MCUs are designed to serve multiple end markets, such as internet of things sensors, consumer electronics, medical devices, small appliances and industrial systems. Similar to existing general-purpose MCUs, designers will have access to a full-scale development environment for the R9A02G021, provided by Renesas and its extensive network of toolchain partners. This will allow them to significantly reduce costs, engineering resources and development time.

As an early adopter of RISC-V, Renesas has a rich offering of RISC-V application-specific products, including its 32-bit voice-control and motor-control ASSP devices and RZ/Five 64-bit general purpose microprocessors (MPUs), which were built on CPU cores developed by Andes Technology Corp. The R9A02G021 group represents the first generation of general-purpose MCUs based on the internally developed RISC-V core by Renesas that will roll out over the next several years.

Balancing performance and power

The R9A02G021 RISC-V group offers ample performance with clock speeds up to 48 MHz, while consuming extremely low power in standby at 0.3 µA. It provides 128 KB of fast flash memory, 16 KB of SRAM memory and 4 KB of flash memory for data storage. Designed to withstand harsh conditions, the MCUs can operate reliably at ambient temperatures ranging from -40° C to 125° C. The MCUs come with standard serial communications interfaces, as well as digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and analog-to-digital converter (ADC) functions to facilitate high-speed and secure connections with sensors, displays and other external modules. The wide 1.6 V to 5.5 V input voltage range enables low-voltage, low-current operation and allows noise immunity, making the R9A02G021 ideal for battery-powered devices.

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