Renesas Brings USB-C Rev. 2.4 Support to New Ultra-Low-Power RA2L2 Microcontroller Group

­Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today introduced the RA2L2 microcontroller (MCU) group with ultra-low power consumption and the industry’s first support for the new UCB-C Revision 2.4 standard. Based on a 48-MHz Arm Cortex M23 processor, the new MCUs offer a rich feature set that makes them ideal for portable devices and PC peripherals such as gaming mice and keyboards.

The new USB Type-C Cable and Connector Specification Release 2.4 has reduced voltage detection thresholds (0.613V for 1.5A source, and 1.165V for 3.0A source). The RA2L2 MCUs are the industry’s first MCUs to support these new levels.

The RA2L2 MCUs employ proprietary low-power technology that delivers 87.5 µA/MHz active mode and software standby current of just 250nA. They also offer an independent operating clock for the low-power UART, which can be used to wake up the system when receiving data from WiFi and/or Bluetooth® LE modules. Along with the USB-C support, this combination of features makes the RA2L2 the premier solution available for portable devices such as USB data loggers, charge cases, barcode readers and other products.

In addition to USB-C with CC detection up to 15W (5V/3A) and USB FS support, the new MCUs offer LP UART, I3C, and CAN interfaces, giving designers the ability to reduce component count, saving cost, board-space and power consumption.

The RA2L2 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, and networking 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 other RA devices.

“The RA2L2 Group MCUs are our first to realize full-speed USB along with USB-Type C connector support. They also ensure system costs remain low by reducing external components, and they offer the same low-power characteristics as our popular RA2L1 devices,” said Daryl Khoo, Vice President of Embedded Processing Marketing Division at Renesas. “These new devices demonstrate our commitment and ability to quickly deliver the solutions our customers require.”

Key Features of the RA2L2 MCUs

• Core: 48 MHz Arm Cortex-M23Memory: 128-64 KB Flash, 16 KB SRAM, 4 KB Dataflash
• Peripherals: USB-C, USB-FS, CAN, Low Power UART, SCI, SPI, I3C, I2S, 12-bit ADC (17-channel), Low Power Timer, Real-Time Clock, High-Speed On-chip Oscillator (HOCO), Temp SensorPackages: 32-, 48- and 64-pin LQFP; 32- and 48-pin QFN
• Security: Unique ID, TRNG
• Wide Ambient Temperature Range: Ta = -40°C to 125°C Operating Voltage: 1.6V – 5.5V; USB Operating Voltage: 3.0V to 3.6V

Winning Combinations

Renesas has combined the new RA2L2 MCUs with numerous compatible devices from its portfolio to offer a wide array of Winning Combinations, including USB Data Logger, Electronic Toll with GNSS, Gaming Keyboard and Gaming Mouse. These designs are technically vetted system architectures from mutually compatible devices that work together seamlessly to bring an optimized, low-risk design for faster time to market. Renesas 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. 

Availability

The RA2L2 MCUs are available now, along with the FSP software. Renesas is also shipping an RA2L2 Evaluation Kit. More information is available here.