MCU adds Bluetooth 5.0 for ultra-low-power IoT devices

Renesas Electronics Corp. has expanded its RE family of 32-bit ultra-low-power consumption microcontrollers (MCUs) with the introduction of the RE01B MCU with Bluetooth 5.0 Long range (up to 400 meters) support. The MCU makes it easier to implement data management and firmware updates over Bluetooth, making them suited for IoT devices that need constant operation, period data collection and updates, such as devices for monitoring the elderly, children, or assets in transit. Key applications include compact health-care devices such as pulse oximeters and biomedical sensor patches, remote controls with voice recognition capabilities, and smart meter modules.

(Image: Renesas)

The Bluetooth-capable RE01B MCU, developed using the company’s Silicon on Thin Buried Oxide (SOTB) process, targets energy harvesting systems and intelligent IoT devices that need to operate constantly at extremely low power levels without the need to replace or recharge batteries. The MCU is built around the Arm Cortex-M0+ core, operates at a maximum operating frequency of 64 MHz, and achieves current consumption as low as 35 µA/MHz during operation and 600 nA during standby.

The on-chip 14-bit A/D converter offers ultra-low-power consumption of approximately 4 µA, and the on-chip energy harvesting control circuit enables battery-less Bluetooth communication. The operating voltage range is 1.62 V to 3.6 V. It comes with 1.5 MB flash memory and 256 KB SRAM with Bluetooth functionality. Other features include peak current of 3.0 mA (1 Mbit/s) during Bluetooth reception and 4.3 mA during transmission (0 dBm, 1 Mbit/s).

Renesas said the RE01B can be combined with its ISL9123 ultra-low Iq DC/DC converter, configured as an external step-down regulator, to reduce current consumption during operation down to 15 µA/MHz for even better power efficiency.

RE01 MCU block diagram for wearables reference design (Image: Renesas)

The MCU includes security functions using Trusted Secure IP. It also offers APIs for various standard protocols , such as Heart Rate Profile (HRP), Environment Sensing Profile (ESP), and Automation I/O Profile (AIOP), in addition to the Bluetooth 5.0 protocol stack.

The RE01B MCU and the EB-RE01B evaluation kit (from Tessera Technology Inc.) are available now. Customers can  use the kit to evaluate all the peripheral functions of the RE01B, including the energy harvesting system.

The RE01B will be combined with the company’s complementary analog and power offerings to create “Winning Combinations” for a variety of applications. Two reference designs include Wearable Devices with the RE01 32-Bit MCU and the Low Power Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Tracking Solution.

Renesas recently launched its “Lab on the Cloud” environment where Renesas solutions, including the Winning Combinations, are hosted in a remote lab that designers can access and test online.