RA8 MCUs target graphic displays

Renesas Electronics Corp. has released the second microcontroller (MCU) group in its RA8 series, which is claimed as the first MCUs based on the Arm Cortex-M85 processor. The new RA8D1 MCUs are reported to deliver breakthrough performance of over 6.39 CoreMark/MHz. It offers memory, graphics and peripheral functions to meet a variety of graphics display solutions, and voice/vision multimodal AI requirements for applications in building automation, home appliances, smart home, consumer and medical markets.

All RA8 Series MCUs leverage the Arm Cortex-M85 processor and Arm’s Helium technology with a vector/SIMD instruction set extension that is reported to provide up to a 4× higher performance for digital signal processor (DSP) and machine learning (ML) implementations over the Cortex-M7 core. This makes the MCUs suited for graphics and neural network processing and can eliminate the need for a separate hardware accelerator in some applications, Renesas said. Advanced security includes Arm TrustZone technology, Renesas Security IP (RSIP-E51A), secure boot with first stage bootloader in immutable storage, an octal SPI interface with decryption-on-the-fly (DOTF) and the pointer authentication and branch target Identification (PACBTI) security extension.

RA family portfolio (Source: Renesas Electronics Corp.)

Key features of the RA8D1 devices, based on the 480 MHz Arm Cortex-M85 with Helium and TrustZone, include a high-resolution graphics LCD controller with parallel RGB and MIPI-DSI interfaces to LCD display panels, a 2D graphics drawing engine, a 16-bit camera interface (CEU), multiple external memory interfaces for storage of frame buffer and graphics assets. Memory includes 2-MB/1-MB Flash memory and 1-MB SRAM (including TCM, 512-KB ECC protected).

Peripherals include Ethernet, XSPI (Octal SPI) with XIP and DOTF, SPI, I2C/I3C, SDHI, USBFS/HS, CAN-FD, SSI, 12-bit ADC & DAC, comparators, temperature sensor and timers. Advanced security includes cryptographic algorithms, TrustZone, secure boot, immutable storage, tamper resistance with DPA/SPA attack protection, secure debug, secure factory programming and lifecycle management support.

RA8D1 MCU applications (Source: Renesas Electronics Corp.)

In addition, graphics user interface software solutions from SEGGER emWin and Microsoft GUIX are integrated into the Renesas Flexible Software Package (FSP). Renesas also provides support for open-source Light and Versatile Graphics Library (LVGL) as well as a network of graphics and AI ecosystem partners. Also offered is a full-featured graphics evaluation kit with LCD panel and camera module that provides a development platform for graphics applications including industrial HMI, video doorbells, patient monitors, graphics calculators, security panels, printer display panels and appliance displays.

The RA8D1 Group 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 security stacks as well as reference software to build complex AI, motor control and cloud solutions, Renesas said.

Customers can integrate their own legacy code and choice of RTOS with FSP. It also makes it easier to migrate existing designs to the new RA8 Series devices.

The RA8D1 Group MCUs, offered in 176-pin LQFP and 224-pin BGA packages, are available now with the FSP software. Also available is the RA8D1 Evaluation Kit that includes example projects targeted at graphics applications. Ecosystem partners also provide production-ready solutions for the RA8D1 MCUs. Samples and kits can be ordered on the Renesas website or through distributors.

Renesas offers several Winning Combinations designs that combine the RA8D1 Group MCUs with compatible devices. These include an Off-road GPS Guidance System and High-efficiency 7-KW+ Smart Heat Pump.