Renesas claims first MCUs with Arm Cortex-M85 core

Renesas Electronics Corp. is claiming the industry’s most powerful microcontrollers (MCUs) and the first based on the Arm Cortex-M85 processor, delivering breakthrough performance of over 3000 CoreMark points. The new RA8 Series MCUs join the company’s RA family of MCUs based on Arm Cortex processors, enabling existing designs using other RA devices to be easily ported to the new RA8 devices. The first devices released in the RA8M1 Group MCUs can be used in a range of compute intensive applications.

The fully deterministic RA8 Series MCUs with low latency and real-time operation boasts 6.39 CoreMark/MHz performance. This performance level will enable the use of RA MCUs in applications that previously required microprocessors (MPUs), Renesas said.

 The RA8 Series MCUs feature Arm Helium technology, a vector extension for the Armv8-M architecture that increases performance by 4× for digital signal processor (DSP) and machine learning (ML) implementations versus MCUs based on the Arm Cortex-M7 processor. The MCUs also deliver a 30% increase in scalar performance compared to the Cortex-M7. This enables designers to potentially eliminate additional DSPs in their system designs for some applications.

RA MCU families (Source: Renesas Electronics Corp.)

The RA8 Series MCUs, using Helium technology, will make it easier to implement natural language processing in voice AI and predictive maintenance applications in edge and endpoint devices. The company demonstrated the boost in performance in AI/ML applications with the new Cortex-M85 core and Helium technology in its first working silicon based on the Arm Cortex-M85 processor at Embedded World 2023.

In addition, the RA8 series is packed with security features, including Arm TrustZone technology and Renesas’ advanced Security IP (RSIP-E51A) that provides cryptographic accelerators and supports a true secure boot. Other advanced security features include immutable storage for a strong hardware root-of-trust, Octal SPI with decryption-on-the-fly (DOTF), secure authenticated debug, secure factory programming and tamper protection. The series targets PSA Certified Level 2 + Secure Element (SE), NIST CAVP and FIPS 140-3 certifications.

Renesas said the Armv8.1-M architecture introduces the Pointer Authentication and Branch Target Identification (PACBTI) security extension that provides mitigation for software attacks targeting memory safety violations and memory corruptions.

With a lower operating voltage of 1.68-3.6 V, the RA8 Series devices deliver new low power features and multiple low power modes to improve power efficiency and help designers meet regulatory requirements. Key features include independent power domains, fast wakeup time and low typical active and standby currents to lower overall system power.

In addition, the Arm Cortex-M85 core performs various DSP/ML tasks at much lower power, Renesas said.

RA8M1 Group MCUs

Available now, Renesas has started to ship the first devices in the RA8 Series, the RA8M1 Group, in volume production. They are available in 100/144/176-pin LQFP and 224-pin BGA packages.

The RA8M1 Group MCUs are based on the 480-MHz Arm Cortex-M85 with Helium and TrustZone. They integrate 2-MB/1-MB Flash memory and 1-MB SRAM (including TCM, 512 KB ECC protected. Peripherals include xSPI compliant Octal SPI with XIP and decryption-on-the-fly (DOTF), CAN-FD, Ethernet, USBFS/HS, 16-bit camera interface and I3C. Advanced security features include cryptographic algorithms, TrustZone, immutable storage, tamper resistance with DPA/SPA attack protection, secure debug, secure factory programming and lifecycle management support.

The RA8M1 Group MCUs target a range of compute intensive applications. (Source: Renesas Electronics Corp.)

The general-purpose RA8M1 Group MCUs can be used in a range of applications in industrial automation, home appliances, smart home, consumer, building/home automation, medical and AI in applications such as fingerprint scanners, thermostats, PLC, smart meters and home hubs. They are supported by Renesas’ Flexible Software Package (FSP) for faster application development. The FSP includes 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 also offers several Winning Combinations system solutions using the RA8M1 Group MCUs with compatible devices. These include the Smart Robotic Vacuum Cleaner and Smart Glasses. An RA8M1 Group Evaluation Kit (RTK7EKA8M1S00001BE) also is available. Samples and kits can be ordered on the Renesas website or through distributors.