Renesas Technology Introduces 36 New Models of R8C/Tiny Series 16-Bit MCUs with On-chip Flash Memory, Giving A

Renesas Technology Introduces 36 New Models of R8C/Tiny Series 16-Bit MCUs with On-chip Flash Memory, Giving Automotive Engineers Many Design Choices

– Devices with enhanced functions and more pins simplify the task of finding the most powerful and economical low-end MCU for diverse automotive body control applications –

SAN JOSE, Calif. — July 14, 2008 — Renesas Technology America, Inc. today announced the addition of a total of 36 new 16-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) to the R8C/Tiny product line, thus giving automotive system engineers a choice of 72 devices optimized for in-vehicle body-control applications. The new MCUs in the 80-pin R8C/38E, 64-pin R8C/36E, and 48-pin R8C/34E product groups have on-chip flash memory, a built-in precision clock oscillator, and enhanced functionality, as well as packages with extra I/O pins. Moreover, within each of these three groups, there are MCUs with or without a CAN1 (controller area network) interface, with various amounts of flash ROM and RAM (32KB/2.5KB, 48KB/4KB, and 64KB/6KB), and with or without on-chip 4KB of data flash2 (data storage flash memory). Versions of the chips are available in two operating temperature ranges: standard (-40 to +85°C) and extended (-40 to +125°C) and the MCUs can be shipped with the flash blank or pre-programmed with customer-supplied user code.

The greatly expanded R8C/Tiny product line — now encompassing functionally compatible models with 20-, 32-, 48-, 64-, and 80-pin packages — makes it easier for automotive engineers to find the best, most economical MCU solution for any particular set of application requirements. Also, the broader span of choices allows them to readily accommodate the specification modifications that often arise during the development and fine-tuning of MCU-based body-control systems. They can add functions or increase memory capacity, for example, just by switching to another R8C/Tiny device. This flexibility saves cost and time by eliminating the need for major design changes.

Features of key on-chip functions

The MCUs in the R8C/38E/36E/34E groups provide improvements in various on-chip peripheral functions. For example, the high-speed on-chip oscillator has improved oscillation precision: ±1%, the industry’s highest ranking. This feature eliminates the external resonator that would otherwise be needed to implement the clock circuit, enabling system cost reductions while also helping to boost reliability.

The data flash built into some of the new R8C/Tiny models eliminates the need for external EEPROM (electrically erasable and programmable read only memory) for data storage. It now has a background-operation (BGO) function that allows the CPU to execute instructions during data flash reading or writing. This boosts the MCU’s processing efficiency and also allows system engineers to write programs without concern for data flash read/write times, simplifying program development. The size of the data flash capacity has been doubled to a total of 4KB (1KB × 4 blocks) compared with previous products, so more data can be stored.

The number and capabilities of the on-chip voltage-detection circuits have been expanded. Previous R8C/Tiny devices had two circuits that detected one level each. For increased ease-of-use, the new MCUs have three of them that respectively offer one detection level, eight detection levels, and two detection levels (with external input capability).

The devices that expand the R8C/Tiny lineup include a data transfer controller (DTC) that enables data transfers to be performed between memory and a register without CPU intervention. This capability shortens transfer-processing time and reduces the load on the CPU, making more computing time available for executing application code. The DTC is based on the highly rated design used in the high-performance MCUs in the 16-bit H8S series and the 32-bit H8SX series.

As before, the new R8C/Tiny chips incorporate a power-on reset (POR) function that places all on-chip circuits in the reset state when the MCU is turned on. However, the revised POR circuit in them has been upgraded for extra flexibility and can now handle a slower ramp-up of the power supply voltage.

Also, like the other R8C/Tiny MCUs, the new devices have a single-pin debugging interface that lets system engineers use the Renesas E8a emulator/on-chip debugger as a development environment — even while all I/O pins are in use — for more efficient program development. The new MCUs, however, have an additional debugging function that allows developers to make RAM references and changes during user program execution, a capability that can improve debugging efficiency. The E8a emulator retains its capability as a code writer for the MCU’s on-chip flash memory.

Besides the E8a emulator/debugger, Renesas offers a comprehensive set of hardware and software development products for systems that use R8C/Tiny MCUs. Additional support is available from a large international community of third-party suppliers. In the future, Renesas plans to offer support for the E100 full-spec emulator for situations requiring a more powerful debugging tool. The company also will continue to extend the R8C/Tiny lineup for automotive applications with microcontrollers offering improved performance and functions.

Price and Availability

Product Name Type Name CAN I/F Data

Flash Flash Memory + Data Flash/RAM Package (Size) Sample Price/

Availability

R8C/38E

group R5F21388EJFP Yes Yes 64KB+4KB/6KB 80-pin LQFP

(12mm×12mm) $3.5 to $6.4*/

Q3 2008

(devices with

-40 to +85ºC operating range)

R5F2138AEJFP Yes Yes 96KB+4KB/8KB

R5F2138CEJFP Yes Yes 128KB+4KB/10KB

R8C/38F

group R5F21388FJFP Yes — 64KB/6KB

R5F2138AFJFP Yes — 96KB/8KB

R5F2138CFJFP Yes — 128KB/10KB

R8C/38G

group R5F21388GJFP — Yes 64KB+4KB/6KB

R5F2138AGJFP — Yes 96KB+4KB/8KB

R5F2138CGJFP — Yes 128KB+4KB/10KB

R8C/38H

group R5F21388HJFP — — 64KB/6KB

R5F2138AHJFP — — 96KB/8KB

R5F2138CHJFP — — 128KB/10KB

R8C/36E

group R5F21368EJFP Yes Yes 64KB+4KB/6KB 64-pin LQFP

(10mm×10mm)

R5F2136AEJFP Yes Yes 96KB+4KB/8KB

R5F2136CEJFP Yes Yes 128KB+4KB/10KB

R8C/36F

group R5F21368FJFP Yes — 64KB/6KB

R5F2136AFJFP Yes — 96KB/8KB

R5F2136CFJFP Yes — 128KB/10KB

R8C/36G

group R5F21368GJFP — Yes 64KB+4KB/6KB

R5F2136AGJFP — Yes 96KB+4KB/8KB

R5F2136CGJFP — Yes 128KB+4KB/10KB

R8C/36H

group R5F21368HJFP — — 64KB/6KB

R5F2136AHJFP — — 96KB/8KB

RF2136CHJFP — — 128KB/10KB

R8C/34E

group R5F21346EJFP Yes Yes 32KB+4KB/2.5KB 48-pin LQFP

(7mm×7mm)

R5F21347EJFP Yes Yes 48KB+4KB/4KB

R5F21348EJFP Yes Yes 64KB+4KB/6KB

R8C/34F

group R5F21346FJFP Yes — 32KB/2.5KB

R5F21347FJFP Yes — 48KB/4KB

R5F21348FJFP Yes — 64KB/6KB

R8C/34G

group R5F21346GJFP — Yes 32KB+4KB/2.5KB

R5F21347GJFP — Yes 48KB+4KB/4KB

R5F21348GJFP — Yes 64KB+4KB/6KB

R8C/34H

group R5F21346HJFP — — 32KB/2.5KB

R5F21347HJFP — — 48KB/4KB

R5F21348HJFP — — 64KB/6KB

*Devices with an extended operating temperature range (-40 to +125) are available in higher prices.