Low-Power MCUs For IoT

The microcontroller offers low power use, security, LCD support, and easy software integration. Does it improve devices and development? Find out more!

Renesas Electronics Corporation has introduced the RA4L1 microcontroller (MCU) group, featuring 14 new ultra-low-power devices with advanced security and segment LCD support. Powered by an 80-MHz Arm Cortex-M33 processor with TrustZone, these MCUs balance performance, features, and power efficiency for applications such as water meters, smart locks, and IoT sensors. The MCU group is designed for embedded system developers, IoT product designers, hardware engineers, and firmware developers who need ultra-low-power, secure, and feature-rich solutions.

The MCUs use Renesas’ low-power technology, consuming 168 µA/MHz in active mode at 80 MHz and just 1.70 µA in standby with full SRAM retention. They come in compact packages, including a 3.64 x 4.28 mm Wafer-Level Chip-Scale Package (WLCSP), making them suitable for portable printers, digital cameras, and smart labels.

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The company supports the MCUs with its Flexible Software Package (FSP), simplifying application development by providing RTOS options, BSP, peripheral drivers, middleware, connectivity, networking, and TrustZone support. The FSP also allows seamless integration of legacy code and enables migration between RA6 and RA2 Series devices.

A few key features of the MCU group include:

• Core: 80 MHz Arm Cortex-M33 with TrustZone
• Memory: 256-512 KB Flash, 64 KB SRAM, 8 KB Dataflash
• Peripherals: LCD, Touch, USB, CAN FD, UART, SPI, I2C, ADC, DAC, Timer, RTC
• Packages: Multiple sizes from 3.64 x 4.28 mm to 14 x 14 mm
• Security: Unique ID, Encryption (AES, ECC, Hash), TRNG
• Temperature Range: -40ºC to +125ºC (QFN, QFP, CSP), -40ºC to +105ºC (BGA)

“Renesas’ RA2L1 Group MCUs have seen remarkable market success since their launch in 2020, addressing a diverse range of low-power applications requiring capacity touch. Built on the same low-power technology, the RA4L1 Group is our response to customers who require the unique combination of ultra-low power with better CPU performance, segment LCD support and advanced security,” said Daryl Khoo, Vice President of Embedded Processing Marketing Division at Renesas.