Embedded World: Renesas mcus cut current by 30% over earlier versions
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Renesas Electronics has announced a new series of mcus with on chip lcd controllers that reduce current by approximately 30% compared to its earlier products.
The RL78/L12 16bit mcus are designed for products equipped with small lcd panels, including portable household appliances, healthcare devices, building management systems and industrial applications that require improves user interfaces and low power.
Renesas says it developed the microcontrollers to enable the design of improved power efficient systems that incorporate enhanced human/machine interfaces. The devices combine the company's lcd control technology with the low power consumption and high performance of its RL78 family of 16bit mcus. The new lineup consists of 18 product versions with pin counts ranging from 32 to 64 pins and on chip flash memory capacities ranging from 8 to 32KB.
According to Renesas, the devices are designed to consume as little as 66µA/MHz and can achieve 0.57µA while operating the real time clock with full calendar function, low voltage detection circuit and maintaining 100% of ram contents. The mcus also feature a mode that halts the internal lcd related operations of the mcu when the multisegment lcd display is not in use, reducing current consumption and boosting power efficiency.
The 64 pin version of the new lineup supports up to 280 lcd segments, increasing the amount of information that can be displayed. The RL78/L12 group supports up to 280 lcd segments in its 35x8 configuration and can operate from 1.6 to 5.5V power supply. The lcd controller provides three methods of generating lcd drive voltage internal voltage boost, capacitor split and external resistance division – all designed for reduced overall system power consumption. Compared with the company's earlier products, the current consumption of the internal voltage boost method is approximately 35% lower power, while the capacitor split method is approximately 47% lower power. The external resistance division method is approximately 30% lower and, for products using battery drive, the internal voltage boost method is said to make 'an important contribution' to the battery life of the overall system.
Renesas' RL78/L12 mcus will be showcased in Hall 4A 4A-122, Hall 1 1-336 and Hall 1 1-306 at Embedded World 2012 in Nuremberg.
