MVME337 Renesas Electronics (TSE: 6723), a global provider of semiconductor solutions, today announced the launch of its RA8T1 microcontroller (MCU) portfolio based on Arm® Cortex-M85 processors to meet real-time control requirements for motors, power supplies and other products common in industrial, building automation, and smart home applications.

MVME337 The RA8T1 product group is the third product in the Renesas RA8 family. All RA8 series products feature breakthrough performance of 6.39 CoreMark/MHz (note) and are powered by a high-performance Arm Cortex-M85 processor and Arm’s Helium™ technology. Delivers up to four times the performance improvement of the Cortex-M7 core for digital signal processors (DSP) and machine learning (ML). This performance boost can be used to expand AI capabilities such as predictive motor maintenance, reducing costly downtime.

Features optimized for motor control

MVME337The new RA8T1 products feature advanced PWM timing features such as three-phase complementary output, 0% and 100% duty cycle output functions, dual buffer comparison matching registers, and five phase counting modes. Its analog capabilities include 12-bit ADCs, 12-bit Dacs, and high-speed comparators for voltage and current measurement and overcurrent protection. The RA8T1 MCU also brings multiple communication capabilities, including SCI, SPI, I2C/I3C, CAN/CAN-FD, Ethernet, and USB-FS. When an anomaly is detected, the RA8T1 MCU provides a port output shut-off function, which is an important safety feature for motor control. These features, combined with advanced timers and Renesas’ power management expertise, enable customers to build comprehensive low-power motor control solutions.

MVME337

MVME337 Renesas’ pre-eminent position in embedded processing for motor control

Renesas has been introducing dedicated MCUS for motor control for more than 10 years. The company delivers more than 230 million motor control embedded processors annually to thousands of customers worldwide. In addition to the extensive RA MCU family, Renesas offers specialized motor control devices in its 32-bit RX product family, 16-bit RL78 MCUS, and 64-bit RZ MPU product lines. In addition, Renesas announced the industry’s first RISC-V-based dedicated motor control ASSP.

MVME337 Daryl Khoo, Vice President of the Embedded Processing 1st Division at Renesas said: “Renesas has become a market leader in motor control, bringing a very broad portfolio of MCUS to smart home, building and factory automation systems. The performance of these MCUS is critical in high-speed motor control where sophisticated algorithms and application software are required to operate in a reliable, safe, and stable manner. The RA8T1 MCU brings unprecedented CPU power and the Helium technology portfolio, giving our customers the flexibility to implement intelligent (AI/ML) solutions without the need for additional hardware.”

All RA8 products also offer advanced security, including Arm TrustZone® technology, Renesas Secure IP (RSIP-E51A), secure boot with first-level boot loaders in immutable storage, and pointer validation and Branch Target Identification (PACBTI) security extensions.