Renesas RX671 32-bit MCUs

Renesas Electronics has introduced the RX671 group of 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs) — a high-performance, high-functionality, single-chip solution with touch sensing and voice recognition capabilities for contactless operation. The MCUs are built around an RXv3 CPU core operating at 120 MHz and integrate flash memory supporting fast read access at a clock speed of 60 MHz, for good real-time performance with a CoreMark score of 707 and power efficiency of 48.8 CoreMark/mA.

Available in a wide variety of packages with pin counts ranging from 48 to 145 pins, up to 2 MB of flash memory and 384 KB of SRAM, the MCUs are suitable for a wide range of applications that require advanced functionality, power efficiency and compact size, such as heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), smart meters and smart home appliances. For size-constrained devices, the series is available in a 64-pin TFBGA package measuring just 4.5 x 4.5 mm.

The MCU is optimised for contactless applications, integrating a capacitive touch sensing unit that combines high sensitivity with good noise tolerance and can be used to implement contactless proximity switches. In addition, the serial sound interface can be used to connect digital microphones that support voice recognition over long distances. Used in combination with voice recognition middleware from Renesas’s RX ecosystem partners, these features enable developers to create contactless operation functions utilising voice recognition in a short amount of time.

The product integrates Renesas’s Trusted Secure IP as a part of its built-in hardware security engine, which comprises an encryption engine with AES, RSA, ECC and SHA support, a true random number generator (TRNG) and an encrypted key management mechanism. Combining these with the dual-bank function and protection function of the on-chip flash memory allows users to implement capabilities such as secure firmware updates and secure boot.