Renesas Technology America added 50 devices to its R32C/100 series of 32-bit microcontrollers, which are built around the R32C/100 32-bit CPU core at the high end of Renesas’ M16C family of complex instruction set computer (CISC) MCUs.

The new devices operate at up to 64 MHz, incorporate high-speed flash memory, and some models include FlexRay controllers.

The devices include the 100-pin, 64MHz R32C/120 and R32C/121 groups for body control systems; the 144-pin, 60 MHz R32C/133 and R32C/134 groups for X-by-Wire applications; the 144-pin, 64 MHz R32C/151, R32C/152, R32C/153, R32C/156, and R32C/157 groups, with up to 1 MB of flash memory for automotive systems with large control programs, and the 80-pin, 48 MHz R32C/160 and R32C/161 groups for cost- and/or space-constrained applications.

The R32C/120 and /121, include one or two CAN channels and two LIN channels. The R32C/133 and /134 feature two or three CAN channels and a two-channel FlexRay controller. The R32C/151, /152, /153, /156 and /157 can be configured with as many as four CAN channels and either four or eight LIN channels. The R32C/160 and /161 have one or two CAN channels and one LIN channel.

Paul Kanan, segment marketing manager in Renesas’ Automotive Business Unit, said the product line expansion is driven by rising demand for MCUs that have sophisticated on-chip functionality and deliver the higher levels of performance needed to rapidly execute large amounts of control code.

He added that the devices’ on-chip flash memory combines fast read/write performance with excellent reliability. It includes special flash areas for data storage called electrically erasable/programmable read-only memory (EEPROM) emulation flash (EE Data Flash) that have an endurance of 100,000 rewrite cycles. A background operation (BGO) function allows the CPU to access programs stored in the flash memory even as the content of the EE Data Flash is being rewritten.

On-chip peripheral functions include timers for three-phase motor control, a watchdog timer, intelligent I/O, an A/D converter, serial interface, and direct memory access (DMA) controller. An on-chip oscillator can be used in conjunction with the wait operating mode to reduce the MCU’s power consumption.

A single-wire debugging (NSD) interface allows evaluation and calibration to be performed with the MCU installed in the finished product. This interface allows debugging of all functions, and also can be used to program the on-chip flash memory.

Samples are scheduled for Q3 availability, priced from $10-20. Production deliveries are planned for Q4.