Low Power 16-Bit General-Purpose RL78/G23 Microcontrollers for IoT End Point Applications with Expanded Peripheral Functions and Security Functionality

14 April 2021 - 0 Comments

Renesas Electronics Corporation has introduced 16-bit general purpose RL78/G23 microcontrollers (MCUs) as an addition to its RL78 Family of 8-bit and 16-bit MCUs. With an increased on-chip flash memory capacity up to 786KB, the new RL78/G23 MCU has expanded on-chip peripheral functions with extended functionality at a reduced bill of materials (BOM) cost and improved power consumption for battery-powered applications.

With a new process, the RL78/G23 realizes 44µA/MHz at CPU operation and 210nA during STOP (with 4KB of SRAM retention) offering a lower power consumption. The logic and event link controller (ELCL) adds logic functionality to the capabilities of a conventional event link controller (ELC). This makes it possible to create conditional links to multiple events while continuing to benefit from the reduced power consumption realized by the ELC.

Leveraging the Renesas-exclusive capacitive touch sensor unit that combines superior high-sensitivity and low-noise characteristics, the RL78/G23 can be used to implement a contactless gesture-based user interface (UI). For offering truly secured systems, the device comes with a true random number generator (TRNG) essential for certificate encryption as well as a device-specific unique ID and a customer ID that can be specified by the user. The new RL78/G23 is well suited for a wide range of applications that require both power and cost efficiency, including IoT endpoint devices such as home electronics, remote controls, and sensors.

Features of RL78/G23 Microcontrollers

RL78 CPU core running at 32 MHz
Support for operating voltages ranging from 1.6 V to 5.5 V
Max. 768 KB of code flash memory, 8 KB of data flash memory, max. 48 KB of SRAM, to support software updates, etc.
On-chip capacitive touch sensor unit that can be used to implement a high-sensitivity contactless UI
High-precision (±1.0%), high-speed on-chip oscillator
Analog functions such as a 12-bit A/D converter, 8-bit D/A converter, and temperature sensor, etc.
Remote control signal reception function, enabling the on-chip implementation of a remote control receiver
Output current control (15 mA) port for LED drive and 40 mA output port
Package lineup with pin counts from 30 to 128 pins

Note: More technical information can be found in the RL78/G23 Datasheet linked at the bottom of this page and on the product page of the RL78/G23 microcontroller.