MSC now offers 11 MCUs in the RX220 Group of 32-bit microcontrollers from Renesas Electronics. The new RX220 Group of MCUs features processing performance of up to 50 Dhrystone MIPS at 32 MHz and a reduced power consumption 
of less than half that of the earlier RX200 Series of MCUs. In particular, in intermittent operation, the new RX220 Group sets new standards.
When the CPU is operating and the peripheral functions are halted, the power consumption of the new RX220 MCUs is only 0.2 mA/MHz. When operating in software standby mode, in which the contents of the on-chip RAM and registers are maintained but other functions are halted, the operating current is reduced to an ultra-low level of 2 µA. In combination with the performance of 1.56 DMIPS/MHz, which is unusually high for mid-range MCUs, a significant reduction of the overall system power consumption can be achieved in systems with alternating processing and standby phases.
The RX220 MCUs support a wide operating voltage range from 1.62 V to 5.5 V, providing support for a broad range of applications. The maximum operating frequencies are 4 MHz at 1.62 V to 1.8 V, 8 MHz at 1.8 V to 2.7 V and 32 MHz at 2.7 V to 5.5 V. In addition, the on-chip flash memory can be overwritten throughout the entire operating voltage range, eliminating the need for a separate power supply to rewrite the flash memory even for low-voltage operation at 1.8 V or less.
Furthermore, similar to the RX210 Group of MCUs, the new RX220 Group of MCUs offers a wide range of integrated safety functions including a clock frequency accuracy measurement circuit that detects any rise or fall in the clock frequency, a measuring circuit for detection of an oscillator stop, a data operation circuit that assists in RAM error testing and a cyclic redundancy check function for detecting data transfer errors.
Other safety features are an independent watchdog timer that operates on a clock separate from the system clock as well as a self-diagnostic function for detecting disconnection of the analog input to the A/D converter and detecting A/D converter malfunctions. This integration eliminates the need for the external circuits or software processing previously needed to implement fail-safe capabilities in a system and simplifies compliance with the IEC 60730 international safety standard for electric household appliances. In addition, Renesas has also received the VDE certification for its IEC60335-compliant self-test software for all of the RX220 MCUs.
Additional peripheral functions of the new devices include a 12-bit A/D converter, a PWM timer for control of motor drives, a real-time clock and an event-link controller.
The 11 new MCUs in the RX220 Group are available in a wide range of configurations, from versions in a 48-pin package with 32 KB of flash memory to versions in a 100-pin package with 256 KB of flash memory.
Samples of the RX220 Group of MCUs, which are fully compatible with the RX210 Group and RX630 Group, are available now. Mass production of the RX220 devices is scheduled to begin in December 2012.
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