Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, has expanded its 32-bit microcontroller (MCU) offering. Particularly, it will put into the market a new RX device for high-end industrial sensor systems.

The latest addition, the RX23E-B, is a 32-bit device from its popular RX Family featuring a high-precision analog front end (AFE). Specifically, the design suits for systems that demand fast and accurate analog signal measurements.

Serves Broad Range of Sensing Application

The new MCU integrates a 24-bit Delta-Sigma A/D converter capable of achieving a conversion speed of up to 125 kSPS (125,000 samples/second). Most importantly, this is eight times faster than the existing RX23E-A.

It can process accurate A/D conversion while reducing RMS noise to 1/3 (0.18µVrms @1kSPS) when compared to the RX23E-A. The RX23E-B facilitates faster and more precise measurements of critical parameters such as strain, temperature, pressure, flow rate, current, and voltage, making it ideal for high-end sensor devices, measuring instruments, and test equipment. Particularly, the RX23E-B offers sufficient performance to drive force sensors used in industrial robots. Oftentimes, industrial robots demand measurements as fast as 10 µsec (100,000 samples/second). The MCU also reduces overall system size and the component count by incorporating the AFE and the MCU on a single chip.

“With the addition of the RX23E-B which comes with an AFE sensor interface, we can now serve a broad range of sensing applications from mid- to high-end systems,” said Sakae Ito, Vice President of the IoT Platform Business Division at Renesas.

In addition, Ito said, “We will continue to extend our product options to meet the growing needs of battery-powered and wireless sensors that demand low power consumption.”

“At Meiko Electronics, we have been developing evaluation boards and providing design support to our customers since the RX23E-A product was introduced,” said Takatsugu Nemoto, President at Meiko Electronics.

Furthermore, Nemoto said, “Now, with the introduction of the RX23E-B with a high-speed delta-sigma A/D converter, we anticipate many customers will be able to experience the benefits of its enhanced conversion performance, compact board design and reduced component count.”

Uses Same Fab Process

Similar to the RX23E-A, the RX23E-B incorporates a 32-MHz RXv2-based CPU with digital signal processing (DSP) instructions and a floating point unit (FPU). Moreover, it combines the AFE into a single chip using the same fabrication process. It offers new peripheral functions such as a 16-bit D/A converter, which enables measurement adjustments, self-diagnosis, and analog signal output.

The device’s +/-10V analog input enables +/-10V measurement with a 5V power supply without requiring external components or additional power supply. The package includes an LCD controller with a maximum of 40 SEG x 4 COM and a real-time clock (RTC) function.