Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of
advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced it is expanding
development support for touch-based home appliance, building, industrial
automation, and portable medical applications with the new RX130 Group
of 32-bit microcontrollers (MCUs). The new Group allows embedded
developers to incorporate both user interface (i.e., touch key) and
system control capabilities in a single MCU. Developers working with
capacitive touch-based applications can leverage Renesas’
state-of-the-art second-generation capacitive touch technology, with
self- and mutual-capacitance capability, in an ultra-low power, low-cost
32-bit MCU fabric.
The new RX130 Group combines excellent sensitivity and noise tolerance,
making it possible to develop touch keys employing a variety of cover
materials, including thick acrylic, glass, wood, fabric, or stone, for
use in a broad array of new applications. These include control panels
for electric appliances used in locations where they are likely to get
wet, home equipment employing recessed switches for a more attractive
design, and industrial machinery that must be operated with gloves on
for safety reasons.
The new RX130 Group complements the existing lineup of Renesas MCUs
supporting capacitive touch-based applications, including: the RX231
Group for high-end electric home appliances and industrial machinery,
supporting DSP/FPU (Digital signal processor/floating point unit) and
enhanced security and communication functions; and the RX113 Group for
home equipment and healthcare devices, with LCD display and USB
communication functions. With the addition of the new RX130 Group,
Renesas’ lineup of touch key MCUs comprises 256 product versions in
total, with flash memory capacities ranging from 64 KB to 512 KB and
number of pins ranging from 48- to 100-pins. Pin compatibility and
software compatibility are maintained between the RX231 and RX130,
making it possible to reuse existing software resources and providing
coverage for devices from mid- to low-end to high end.
Key features of the RX130 Group:
(1) Ability to detect up to 64 touch keys for
simplified board design
The RX130 MCUs can support complex user interface requirements with
support for up to 36 touch keys in self-capacitance mode and up to 36
keys through matrix configuration. The RX130 Group also offers mutual
capacitance mode, which allows the number of touch keys to be expanded
up to 64, among the most supported anywhere. This reduces the wiring
complexity when adding a touch panel and helps simplify the board
design. The high-speed processing of the 32-bit CPU means that the load
on the CPU is less than 10 percent even during 64-key control. The RX130
Group allow the developer to run very processor intensive applications,
while still managing the capacitive touch interface.
(2) Industrial-leading low touch key standby
current among the lowest in the world for reduced power load
Using an on-chip oscillator operating at 15 kHz (kilohertz), a low-power
timer that consumes very little power wakes the CPU from the idle state
at regular intervals to detect contact with the touch panel. This
enables the RX130 Group to achieve an industrial-leading low standby
current of approximately 8μA (Note 1). The low standby current helps
reduce the power consumption load imposed when adding a touch key, which
enables capacitive touch capabilities for battery-operated and other
portable devices with low power consumption requirements.
(3) Improved support for touch key adoption
thanks to expanded selection of reference software and documentation
needed for development
Contacts
Voce Communications, a Porter Novelli Company
Jessica Kerr,
408-731-7891
jessica.kerr@porternovelli.com
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