Security microcontroller series products suitable for system platform development

Renesas Electronics Corporation announced the launch of four new RH850/P1L-C series microcontrollers (MCUS). The RH850/P1L-C series chips are designed for chassis and safety systems such as ABS anti-lock brakes, airbag systems, and compact motor control systems. The RH850/P1L-C is at the lower end of the RH850/P1x-C family of safety MCUS, providing a one-stop solution to advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) requirements.

As people continue to strive to realize the dream of autonomous vehicle driving, the complexity and performance of driver assistance systems are increasing, so coordinating the control with other vehicle control units becomes critical. For chassis systems, the need to coordinate with ADAS has led to an increase in the amount of information from sensors, along with high-speed communication capabilities, which require more powerful information processing capabilities.

In addition, to address new cybersecurity threats such as vehicle hacking, MCUS must comply with in-vehicle safety specifications, such as EVITA and the ISO 26262 Automotive Functional safety standard ASIL-D(Note 1), in order to avoid fatal situations caused by system failures, such as malfunctions.

To meet the needs of sensing, connectivity, security and safety, Renesas introduced the RH850/P1H-C and RH850/P1M-C family of RH850/P1M-C in 2014 as one-stop security MCUS. The RH850/P1H-C series is suitable for high-end applications such as ADAS, while the RH850/P1M-C is suitable for mid-range applications such as stability control.

With the demands of these high-end/mid-range applications comes the need for system redundancy to enable continued operation even in the event of failure, as well as a need for more compact ECUs. In particular, the growing demand for general-purpose software and development tools reduces the time and cost required to develop more complex systems with advanced features.

Renesas has developed the new RH850/P1L-C to meet the needs of low-end applications, such as chassis and safety systems, including anti-lock braking, air bag systems and small motor control systems, as well as to address the need for ECU miniaturization and system redundancy.

With the introduction of the new RH850/PL1-C, Renesas Electronics now offers a fully scalable RH850/P1x-C product family that enables customers to develop different platforms from high-end to low-end applications by reusing software resources and leveraging common development tools.

Key features of the RH850/P1L-C Series:

(1) Follow the characteristics of the RH850/P1x-C product platform, enhance scalability, simplify the development and expansion of new products, and expand the product line

The new RH850/P1L-C series follows the features of the RH850/P1x-C platform and includes a number of proven embedded security mechanisms, such as a redundancy check core operating in lockstep mode and the main core. These features enable the RH850/P1L-C device to support the ASIL-D system as a standalone safety element, the most stringent safety standard specified in the ISO 26262 Automotive Functional Safety standard. It also combines the ICU-S Renesas Electronic Hardware Safety module, which supports the SHE and EVITA-Light automotive safety standards. The RH850/P1L-C series also inherits the timer and communication capabilities of its high-end predecessor, such as CAN-FD(Note 3), to extend scalability from the high end to the low end, simplifying the task of developing new products and expanding existing product lines.

(2) Small, low pin count package arrays for more compact ECUs

The 40 nanometer (nm) process for MCU production has a proven track record of achieving low power consumption and high reliability. This process allows the use of a small form factor square flat package and eliminates the need for a radiator when using a single power supply and operating at 120 MHz(typical values 50 mA, 5V, 25°C). These square flat packages have pin spacing of 0.4 mm, so the ECU becomes more compact. For example, the package of the 144 pin version is 36% smaller compared to previous products using 0.5 mm pin spacing. Currently available in three pin count packages: 80(10 x 10mm), 100(12 x 12m) and 144(16 x 16mm) pins.

(3) Provide various solutions to improve the development efficiency of system manufacturers

Due to the increasing complexity of system development, Renesas Electronics is helping system manufacturers with safety and security support programs, virtual environments with model-based development tools provided in cooperation with Renesas Electronics partners, MCAL with AUTOSAR support (Note 4), and reference boards for compact motor control systems. These features also help system manufacturers reduce development time.