The RA8T2 microcontroller (MCU) group was introduced by Renesas Electronics for high-end motor control. The RA8T2 devices, which are based on a 1 GHz Arm® Cortex®-M85 processor with an optional 250 MHz Arm® Cortex®-M33 processor, handle real-time control of high-end motors in industrial equipment, robots, and other systems where high-speed precision operation is necessary with unparalleled performance. Customers can save money, power, and board space by combining real-time control, communication features, and non-real-time processes on a single chip with the optional Cortex-M33 CPU.
Key Features of the RA8T2 Group MCUs
- Core: 1 GHz Arm Cortex-M85 with Helium and TrustZone; Optional 250 MHz Arm Cortex-M33
- Memory: Integrated 1MB high-speed MRAM and 2MB SRAM (including 256KB TCM for the Cortex-M85 and 128KB TCM for the M33)
- Analog Peripherals: Two 16-bit ADC with 30 analog channels, two 3-channel S/H, 2-channel 12-bit DAC, 4-channel high-speed comparators
- Communications Peripherals: Dual Gigabit Ethernet MAC with DMA, EtherCAT slave, USB2.0 FS Host/Device/OTG, CAN2.0 (1Mbps)/CAN FD (8Mbps), I3C(12.5Mbps), I2C(1Mbps), SPI, SCI, Octal serial peripheral I/F
- Advanced Security: RSIP-E50D Cryptographic engine, immutable storage for FSBL, secure debug, secure factory programming, DLM support, tamper protection, DPA/SPA protection
- Timers: 14-ch PWM timers, 4-ch high-resolution, 4-ch low-power timer (16-bit x2ch and 32-bit x2ch)
- Packages: 176-HLQFP, 224- and 289, and 303-BGA
The RA8T2 MCUs provide a notable performance improvement for digital signal processor (DSP) and machine learning (ML) applications by utilizing Arm’s HeliumTM technology and the high performance of the Arm Cortex-M85 processor. This improved performance makes it possible for AI systems to anticipate motor maintenance needs, which lowers expensive downtime.
A two-port EtherCAT slave, two Gigabit Ethernet MACs with DMA, and numerous additional communications interfaces enable the RA8T2 MCUs to support high-speed networking in addition to their remarkable computing power.
In industrial automation, where every machine is connected to a network inside the factory and continuously synced with other machines to transmit and receive data and commands, high-speed communication is essential.
High-speed MRAM (Magnetoresistive Random Access Memory) non-volatile memory with 100 MHz access is available up to 1MB on RA8T2 devices. Compared to Flash, MRAM has higher durability and retention as well as faster write speeds.
Furthermore, the RA8T2 has a TCM (Tightly Coupled Memory) that has 128KB for the Cortex-M33 and 256KB for the Cortex-M85. TCM offers consumers reliable performance in motor control processing with numerous branches and interrupts, as well as high-precision real-time performance with reduced jitter.
Feature Set Optimized for Motor Control
The new RA8T2 devices include a timer function that supports PWM functionality up to 300 MHz and enables easy handling by control software and efficient waveform generation for driving inverters.
The complementary PWM function of the GPT timer, optimized for inverter drive, makes it easy to implement control algorithms, such as the output of complementary PWM for multiple phases (including single-phase and three-phase), automatic insertion of dead time, generation of asymmetric PWM, and linkage with AD and comparators.
The timer is also equipped with a phase-counting function, making it possible to control AC servos that require axis position information using a two-phase pulse encoder.
The RA8T2’s ADC has 16-bit resolution and a channel-specific sample and hold function (three channels), enabling high-precision simultaneous sampling of three-phase current values.
This eliminates the need for correction processing, reducing the software load and contributing to improved control precision. Equipped with two units, it is possible to simultaneously sample three-channel currents of two motors.
The Port Output Enable (POEG) and high-speed comparator function allows the PWM output to be quickly shut off when an overcurrent is detected. The shutoff state can be selected (Hi-z, Hi, Low) according to the inverter specifications.
Renesas Leadership in Embedded Processing for Motor Control
Renesas has shipped motor-control specific MCUs for over 10 years ago. The company ships over 230 million motor control embedded processors per year to thousands of customers worldwide.
In addition to multiple RA MCU groups, Renesas offers motor-control specific devices in its 32-bit RX Family, its 16-bit RL78 MCUs and its 64-bit RZ MPUs. Renesas also introduced the industry’s first RISC-V-based ASSP designed for motor control.
The new RA8T2 Group MCUs are supported by Renesas’ Flexible Software Package (FSP).
Winning Combinations
Renesas has combined the new RA8T2 Group MCUs with numerous compatible devices from its portfolio to offer a wide array of Winning Combinations, including the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Winning Combinations are technically vetted system architectures from mutually compatible devices that work together seamlessly to bring an optimized, low-risk design for faster time to market. Renesas offers more than 400 Winning Combinations with a wide range of products from the Renesas portfolio to enable customers to speed up the design process and bring their products to market more quickly. They can be found at renesas.com/win.
Leadership Comments
“The RA8T2 Group extends our long-term industry leadership in motor control solutions, offering unparalleled levels of performance and functionality,” said Daryl Khoo, Vice President of the Embedded Processing Marketing Division at Renesas. “These devices showcase the breadth and depth of our technology and demonstrate our deep understanding of what our motor control customers need to build next-generation factory automation and robotics products.”
Availability
The RA8T2 Group MCUs are available now, along with the FSP software. The new MCUs are supported in Renesas’ Flexible Motor Control development kit that enables easy evaluation of motor control using permanent magnet synchronous motors (brushless DC motors), and the Renesas Motor Workbench development tool. This development kit offers a common design platform with numerous Renesas motor control MCUs from the RA and RX families, enabling migration of IP across numerous devices.
Information on all these offerings is available at renesas.com/RA8T2.
