Lowers the Overall System Cost for HEV/EV Motors, While Achieving Higher Order Safety Standard with Dual Core Lockstep

January 18, 2012

TOKYO, Japan, January 18, 2012 — Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), a premier provider of advanced semiconductor solutions, today announced that it has developed a new 32-bit microcontroller (MCU), the V850E2/PJ4-E, which incorporates an on-chip resolver sensor interface. The new MCU realizes both higher performance and lower system cost for automotive control systems including motor control for HEV/EV and other automotive applications.

The new MCU is a derivative of Renesas' P-series of MCUs and belongs to the 32-bit V850™ RISC MCU Family. It incorporates Renesas' V850E2 CPU core, which provides excellent real-time operation, and is equipped with a rich set of peripheral functions for motor control. Renesas' P-series of MCUs are widely adopted as motor control system solutions for automotive applications. With the combination of P-series' dual core lockstep and on-chip resolver sensor interface, the V850E2/PJ4-E MCU is compliant with the ISO 26262 safety standard and easily realizes lower system costs.

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and electric vehicles (EVs) are rapidly advancing as countermeasures against global warming by cutting CO2 emissions by automobiles. Improvement in controlling function of a driving motor is a key technology for supporting the environmental performance of HEVs/EVs. The V850E2/PJ4-E MCU is introduced to meet the market needs including lower system costs, providing the perfect support for further promoting eco-friendly HEVs/EVs and safety requirements of ISO 26262.

Key Features of the V850E2/PJ4-E MCU:

(1) Equipped with resolver sensor interface, A/D converter and three-phase PWM timer –Ideal for motor control

The new MCU integrates Renesas' newly developed on-chip resolver sensor interface corresponds to a wide range of resolver sensors, eliminating the need for an external resolver-digital (R/D) converter. An excitation signal generating function (TPBA) for resolver sensor is also equipped to offer optimum system configuration for driving motor control. The V850E2/PJ4-E device also includes many peripheral functions including: a high-precision motor control timer (TSG2) that complies with control of various motors, and an A/D converter with synchronized sample-and-hold (S/H) function, which enables more precise measurement of data from each sensor.

(2) Dual core lockstep supporting functional safety requirements

The CPU of the new V850E2/PJ4-E MCU adopts a dual core lockstep system, in which a comparator continually calculates and detects failures, making it possible to achieve a real-time high failure detection rate via only hardware. The new MCU is suitable for a wide range of applications, especially those that require motor control, which need to meet the high safety requirements of ISO 26262.

(3) Large memory, high-speed CPU with many communication peripherals

With 1 megabyte (MB) of ROM, 80 KB of RAM and 128 megahertz (MHz) CPU frequency, the V850E2/PJ4-E MCU achieves the higher performance needed for fast diversified controlling functions. Communication with other controlling units is also available. Standard CAN, SCI and UART are available for communication functions.

The new MCU can operate in environments between −40℃ to +125℃. It also contains a regulator circuit that enables single power supply operation at 5V with an external transistor.

Renesas began its sample shipment of the SH72AW/AY MCU with on-chip resolver sensor interface from the SuperH™ Series. Toward further improvement in performance and function of driving motor control, Renesas will continue to expand its MCU lineups by further advancing the CPU performance, on-chip memory capacities and peripheral functions. Additionally, with Renesas' rich lineup of analog and power devices for motor control, Renesas intends to lead the fast-growing HEV/EV market by offering one-stop system solutions.

Refer to the separate sheet for the main specifications of the V850E2/PJ4-E.

Pricing and Availability

Samples of Renesas' new V850E2/PJ4-E MCU will be available in March 2012, priced at US$60 per unit. Mass production is scheduled to begin in April 2013 and is expected to reach a volume of 50,000 units per month. (Pricing and availability are subject to change without notice.)

(Remarks) SuperH is a trademark or registered trademark of Renesas Electronics Corporation in Japan, the USA, and other countries. Other product and service names that appear in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners

About Renesas Electronics Corporation

Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723) delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live. A global leader in microcontrollers, analog, power and SoC products, Renesas provides comprehensive solutions for a broad range of automotive, industrial, infrastructure, and IoT applications that help shape a limitless future. Learn more at renesas.com. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.


The content in the press release, including, but not limited to, product prices and specifications, is based on the information as of the date indicated on the document, but may be subject to change without prior notice.

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