Renesas Electronics Europe Unveils New Microprocessor Roadmap

New ARM-based MPU Family Unveiled for Graphics, HMI and Office Networking

Dusseldorf, October 23, 2012 – Renesas Electronics Europe, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today disclosed details of its roadmap for next-generation microprocessors (MPUs). The new family of ARM-based high-performance embedded MPUs will be called the “RZ Family” and will be developed for applications requiring high-speed data processing in excess of 300 MHz, specifically Human Machine Interfaces and Networking.

Across the embedded market space, two of the most important system developments are in terms of adding additional services through increased connectivity and ensuring that the end-user has a richer experience. This is focus area for the new MPU family from Renesas. The RZ Family will include up to 10MB of internal RAM and has been designed to allow GUI and Networking development teams to not only achieve high performance but also reduce the bill of materials cost and lower the system power consumption.

New, ARM-based RZ MPU Family

The new RZ Family of embedded MPUs is designed to meet the need for high-performance processing of 300 MHz and higher, and will be able to be used with general-purpose operating systems such as Linux as well as other commercial RTOS offerings. The new family will combine the Cortex-A9 core from ARM, which has a global software ecosystem with Renesas high-performance and low-power technologies, as well as Renesas’ extensive and proven library of peripherals. The new offering will include two series which are optimised for the two primary application areas:

• Graphic and Human Machine Interfaces (HMI) – The RZ/A Series will focus on HMI applications supporting up to XGA graphics processing. The first product in this series will integrate a 400 MHz ARM Cortex-A9 core and up to 10MB of on-chip RAM to provide advantages such as high performance, lower power consumption and system cost reductions, eliminating the need for external DRAM. It will also include hardware acceleration for the Open VG 1.1 standard to allow rich GUIs to be implemented easily.
• Connectivity – The RZ/N Series will focus on connectivity to the cloud and other equipment. The first product in this series will integrate an 800 MHz ARM Cortex-A9 core, Gigabit Ethernet and USB 3.0 to provide a range of interface functions to connect with IT equipment.

Availability

Renesas plans to provide the samples of the first RZ product, a high-performance, 40nm device RZ/A Series in 2Q of 2013.

Remarks

ARM and Cortex are registered trademarks or trademarks of ARM Limited. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in Japan and other countries. Open VG is a trademark of the Khronos Group. Names of products or services mentioned in this release are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. Other product and service names that appear in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

About Renesas Electronics Europe

Renesas Electronics Europe with its Business Operations Centre located in Dusseldorf, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), the world’s number one supplier of microcontrollers and a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions including microcontrollers, SoC solutions, secure MCU applications and a broad-range of analog and power devices. Renesas Electronics’ European structure is comprised of three dedicated business groups serving the region’s key markets: automotive, communications & consumer and industrial. The business groups are supported by the Engineering Group, which itself includes the Engineering Design Centre; the European Quality Centre that provides technical support to local customers in Europe; and the European Technology Centre to design leading-edge products specifically for the European market. Further information about Renesas Electronics Europe can be found at: www.renesas.eu.