Renesas Electronics Corporation, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, has expanded its 32-bit microcontroller(MCU) offering with a new RX device for high-end industrial sensor systems.

The latest addition, the RX23E-B, is a 32-bit device from its popular RX Family featuring a high-precision analog front end(AFE), specifically designed for systems that demand fast and accurate analog signal measurements.

The new MCU integrates a 24-bit Delta-Sigma A/D converter capable of achieving a conversion speed of up to 125 kSPS(125,000 samples/second) -- eight times faster than the existing RX23E-A. It can process accurate A/D conversion while reducing RMS noise to 1/3(0.18µVrms @1kSPS) when compared to the RX23E-A. 

The RX23E-B facilitates faster and more precise measurements of critical parameters such as strain, temperature, pressure, flow rate, current and voltage, making it ideal for high-end sensor devices, measuring instruments, and test equipment. 

In particular, the RX23E-B offers sufficient performance to drive force sensors used in industrial robots, which often demand measurements as fast as 10 µsec(100,000 samples/second). The MCU also reduces overall system size and the component count by incorporating the AFE and the MCU on a single chip.

“With the addition of the RX23E-B which comes with an AFE sensor interface, we can now serve a broad range of sensing applications from mid- to high-end systems,” said Sakae Ito, Vice President of the IoT Platform Business Division at Renesas. 

“We will continue to extend our product options to meet the growing needs of battery-powered and wireless sensors that demand low power consumption.”

"At Meiko Electronics, we have been developing evaluation boards and providing design support to our customers since the RX23E-A product was introduced,” said Takatsugu Nemoto, President at Meiko Electronics. 

“Now, with the introduction of the RX23E-B with a high-speed delta-sigma A/D converter, we anticipate many customers will be able to experience the benefits of its enhanced conversion performance, compact board design and reduced component count."

Similar to the RX23E-A, the RX23E-B incorporates a 32-MHz RXv2-based CPU with digital signal processing(DSP) instructions and a floating point unit(FPU), and combines the AFE into a single chip using the same fabrication process.

It offers new peripheral functions such as a 16-bit D/A converter, which enables measurement adjustments, self-diagnosis, and analog signal output. 

The device’s +/-10V analog input enables +/-10V measurement with a 5V power supply without requiring external components or additional power supply. An LCD controller with a maximum of 40 SEG x 4 COM and a real-time clock(RTC) function are also included.