Low-power MCUs pack 48Kbyte on-chip flash

Delivered in a 5mm x 6mm 32-pin QFN package, the H8/38606F offers a fast oscillator start-up feature, where the main oscillator can start up in around 20?s using an external resonator. This makes it well-suited for any application that spends most of its time asleep in the lowest power modes, and then wakes to take readings or to communicate.

The asynchronous timer on the H8/38606F also makes the device suitable for many battery-powered applications which count pulses and keep time, being able to count external pulses and use its internal real time clock to achieve an average power consumption of around 0.5?A.

The on-chip high-resolution 10bit ADC with a wide sampling range will find good use in applications such as water and flow meters.

The H8/38606F Tiny SLP supports many methods of low-power communications, including a USART with built-in IrDA interface that can be driven at up to 2400 baud from a 32kHz oscillator.

A specially-designed 16bit timer, along with the two on-board analog comparators, also provides solutions for a variety of commonly used power and data over two wire-communications schemes.

This timer module can also be used for a number of other purposes, including driving a variety of motors, and is capable of generating up to four channels of pulse-width modulation output.

An on-chip watchdog timer with built-in oscillator, along with power on reset and the on-chip oscillator also makes the H/38606F easy to design with in systems where reliability is an issue.

The chip is supported by Renesas' Embedded Workbench and the E8a low cost on-chip debugger, providing all the tools required to evaluate and develop applications with the device.

- Julien Happich
EE Times Europe