ICs & Semiconductors Archives - Page 4 of 235

Renesas introduces 64-bit RZ/G3E MPU for high-performance HMI systems

Tue, Jul 29, 2025

Renesas has announced the launch of its new 64-bit RZ/G3E microprocessor (MPU), a general-purpose device optimised for high-performance Human Machine Interface (HMI) applications. Combining a quad-core Arm® Cortex-A55 running at up to 1.8GHz with a Neural Processing Unit (NPU), the RZ/G3E brings high-performance edge computing with AI inference for faster, more efficient local processing. With Full HD graphics support and high-speed connectivity, the MPU targets HMI systems for industrial and consumer segments including factory equipment, medical monitors, retail terminals and building automation.

At the heart of the RZ/G3E is a quad-core Arm Cortex-A55, a Cortex-M33 core, and the Ethos-U55 NPU for AI tasks. This architecture efficiently runs AI applications such as image classification, object recognition, voice recognition and anomaly detection while minimising CPU load. Designed for HMI applications, it delivers smooth Full HD (1920×1080) video at 60fps on two independent displays, with output interfaces including LVDS (dual-link), MIPI-DSI, and parallel RGB. A MIPI-CSI camera interface is also available for video input and sensing applications.

The RZ/G3E is equipped with a range of high-speed communication interfaces essential for edge devices. These include PCI Express 3.0 (2 lanes) for up to 8Gbps, USB 3.2 Gen2 for fast 10Gbps data transfer, and dual-channel Gigabit Ethernet for seamless connectivity with cloud services, storage, and 5G modules.

Starting with the third-generation RZ/G3S, the RZ/G series includes advanced power management features to significantly reduce standby power. The RZ/G3E maintains sub-CPU operation and peripheral functions while achieving low power consumption around 50mW and around 1mW in deep standby mode. It supports DDR self-refresh mode to retain memory data, enabling quick wake-up from deep standby for running Linux applications.

Renesas continues to offer the Verified Linux Package (VLP) based on the reliable Civil Infrastructure Platform, with over 10 years of maintenance support. For users requiring the latest versions, Renesas provides Linux BSP Plus, including support for the latest LTS Linux kernel and Yocto. Ubuntu by Canonical and Debian open-source OS are also available for server or desktop Linux environments.

Renesas has also introduced system-on-module (SoM) solutions featuring the RZ/G3E. A broad range of SoM solutions will be available from Renesas’ ecosystem partners such as a SMARC module from Tria, an OSM (Size-M) from ARIES Embedded, and an OSM (Size-L) from MXT.

https://www.renesas.com/rzg3e

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Infineon’s CoolSiC MOSFET package enable higher power density for industrial applications

Tue, Jul 29, 2025

Infineon has launched the CoolSiC MOSFETs 1200 V G2 in a top-side-cooled (TSC) Q-DPAK package. The new devices deliver optimised thermal performance, system efficiency, and power density. They were specifically designed for demanding industrial applications that require high performance and reliability, such as electric vehicle chargers, solar inverters, uninterruptible power supplies, motor drives, and solid-state circuit breakers.

The new CoolSiC 1200 V G2 technology offers significant improvements over the previous generation, enabling up to 25 percent lower switching losses for equivalent RDS(on) devices, thereby increasing system efficiency by up to 0.1 percent. Utilising Infineon’s improved .XT die attach interconnection technology, the G2 devices achieve more than 15 percent lower thermal resistance and an 11 percent reduction in MOSFET temperature compared to G1 family products. The outstanding RDS(on) values, ranging from 4 mΩ to 78 mΩ, along with a broad product portfolio enable designers the flexibility to optimise system performance for their target applications. Furthermore, the new technology supports overload operation up to a junction temperature (Tvj) of 200°C and features high robustness against parasitic turn-on, ensuring reliable operation under dynamic and demanding conditions.

The CoolSiC MOSFETs 1200 V G2 are available in two Q-DPAK configurations: a single switch and a dual half-bridge. Both variants are part of Infineon’s broader X-DPAK top-side cooling platform. With a standardised package height of 2.3 mm across all TSC variants – including Q-DPAK and TOLT – the platform offers design flexibility and enables customers to scale and combine different products under a single heatsink assembly. This design flexibility simplifies advanced power system development, making it easier for customers to customise and scale their solutions.

The Q-DPAK package enhances thermal performance by enabling direct heat dissipation from the device’s top surface to the heatsink. This direct thermal path delivers significantly better heat transfer efficiency compared to traditional bottom-side cooled packages, enabling more compact designs. Additionally, the Q-DPAK package layout design allows for minimised parasitic inductance, which is critical for higher switching speeds. This enhances system efficiency and reduces voltage overshoot risk. The small footprint of the package supports compact system designs, while its compatibility with automated assembly processes simplifies manufacturing, ensuring cost-efficiency and scalability.

https://www.infineon.com/coolsic-mosfet-discretes

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ROHM develops an ultra-compact MOSFET ideal for fast charging

Tue, Jul 08, 2025

ROHM has developed a 30V N-channel MOSFET — AW2K21 — in a common-source configuration that achieves an industry-leading ON-resistance of 2.0mΩ (typ.) in a compact 2.0mm × 2.0mm package.

With the rise of compact devices featuring large-capacity batteries, such as smartphones, the need for fast charging functionality to shorten charging times continues to grow. These applications require bidirectional protection to prevent reverse current flow to peripheral ICs and other components when not actively supplying or receiving power. What’s more, fast charging involves high current power transfer, leading smartphone manufacturers to demand stringent specifications for MOSFETs, including a maximum current rating of 20A, breakdown voltage between 28V and 30V, and an ON-resistance of 5mΩ or less.

In response, ROHM developed an ultra-compact low ON-resistance MOSFET optimised for fast high-power charging. The AW2K21 adopts a proprietary structure that enhances cell density while minimising the ON-resistance per unit chip area. Two MOSFETs are integrated into a single package, allowing a single part to support bidirectional protection applications (commonly required in power supply and charging circuits).

The proprietary structure also places the drain terminal on the top surface, unlike on the backside in standard vertical trench MOS structures. This enables the use of a WLCSP, which achieves a larger chip-to-package area ratio that further reduces ON-resistance per unit area. As a result, the new product not only minimises power loss but also supports high current operation, making it ideal for high-power fast charging applications despite its ultra-compact size.

For example, in power supply and charging circuits for compact devices, standard solutions typically require two 3.3mm × 3.3mm MOSFETs. In contrast, the AW2K21 can achieve the same functionality with a single 2.0mm × 2.0mm unit, reducing the footprint and ON-resistance by approximately 81% and 33%, respectively. Even compared to similarly sized GaN HEMTs, ON-resistance is decreased by up to 50%, contributing to lower power consumption and increased space savings across a variety of applications.

The AW2K21 is also suitable for use as a unidirectional protection MOSFET in load switch applications, where it maintains the industry’s lowest ON-resistance. At the same time, ROHM is further pushing the limits of miniaturisation with the development of an even smaller 1.2mm × 1.2mm model.

https://www.rohm.com

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Renesas announces new MCU group targeting AI and ML applications

Wed, Jul 02, 2025

Renesas has introduced the RA8P1 microcontroller (MCU) Group targeted at Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) applications, as well as real-time analytics. The new MCUs establish a new performance level for MCUs by combining 1GHz Arm Cortex-M85 and 250MHz Cortex-M33 CPU cores with the Arm Ethos-U55 Neural Processing Unit (NPU). This combination delivers the highest CPU performance of over 7300 CoreMarks and AI performance of 256 GOPS at 500 MHz.

The RA8P1 is optimised for edge and endpoint AI applications, using the Ethos-U55 NPU to offload the CPU for compute intensive operations in Convolutional and Recurrent Neural Networks (CNNs and RNNs) to deliver up to 256 MACs per cycle that yield 256 GOPS performance at 500 MHz. The new NPU supports most commonly used networks, including DS-CNN, ResNet, Mobilenet TinyYolo and more. Depending on the neural network used, the Ethos-U55 provides up to 35x more inferences per second than the Cortex-M85 processor on its own.

The RA8P1 MCUs are manufactured on the 22ULL (22nm ultra-low leakage) process from TSMC, enabling ultra-high performance with very low power consumption. This process also enables the use of embedded Magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) in the new MCUs. MRAM offers faster write speeds along with higher endurance and retention compared with Flash.

Renesas has integrated dedicated peripherals, ample memory and advanced security to address Voice and Vision AI and Real-time Analytics applications. For vision AI, a 16-bit camera interface (CEU) is included that supports sensors up to 5 megapixels, enabling camera and demanding Vision AI applications. A separate MIPI CSI-2 interface offers a low pin-count interface with two lanes, each up to 720Mbps. In addition, multiple audio interfaces including I2S and PDM support microphone inputs for voice AI applications.

The RA8P1 offers both on-chip and external memory options for efficient, low latency neural network processing. The MCU includes 2MB SRAM for storing intermediate activations or graphics framebuffers. 1MB of on-chip MRAM is also available for application code and storage of model weights or graphics assets. High-speed external memory interfaces are available for larger models. SIP options with 4 or 8 MB of external flash in a single package are also available for more demanding AI applications.

Along with the RA8P1 MCUs, Renesas has introduced RUHMI (Renesas Unified Heterogenous Model Integration), a comprehensive framework for MCUs and MPUs. RUHMI offers efficient AI deployment of the latest neural network models in a framework agnostic manner. It enables model optimisation, quantisation, graph compilation and conversion, and generates efficient source code. RUHMI provides native support for machine-learning AI frameworks such as TensorFlow Lite, Pytorch & ONNX. It also provides the necessary tools, APIs, code-generator, and runtime needed to deploy a pre-trained neural network, including ready-to-use application examples and models optimised for RA8P1. RUHMI is integrated with Renesas’s own e2 studio IDE to allow seamless AI development. This integration will facilitate a common development platform for MCUs and MPUs.

The RA8P1 MCUs provide leading-edge security for critical applications. The new Renesas Security IP (RSIP-E50D) includes numerous cryptographic accelerators, including CHACHA20, Ed25519, NIST ECC curves up to 521 bits, enhanced RSA up to 4K, SHA2 and SHA3. In concert with Arm TrustZone®, this provides a comprehensive and fully integrated secure element-like functionality. The new MCUs also provides strong hardware Root-of-Trust and Secure Boot with First Stage Bootloader (FSBL) in immutable storage. XSPI interfaces with decryption-on-the-fly (DOTF) allow encrypted code images to be stored in external flash and decrypted on the fly as it is securely transferred to the MCU for execution.

https://www.renesas.com

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Renesas introduces 64-bit RZ/G3E MPU for high-performance HMI systems

Infineon’s CoolSiC MOSFET package enable higher power density for industrial applications

ROHM develops an ultra-compact MOSFET ideal for fast charging

Renesas announces new MCU group targeting AI and ML applications

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