Low-power 16-bit MCU ideal for smart home appliances
The RL78/L23 microcontroller from Renesas offers display and touch-sensing control capabilities. The MCU features various power-saving innovations which make it suitable for use in battery-powered systems.
Renesas has extended its RL78 family of 16-bit microcontrollers with the RL78/L23, which combines segment LCD and capacitive touch-sensing control to provide a highly integrated option for human-machine interface (HMI) applications.
The RL78/L23 offers very low power consumption, and is ideal for battery-powered applications that spend the majority of the time in standby mode. Active current is just 109μA/MHz, and standby current is as low as 0.365μA. Wake-up time from sleep is just 1μs.
The MCU includes features for reducing display system power consumption, including SNOOZE Mode Sequencer (SMS), which enables dynamic LCD segment display control without calling on the CPU. By offloading tasks to the SMS, the RL78/L23 minimizes the number of CPU wake-up events, thus reducing system-level power consumption.
Featuring a wide supply-voltage range of 1.6V to 5.5V, the MCU can operate directly from the 5V power supplies commonly used in home appliances and industrial systems. This capability reduces the need for external voltage regulators. The MCU also integrates valuable functions such as a temperature sensor and internal oscillator, reducing the OEM bill-of-materials cost and PCB footprint.
The RL78/L23 is backed by an easy-to-use development environment. Developers can use robust support tools such as Smart Configurator and QE for Capacitive Touch to streamline system design.