Renesas Electronics Launches 64-bit RISC-V CPU Core RZ/Five Universal MPU, Pioneering RISC-V Technology

Renesas Electronics Launches 64-bit RISC-V CPU Core RZ/Five Universal MPU, Pioneering RISC-V Technology

New addition to Renesas' existing Arm® CPU core MPU lineup, expanding the RZ Family portfolio

Beijing, China, March 1, 2022 - Renesas Electronics Corporation, a global supplier of semiconductor solutions, today announced the launch of the RZ/Five general-purpose microprocessor (MPU) based on the 64-bit RISC-V CPU core. The RZ/Five uses the Andes AX45MP and is based on the RISC-V CPU instruction set architecture (ISA), which enhances Renesas' existing MPU lineup based on the Arm® CPU core, expands customer choices, and provides greater flexibility during product development.

“I am very pleased that Renesas is one of the first companies to launch a general-purpose MPU product with Andes 64-bit RISC-V CPU core,” said Hiroto Nitta, Senior Vice President, Head of SoC Business Unit, IoT and Infrastructure Business Unit, Renesas Electronics Corporation. “With the launch of the RZ/Five MPU and the support of the ecosystem, Renesas is taking the lead in providing an ideal RISC-V solution.”

“RZ/Five is the first general-purpose MPU on the market built on Andes’ 64-bit RISC-V core,” said Frankwell Lin, Chairman and CEO of Andes Technologies. “Andes has successfully collaborated with Renesas on 32-bit RISC-V products, and now on the 64-bit AX45MP. I believe this development will drive the global market to enable early adoption of Andes’ advanced RISC-V processor family in customer devices.”

Ideal for IoT endpoint devices

There is an increasing demand for IoT end devices such as solar inverters or home security system gateways to collect sensor data and connect to servers or the cloud. RZ/Five is optimized for this demand and provides the performance and peripheral functions required for IoT end devices. The product has a maximum operating frequency of 1 GHz. Its peripheral functions include support for multiple interfaces (such as two Gigabit Ethernet channels, two USB 2.0 channels, and two CAN channels) and dual A/D converter modules. It also supports the connection of external DDR memory with error checking and correction (ECC) and security functions.

Long-term Linux support through industrial-grade CIP Linux

Like the RZ/G series, the RZ/Five also uses the Verified Linux Package (VLP) with the Civil Infrastructure Platform™ (CIP) Linux kernel. As an industrial-grade Linux, CIP provides long-term maintenance support for more than 10 years. This makes the RZ/Five series an ideal product for enterprise infrastructure and industrial applications that require high reliability and longer service life. In addition, it allows users to significantly reduce future Linux maintenance costs.

Peripheral functions and packages compatible with RZ/G2UL

The peripheral functions and packages of the RZ/Five are compatible with the Arm core-based RZ/G2UL products, allowing for flexible reuse of proven designs. The RZ/Five also uses a smaller, more compact package to more effectively meet designs with lower complexity. As an evaluation environment, the RZ SMARC Evaluation Board Kit will be equipped with a module board that complies with the SMARC 2.1 standard (equivalent to the current RZ/G Series evaluation environment). The kit allows switching and evaluation between the RZ/Five CPU module and the RZ/G2UL CPU module, making evaluation easier and shortening product development cycles.

Based on the "Successful Product Combination" of RZ/Five

Renesas will provide a complete system solution for the RZ/Five CPU module, including the Renesas DA9062 power management IC, 5P35023 programmable clock generator, AT25QL128A flash memory, and SLG46538 GreenPAK IC for peripheral functions such as system reset. These devices work seamlessly together in Renesas' "Winning Product Combinations". For example, the SMARC system for the single-core Cortex-A55 MPU can also be used as a reference design to shorten product development time. Renesas has developed and launched many "Winning Product Combinations". It combines technically compatible devices in the Renesas product portfolio to help customers accelerate the design process and bring products to market faster. Currently, Renesas has more than 280 "Winning Product Combinations" for various applications.

Availability

RZ/Five MPU samples are available now, and mass production is scheduled to begin in July 2022.