Renesas RZ/N2L Arm Cortex-R52 MPU targets industrial Ethernet and TSN

Renesas RZ/N2L is an Arm Cortex-R52 microprocessor (MPU) family for industrial Ethernet communication equipped with an integrated TSN-compliant 3-port Gigabit Ethernet switch and an EtherCAT slave controller.

The new processors also support other major industrial network communication protocols such as EtherCAT, PROFINET RT, EtherNet/IP, and OPC UA, as well as the new PROFINET IRT (Isochronous real-time) that allows deterministic communication with cycle times down to 31.25 µs and one µs of jitter.

Renesas RZ/N2L Arm Cortex R52 ethernet switch

Renesas RZ/N2L key features and specifications:

  • CPU – Arm Cortex-R52 @ up to 400MHz with 16KB I-cache with ECC, 16KB D-cache with ECC
  • Memory
    • Tightly coupled memory – 256KB with ECC
    • Internal RAM – 1.5MB with ECC
    • Octa/Quad SPI for HyperRAM, HyperFLASH, SRAM, SDRAM
  • Networking
    • Ethernet L2 switch: 3x external ports with Gigabit support
    • TSN support (IEEE 802.1AS-2020, IEEE 802.1Qbv/802.3br, IEEE 802.1Qbu, etc.)
    • Network redundancy support (DLR, PRP)
    • EtherCAT slave controller
    • Industrial Ethernet – EtherCAT, PROFINET RT/IRT, EtherNet/IP, OPC UA, etc.
  • Host I/F  – Parallel or serial
  • Peripherals
    • Up to 60-ch PWM timer (3-phase complementary output supported)
    • Trigonometric function accelerator
    • 2x 12-bit ADC
    • 6-channel ΔΣ I/F
    • 6x UART, 3x I2C
    • 2x CAN
  • Supply voltage – Core 1.1V, I/O 3.3V, 1.8V
  • Package – 225-pin FBGA, 121-pin FBGA

The company mostly designed the Renesas RZ/N2L as a coprocessor to allow customers to quickly deploy industrial networks with minimal modifications to their existing systems. But it can also be the brain of applications such as remote I/O, sensor hubs, and inverters, while the UART and CAN functions make it suitable to serve as a gateway for converting from a Fieldbus-based on RS485 or CAN to Industrial Ethernet.

Renesas RZ/N2L development board
Renesas RZ N2L board part of Starter Kit+

Software development can be done with the Renesas IDE e² studio and Flexible Software Package (FSP) for RZ/N2L, and Renesas also offers the RZ/N2L-RSK Renesas Starter Kit+ for RZ/N2L to get started quickly. The board provides three Ethernet connectors, some USB ports, as well as Pmod, Grove, Qwiicm and mikroBUS expansion interface, and a built-in emulator circuit.

Renesas has also released two proof of concept boards using the RZ/N2L. The “Gigabit Industrial Ethernet SOM” integrates two Gigabit Ethernet interfaces, and Pmod & Arduino interfaces to deliver a configurable industrial Ethernet in SOM + Carrier board architecture.

Renesas AC Servo solution
Renesas AC Servo solution block diagram

The “220V AC Servo” integrates motor control and EtherCAT to provide high-speed and high-precision motor control through TSN industrial Ethernet communications. Renesas also says the RZ/N2L supports functional safety with self-diagnostic software and a functional safety solution for the RZ/N2L is expected in 2023.

The RZ/N2L MPUs are available now, and the RZ/N2L-RSK Renesas Starter Kit+ for RZ/N2L is offered for $500 on distributors such as Newark and Chip1Stop. Additional information may be found on the product page and press release.

Renesas Product Lineup for Industrial Ethernet

Thanks to TLS for the tip.

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