Mouser Electronics, Inc. now stocks the RA6W1 embedded MCUs from Renesas Electronics. Featuring dual-band support for 2.4GHz and 5GHz, the MCUs ensure fast, reliable, and interference-resistant wireless communication, even in crowded environments. The MCUs are designed and built for IoT applications, including smart home devices, industrial sensors, and connected consumer electronics.

The dual-band Wi-Fi 6 MCUs are powered by a high-performance Arm Cortex-M33 core running at 160MHz and feature 704KB of SRAM and ample memory for demanding embedded applications. Optimised for low power consumption, the MCUs consume as little as 200nA to 4µA in sleep mode and 50µA in Delivery Traffic Indication Message (DTIM10). The MCUs also feature a 'sleepy connected' Wi-Fi mode that keeps devices connected while maintaining minimal energy consumption, ideal for battery-powered and energy-efficient devices. The family's comprehensive security suite ensures data integrity and device protection from eXecute in Place (XiP) with on-the-fly decryption, TRNG, AES-256 encryption, secure key storage, and secure boot. The RA6W1 MCUs are Matter-ready and Matter-certified, aligning with the latest IoT standards and supporting long-term compatibility and regulatory compliance. The MCUs feature a range of peripherals, including UART, SPI, I2C, SDIO, PWM, I2S, and GPIOs to streamline RA6W1 MCU integration.

The EK-RA6W1 evaluation kit, also available from Mouser, accelerates software application development and RF testing for Wi-Fi 6-based IoT solutions based on the RA6W1 MCU series. With support for multiple expansion interfaces, the kit makes it straightforward to scale and prototype across a wide range of applications.

Renesas RA6W1 Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 MCUs FAQ

What core processing microarchitecture powers the Renesas RA6W1 wireless MCU?

The RA6W1 series features a standalone, single-chip SoC architecture designed to eliminate the need for an external host processor. It is driven by:

• Core Processor: A high-performance Arm Cortex-M33 core utilising the Armv8-M architecture with a maximum operating frequency of 160MHz.
• Memory Array: Equipped with 704KB of SRAM (including 64KB of retention memory), 256KB of internal ROM, and 2KB of One-Time Programmable (OTP) memory.

What are the RF and physical layer specifications of the RA6W1 Wi-Fi 6 subsystem?

The RA6W1 is Renesas' first embedded MCU to integrate a fully featured, dual-band wireless radio. Its core RF parameters include:

• Frequency Bands: Supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands simultaneously to reduce interference in congested wireless spectrums.
• Wi-Fi Standards: Complies with IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax (Wi-Fi 6) protocols in a 1×1 single-input single-output (SISO) antenna configuration.
• Channel Bandwidth and Throughput: Operates with a 20 MHz channel bandwidth, achieving data rates up to 115 Mbps using MCS9 modulation.
• Advanced MAC/PHY Features: Incorporates Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Target Wake Time (TWT), and an on-chip Power Amplifier (PA), Low Noise Amplifier (LNA), and RF switch.

What are the specific power consumption metrics in low-power modes?

To maximise battery lifespan in always-connected IoT edge nodes, the device manages power dynamically through its Power Management Unit (PMU):

• Deep Sleep Mode: Power consumption drops to an ultra-low window of 200 nA to 4µA depending on retained memory spaces.
• DTIM10 Status: Draws less than 50µA while maintaining network synchronisation during a Delivery Traffic Indication Message interval of 10 (DTIM10).
• "Sleepy Connected" Mode: Utilises the Wi-Fi 6 TWT framework to keep the transceiver connected to access points with minimal energy expenditure.

What cryptographic engines and security protocols are integrated into the silicon?

For robust hardware-enforced device security and data protection, the RA6W1 incorporates an advanced Secure Crypto Engine and underlying silicon safety primitives:

• Hardware Accelerators: Direct acceleration for symmetric algorithms (AES-256, DES/3DES, CHACHA), hashing mechanisms (SHA1/224/256), and asymmetric schemes (RSA, DH, ECC), alongside a True Random Number Generator (TRNG).
• Storage & Boot Protection: Provides secure boot, secure debug (SWD) disabling, device lifecycle management, and secure asset storage.
• Memory Decryption: Implements an Octal/Quad SPI (OQSPI) controller supporting eXecute in Place (XiP) with on-the-fly decryption for external flash configurations.
• Network Security Standards: Supports WPA/WPA2/WPA3 Personal and Enterprise, Opportunistic Wireless Encryption (OWE), and is Matter-certified for smart home interoperability.

What physical peripherals and evaluation kits support the RA6W1 series?

The MCU exposes a rich set of 28 multiplexed general-purpose I/O (GPIO) pins and hardware interfaces to ease system integration:

• Peripherals: 3x UART, 2x SPI, 2x I²C, 8x General PWM Timers, I²C and PDM for digital audio streaming, an SDIO 3.0 interface, and a 4-channel 12-bit SAR ADC.
• Prototyping Hardware: The EK-RA6W1 evaluation kit integrates an onboard SEGGER J-Link debugger and a dedicated power consumption measurement circuit for precise sleep state analysis. The board supports expansion via mikroBUS, PMOD, and Arduino Uno headers and interfaces seamlessly with the Renesas Flexible Software Package (FSP) inside the e² studio IDE.