New Solution Starter Kit Adds Easy Analog Measurement and Full-Fledged IO-Link Interface for Out-of-the-Box Sensor Application Development

April 16, 2019

TOKYO, Japan ― Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE:6723), a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, today introduced the Renesas Synergy™ S1JA Solution Starter Kit, further expanding the company’s portfolio for smart sensor applications. Based on the S1JA microcontroller (MCU) group, the new kit includes all the software and hardware as well as sensors and IO-Link components needed to begin application development right out of the box, reducing prototype-to-production process time and easing the development burden for engineers. The software is available for download from the Renesas website.

The S1JA Solution Starter Kit features two ultrasonic sensors – one for transmission and one for reception – and a resistance temperature detector (RTD) mounted on the development board. Renesas also provides a sample software for: 1) a demonstration of ultrasonic proximity and distance measurement with temperature compensation to eliminate the effect of external temperature change; 2) IO-Link communication as a slave device. Users can immediately begin operating the kit and evaluate S1JA by using the available sample software or they can utilize the kit as a reference for their development.

“Together, the S1JA MCUs and new S1JA Solution Starter Kit give customers a complete programmable analog front-end solution that supports a wide variety of sensors along with the capability to quickly evaluate and validate analog measurements, which allows them to significantly reduce their development time,” said Akira Denda, Vice President of Industrial Automation Business Unit, Renesas Electronics Corporation.

Key Features of the S1JA Starter Kit

Integrating temperature and ultrasonic sensors on the development board enables easy connection for the measurement equipment needed to verify S1JA features such as:

  • 16-bit SAR analog-to-digital converter (ADC)
  • 24-bit sigma-delta ADC
  • 2x 8-bit digital-to-analog converter (DAC)
  • 12-bit DAC
  • Rail-to-rail operational amplifiers
  • Comparator

Renesas provides all the required software and hardware for IO-Link slave functionality as part of the kit, allowing users to quickly connect to master equipment:

  • Pre-qualified sample software for the IO-Link slave protocol stack from TMG TE
  • PHY and M12 connector on the board

About the S1JA Group of Microcontrollers (MCUs)

Introduced in November 2018, the ultra-low power S1JA MCUs bring rich programmable analog capabilities and increased memory to cost-sensitive and low-power Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) sensor applications including temperature sensors, photoelectric sensors, safety curtains, and flow control meters. The MCUs feature the 48 MHz Arm® Cortex®-M23 core, up to 256 KB flash memory, and integrated best-in-class programmable analog and security functions for high-accuracy sensor signal acquisition and conditioning. Designed to enable advanced analog configurations from basic functions to more complex analog blocks, the S1JA devices are the first MCUs in the Renesas Synergy™ S1 Series to offer rich programmable analog features for greater MCU flexibility without adding significant overhead to BOM cost and board space.

Pricing and Availability

The S1JA Solution Starter Kit is available now.

More Information

To learn more about the S1JA Solution Starter Kit, visit https://www.renesas.com/products/microcontrollers-microprocessors/renesas-synergy-platform-mcus/tb-s1ja-s1ja-target-board-kit

Sample software for proximity and distance measurement is available for download at https://www.renesas.com/products/microcontrollers-microprocessors/renesas-synergy-platform-mcus/tb-s1ja-s1ja-target-board-kit#design_development.

For more information on the S1JA MCUs, visit: https://www.renesas.com/products/microcontrollers-microprocessors/renesas-synergy-platform-mcus/s1ja-48-mhz-arm-cortex-m23-cpu.

(Remarks) Renesas Synergy is a trademark of Renesas Electronics Corporation. Arm and Arm Cortex are registered trademarks of Arm Limited in the EU and other countries. All other names of products or services mentioned in this press release are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.


The content in the press release, including, but not limited to, product prices and specifications, is based on the information as of the date indicated on the document, but may be subject to change without prior notice.

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