Renesas Electronics has introduced the RZ/T2N, a 64-bit microprocessor (MPU) that combines real-time motor control, Industrial Ethernet communication and application processing on a single chip. By integrating these functions, the new processor helps engineers reduce the number of components, save circuit board space, lower bill of materials (BOM) costs and simplify product development. The RZ/T2N can work as either a network controller or a connected device, making it suitable for industrial applications such as articulated robots, multi-axis servo systems and programmable logic controllers (PLCs). Engineers can also use the same platform across different products, reducing design effort and development time.
The RZ/T2N features two Arm Cortex-A55 cores running at up to 1.2 GHz for application processing and two Cortex-R52 cores running at up to 800 MHz for real-time tasks. It supports major Industrial Ethernet protocols, including EtherCAT, PROFINET RT/IRT and EtherNet/IP. It also supports Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN), which helps industrial devices exchange data at precise, synchronised times. Traditionally, equipment such as multi-axis servo drives and programmable logic controllers (PLCs) has required separate chips for application processing, motor control and network communication. By integrating these functions into a single chip, the RZ/T2N helps reduce component count, save board space and simplify industrial equipment design.
Up to Four-Axis Motor Control, Optimized for Robotics
Each Cortex-R52 core has 576 KB of large tightly coupled memory (TCM) with ECC. This minimizes execution-time fluctuation and delivers high-precision motor control. The RZ/T2N also integrates motor control peripherals up to four axes, enabling single-chip motor control for industrial robots such as SCARA and delta robots. Encoder interfaces, used to measure parameters such as motor rotation angle, provide two channels per axis. They support Tamagawa T-Format, HIPERFACE DSL, A-format, EnDat 2.2 and BiSS C, as well as the latest EnDat 3 and BiSS Line protocols.
Enabling Flexible, Highly Reliable Industrial Networks
The RZ/T2N has three Gigabit Ethernet MACs (GMACs), an Ethernet switch and an EtherCAT SubDevice Controller (ESC). This lets designers implement industrial Ethernet in both the controller applications and device applications without external communication ICs. The device also supports redundancy protocols, including High-availability Seamless Redundancy (HSR), Parallel Redundancy Protocol (PRP) and Frame Replication and Elimination for Reliability (FRER). For security, it supports a cryptographic library, secure boot, secure firmware update and Arm TrustZone. This enables highly reliable networks and systems.
“Industrial equipment designers must balance competing requirements: functionality and performance on one hand, footprint and cost on the other,” said Hari Pendurty, Vice President of the EP Edge AI and Application Processors Business Division at Renesas. “The RZ/T2N solves this challenge by consolidating the essential functions onto a single chip. Combined with our scalable product portfolio, the RZ/T2N gives customers the flexibility to scale their designs for next-generation industrial automation.”
Additional Features
- ECC protection across all memory: CPU TCM and cache memory, on-chip SRAM and DDR memory.
- Support for 16-bit LPDDR4-1600 memory with on-the-fly decryption/encryption.
- Common Linux package and Flexible Software Package (FSP) across the RZ/T2x and RZ/N2x series.
- Verified sample programs for various industrial Ethernet and encoder interfaces.
- Sample programs for multi-axis motor control solutions using Renesas evaluation boards.
- Functional safety software solutions, proven on the RZ/T2x and RZ/N2x series, planned for availability in the second half of 2027.
