Renesas Launches Flagship RX74M and RX74N Microcontrollers: First RX Devices Built on 22nm With Embedded MRAM
TOKYO — Renesas Electronics on October 22 launched the RX74M and RX74N, new flagship 32-bit microcontrollers delivering up to 600 MHz performance — the first devices in the RX family built on a 22nm process and incorporating embedded MRAM. Both deliver more than twice the performance of their 240 MHz predecessors, the RX72M and RX72N, and are available now.
The devices integrate a 600 MHz RXv3e core with 1 MB of MRAM (magnetoresistive RAM), 256 KB of zero-wait-state tightly coupled memory and 1.5 MB of SRAM. Unlike conventional embedded flash, Renesas said, MRAM can write data without first performing an erase operation, enabling faster code and data updates, shorter programming times and reduced system downtime for applications that frequently store parameters and logs or update data.
The RX74M is designed for industrial and factory automation equipment such as AC drives, industrial robots and programmable logic controllers, while the RX74N targets smart meters, power conditioners and HVAC systems. The RX74M integrates an EtherCAT slave controller, a TSN-capable Gigabit Ethernet switch and CAN FD on a single chip, supporting major industrial networks including EtherCAT, PROFINET and EtherNet/IP, deterministic communication via TSN, and redundant configurations such as EtherNet/IP DLR that previous generations did not support.
For security, both devices incorporate ProtectZone into the RX CPU to separate secure and non-secure regions within a single chip, and the next-generation Renesas Secure IP extends public-key cryptography to authenticated encryption and a broader range of hash algorithms, including post-quantum cryptography — features aimed at regulations such as the EU Cyber Resilience Act. "Industrial equipment development requires three key elements: advanced real-time performance, diverse industrial networking and robust security," said Yoshi Ishikawa, Senior Director of the EP Advanced MCU Business Division at Renesas. "By integrating these requirements into a single chip, the new products simplify the design of increasingly complex industrial equipment and support the evolution of industrial automation."
Renesas also offers 300 MHz versions with more than 20% lower power consumption, a package lineup spanning 176/224/320-pin LFBGA and 100/144/176-pin LFQFP, a supply range of 1.62 V to 3.6 V and an operating temperature range of −40°C to +125°C (Tj).
Renesas ranks No. 17 in GSM's Global Chip Company Rankings, with 2025 revenue of about $8.8 billion — the highest-placed Japanese company on the main list — and sits among the global top five in microcontrollers (Omdia, 2025).
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：工厂自动化产线上的工业机器人（资料图，摄于特斯拉工厂）。照片：Steve Jurvetson，CC BY 2.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。Photo: Industrial robots on a factory automation line (file photo, at a Tesla factory). Photo: Steve Jurvetson, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
