Renesas RA6W1 and RA6W2 MCUs Bring Dual-Band Wi-Fi 6 to IoT

Renesas Launches RA6W1 and RA6W2 Wi-Fi 6 Combo MCUs for IoT

Renesas, a specialist in embedded hardware and Internet of Things (IoT), has unveiled its first ever dual-band Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi/Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) combination microcontroller units for the IoT and smart home projects: the RA6W1 and RA6W2. Renesas integrated the RA6W1 (Wi-Fi 6) and the RA6W2 (Wi-Fi 6 + BLE) MCUs into the high, performance RA6 family of its products, thus enabling Matter connectivity to the series. These were the essential moves by the company to keep pace with a rapidly evolving market. The addressed are those of the smart home, industrial, medical, and consumer sectors where there is a demand for a continuous connection of ultra, low, power IoT devices. These devices can be used anywhere from the internet of things to wearable solutions aside from a plethora of use cases in medicine, automotive industry, etc.

Both the RA6W1 and RA6W2 are based on an Arm Cortex-M33 microcontroller core that uses the Armv8-M architecture. They run at speeds of up to 160MHz and have 704kB of static RAM (SRAM), 64kB of retention memory for low-power states, and 256kB of ROM. The RA6W1 SoC includes a dual-band Wi-Fi subsystem that supports IEEE 802.11b/g/n/ax at 2.4 GHz and IEEE 802.11a/n/ac/ax at 5 GHz. It works in 1×1 mode with 20-MHz channels and has the PA, LNA, and RF switch built directly on chip. The RA6W2 adds a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) radio. Both models feature hardware-accelerated AES-256 cryptography, a true random number generator (TRNG), and support for on-the-fly decryption with execute-in-place (XiP) for their flash storage. They are also Matter 1.4 certified. The series includes basic peripherals such as SPI, I²C, I²S/PDM, SDIO, 12-bit ADCs, PWM timers, up to 28 GPIOs, and a full TCP/IP stack for quick connectivity.

RA6W1 Block Diagram

Renesas RA6W1 specifications:

• MCU core: Arm Cortex-M33 @ up to 160 MHz, Armv8-M architecture with MPU and SysTick
• Memory and Storage:
  • 704 KB SRAM
  • 64 KB retention RAM
  • 256 KB ROM
  • 2 KB OTP
  • SDIO Host/Slave, eMMC/SD Host
  • O-QSPI with encrypted XIP for external flash
  • QSPI PSRAM controller
• Wireless Connectivity:
  • Dual-band (2.4 GHz + 5 GHz) Wi-Fi 6 (802.11a/b/g/n/ax), 1×1, 20 MHz channels
  • Station, Soft-AP, 802.11s Mesh modes
  • On-chip PA, LNA, RF switch
  • WPS PIN/PBC Wi-Fi provisioning
  • WPA/WPA2/WPA3, OWE Wi-Fi security
  • Coexistence interface for Bluetooth LE / Zigbee
  • Integrated TCP/IP stack, connection manager for autonomous Wi-Fi
• Communication interfaces:
  • Up to 28x multiplexed GPIOs
  • PI Master/Slave, I²C Master/Slave
  • 3x UART, 4-channel 12-bit ADC, 8x 32-bit PWM timers
• Audio: I²S, PDM/Digital Mic
• Clocks:
  • 40 MHz crystal input
  • 32.768 kHz crystal for RTC
  • Integrated 32 kHz RC oscillator
• Security:
  • Secure Crypto Engine with AES, DES/3DES, ChaCha20, ECC/RSA-4K, HMAC, DLM, DH
  • TRNG, secure boot, secure debug, secure asset storage, TLS/DTLS hardware acceleration
• Misc:
  • On-chip RTC
  • Ultra-low-power sleep modes with fast wake-up
• Supply Voltage:
  • 1.8 V to 3.6 V (3.3 V typical), with brownout and blackout detection
  • Integrated DCDC + LDOs
• Operating Temperature: 0°C to 70°C, Ta = –40°C to +85°C
• Packages:
  • 66-pin FCQFN (5.6 × 6.4 mm, 0.4 mm pitch)
  • 70-pin WLCSP (3.47 × 4.06 mm, 0.424 mm pitch)

RA6W1 Hardware Block Diagram

Like other Renesas MCUs, the RA6W1/RA6W2 are supported by the RAFW Flexible Software Package, the e² studio IDE, and the Renesas Flash Programmer for flashing and debugging. Developers also get access to the Connectivity Production Line Tool for high-volume testing and programming of connectivity devices, plus the standard SmartBond development tools for wireless stacks and profiles. 

Software System Diagram

The EK-RA6W1 evaluation kit provides development support regarding the RA6W1 MCU, which is currently offered in both FCQFN and WLCSP packages. The RA6W2 MCU (BGA package) will be available in Q1 of 2026. The EK-RA6W1 development board is available through various distributors like Digikey, Mouser, Fernel, and others. Additional information is available in the press release. 

RA6W1 Wi-Fi 6 MCU Evaluation Kit

Images used courtesy of Renesas