Renesas Power Profiler
Measure and analyze the power consumption of Renesas RA6Bx device family using the Renesas RA6B1 Pro-Development Kit hardware platform.
Supported Devices
| Device Family |
Supported Hardware |
Notes |
| RA6Bx |
- RA6B1 Pro-Motherboard (RTK7WBA6B1S0000BK)
- RA6B1 Pro-daughterboard
- QFN52 (RTK7WBA6B1S0200BK)
- TFBGA72 (RTK7WBA6B1S0500BK)
- Your device, wired to the motherboard
|
Power Profiler is intended for the hardware platform described in the RA6B1 Pro-Development Kit Hardware Manual. |
Overview
The Renesas Power Profiler extension enables developers to:
- Connect to hardware — Seamlessly communicate with the RA6B1 Pro-Development Kit via serial port
- Capture power data — Stream real-time current and voltage measurements from the development kit at configurable sample rates (1 kHz to 128 kHz)
- Visualize performance — Interactive graphs display power consumption patterns as your code in RA6Bx executes
- Trigger on events — Set up hardware-style triggers to capture specific moments (current spikes, voltage dips, digital edges)
- Calibrate accuracy — Auto-calibrate current channels to ensure precise measurements
- Export results — Save captured data as JSON or CSV for analysis in your favorite tools
Perfect for optimizing battery-powered applications, debugging power issues, and verifying compliance with power specifications.
Features
Real-Time Power Profiling
Connect your board and start capturing power data immediately. The extension displays live graphs of:
- Low-range current (CH1) — High-resolution measurements for precise power consumption analysis
- High-range current (CH2) — Extended range for high-current scenarios
- Voltage channels (CH3 & CH4) — Monitor board power rails and sensor inputs
- Digital inputs (D0–D7) — Track digital signals alongside power data
Sophisticated Triggering
Set up triggers to capture exactly the data you need:
- Threshold-based — Trigger when current exceeds a limit or voltage dips below a threshold
- Digital edge detection — Capture on rising or falling transitions of input signals
- Pre/post-trigger buffering — Store up to 1 second of data before the trigger event, and 10 seconds after
- Auto-stop — Automatically halt acquisition after the post-trigger window closes
Firmware Management
- Check firmware version — Automatically queries your board's current firmware
- Update firmware — Download and install firmware updates with progress tracking and automatic board reset
Calibration & Configuration
- Auto-calibrate — Run a calibration session to compute accurate offset values for current channels
- Persistent settings — Your configuration (sample rate, calibration offsets, trigger settings) is saved between sessions
- Flexible multiplexing — Select different input channels for voltage measurements
Interactive Data Analysis
- Zoom & pan — Inspect detailed regions or navigate through hours of captured data
- Box selection — Manually select regions and view statistics (min, max, average)
- Custom markers — Annotate interesting events on the graph
- Export data — Save raw frames as JSON or tabular CSV for further analysis
- Memory snapshots — Save and compare two different captures for A/B analysis
- Advanced graph tools — Lock Y-axis, reset zoom, toggle channels, and more
Getting Started
Installation
- Install the extension from the Visual Studio Code extensions marketplace (search for "Renesas Power Profiler")
- Ensure your RA6B1 Pro-Development Kit board is connected via USB or serial connection
- Open the Renesas Power Profiler command from the Command Palette
Hardware Setup (RA6B1 Pro-Development Kit)
- Base board: RA6B1 Pro-Motherboard (RTK7WBA6B1S0000BK)
- Daughterboard: RA6B1 QFN52 module board (RTK7WBA6B1S0200BK) or RA6B1 TFBGA72 board (RTK7WBA6B1S0500BK) or your device wired to the motherboard
- Power measurement module: PMM2 (board number 500-29-E) attached to M.2 socket J9
- Header J7 (power measurement path):
- PMM2 installed: place jumpers at 1-2 and 3-4
- PMM2 not installed: place jumper at 2-3 (bypass)
- Header J18: provides 8 digital trigger inputs (TRIG_0 to TRIG_7) mapped to predefined GPIOs for trigger capture
Quick Start (5 Minutes)
Open the extension
- Press
Ctrl+Shift+P (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Shift+P (macOS)
- Type "Renesas Power Profiler" and press Enter
- The extension UI opens in a WebView panel
Connect your board
- The extension automatically detects available serial ports
- Select your board from the Device dropdown in the left panel
- Click Connect — the board firmware version appears once connected
Start capturing power data
- Click the Play button to begin acquisition
- Watch the real-time graph update with current and voltage measurements
- Power consumption patterns appear immediately as your firmware runs
Stop and analyze
- Click Pause to stop data capture
- Use Box selection on the graph to highlight regions of interest
- View min/max/average statistics for selected regions
Export your data
- Click Save to export the captured data as JSON or CSV
- Use external tools (Excel, Python, MATLAB) for deeper analysis
Using Triggers
Triggers help you capture specific events without manual timing:
- Open the Trigger tab in the left configuration panel
- Enable triggers with the toggle switch
- Select a trigger type:
- Current — Fire when measured current crosses a threshold (mA)
- Voltage1 / Voltage2 — Fire on voltage channel thresholds (V)
- Digital — Fire on rising or falling edge of a digital input (D0–D7)
- None — Capture all data (default)
- Set the condition: Above/Below (for analog) or Rising/Falling (for digital)
- Enter a threshold value
- Adjust pre-trigger and post-trigger durations to capture context
- Enable auto-stop if you want acquisition to halt automatically after the post-trigger window
- Click Apply to send the configuration to your board
The graph panel includes powerful tools for analyzing power data in real-time. Access these tools from the toolbar above the graph:
Basic Controls
- Play — Start data acquisition from your connected device
- Pause — Stop data acquisition while keeping current data visible
- Reset — Clear all data and reset the device to initial state
Zoom & Navigation
- Reset Zoom — Restore the graph to its default view (all data visible)
- Zoom In/Out — Use your mouse wheel or pinch gesture to zoom into or out of specific time regions
- Pan — Click and drag on the graph to navigate through long acquisitions
Axis Controls
- Lock Y-Axis — Toggle to freeze the current/voltage axis scale; prevents the axis from automatically adjusting as new data arrives. Useful for comparing different regions with consistent scaling
- Auto Y-Axis — When unlocked, the Y-axis automatically adjusts to fit all visible data
Measurement & Markers
Box Selection (Measurements)
Measure statistics over a selected time region:
- Click the Box Select tool in the toolbar
- Click and drag on the graph to create a selection box around the region you want to analyze
- A measurements panel appears showing:
- Time span — Duration of the selected region (ms)
- Min — Minimum value across all visible channels in the selection
- Max — Maximum value across all visible channels in the selection
- Average — Mean value for each channel in the selected region
- Peak-to-peak — Difference between max and min (useful for ripple analysis)
- Energy — Integrated charge consumed during the selection (Coulombs or mAh)
Use cases:
- Identify peak current consumption during specific operations
- Calculate average power draw for a particular firmware routine
- Measure voltage ripple on power rails
- Compare energy efficiency between different code sections
Custom Markers
Place and manage custom annotations on your graph:
- Click the Marker tool in the toolbar
- Click on the graph at the time point you want to mark
- A marker appears at that point with a label (e.g., "Marker 1")
- Optionally add a note by clicking the marker and editing its label
- Click and drag markers to reposition them
- Right-click a marker to delete it
Use cases:
- Annotate when firmware events occur (function entry/exit, state transitions)
- Mark the onset of anomalous behavior or power spikes
- Highlight specific regions for team discussions
Memory 1 & Memory 2 (Snapshots)
Save and compare two different snapshots of your acquisition for A/B analysis:
- Memory 1 Save — Capture the current graph state (all channels, zoom level, markers) into memory slot 1
- Memory 2 Save — Capture another state into memory slot 2
Use cases:
- Compare power consumption before and after a firmware optimization by overlaying graphs
- Quickly switch between two regions of interest without re-capturing data
Channel Visibility Toggles
- CH1 / CH2 — Show or hide low-range and high-range current channels
- CH3 / CH4 — Show or hide voltage channels
- Digital (D0–D7) — Show or hide individual digital input channels
- Toggle checkboxes to focus on specific channels without cluttering the display
- Save — Export all captured data to JSON or CSV format. Choose your preferred format for further analysis in external tools (Excel, Python, MATLAB)
- Show Digital Channels — Toggle display of 8 digital input lines on the graph
Measurements: Detailed Operation & Results
The Measurements feature provides in-depth statistics for power consumption analysis. Here's what each measurement tells you:
- Capture data — Run a power profiling session with Play and collect the data you want to analyze
- Pause acquisition (optional) — Click Pause to stop new data from arriving, or keep it running
- Activate Box Select — Click the Box Select tool in the graph toolbar
- Select region — Click and drag on the graph to draw a rectangular selection around the time period of interest
- View results — A measurements panel automatically displays with statistics for your selection
Understanding Measurement Results
| Measurement |
Unit |
Meaning |
Use Case |
| Time Span |
ms |
Duration of your selected region |
Verify how long a particular operation took |
| Min |
mA / V |
Minimum value in the selection (all channels) |
Find quiescent power or lowest voltage recorded |
| Max |
mA / V |
Maximum value in the selection |
Identify peak current or voltage surge |
| Average |
mA / V |
Mean value over the selected time |
Calculate steady-state power consumption |
| Peak-to-Peak |
mA / V |
Max minus Min (ripple amplitude) |
Assess power supply quality and noise |
| Energy |
Coulombs / mAh |
Integrated charge during selection |
Calculate total energy used by an operation (charge = current × time) |
Per-Channel Measurements
When you have multiple channels visible, the measurements panel shows results broken down by channel:
Selection: 150 ms
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
CH1 (Low Current): Min: 2.1 mA, Max: 45.3 mA, Avg: 18.5 mA, Energy: 4.63 mAh
CH2 (High Current): Min: 0 mA, Max: 0 mA, Avg: 0 mA, Energy: 0 mAh
CH3 (Voltage): Min: 4.95 V, Max: 5.02 V, Avg: 4.98 V, Ripple: 0.07 V
CH4 (Voltage): Min: 3.27 V, Max: 3.31 V, Avg: 3.29 V, Ripple: 0.04 V
Practical Analysis Examples
Example 1: Measuring a Function's Power Consumption
- Capture data while firmware executes a specific function
- Place markers at function entry and exit
- Use Box Select between the markers
- The Average value × Time Span = approximate energy consumed by that function
Example 2: Comparing Two Code Versions
- Save Baseline code measurement to Memory 1
- Update firmware and capture new measurement
- Use Memory 1 Restore and Memory 2 Restore to quickly A/B compare
- Check if Average current decreased (indicating optimization success)
Example 3: Detecting Power Anomalies
- Review long capture sessions looking for unexpected current spikes
- Use Box Select around suspicious regions
- Inspect the Max and Peak-to-Peak values to quantify the anomaly
- Export data to CSV and plot in Python/MATLAB for detailed signal analysis
Calibration
For accurate current measurements, calibrate the current channels:
- Ensure your board is connected and idle (no active firmware running, or running minimal code)
- Open the Configuration tab in the left panel
- Click Calibrate
- The extension measures zero-current offsets for both CH1 and CH2 channels
- Calibration data is saved automatically for future sessions
Tip: Re-calibrate if you change hardware, move to a different temperature environment, or suspect measurement drift.
System Requirements
- VS Code version 1.105.0 or later
- RA6B1 Pro-Development Kit hardware: RTK7WBA6B1S0000BK with RTK7WBA6B1S0200BK or RTK7WBA6B1S0500BK
- Operating System: Windows, macOS, or Linux with USB/serial port support
- Serial Port Driver: Standard USB serial drivers (usually pre-installed; Renesas drivers available on their website)
Troubleshooting
"No serial ports found" or device not detected
- Check USB connection: Ensure your RA6B1 Pro-Development Kit is properly connected to your computer via USB
- Install drivers: Download and install Renesas J-Link or USB serial drivers from Renesas support
- Permissions (Linux/macOS): Ensure your user has permission to access
/dev/ttyUSB* devices. You may need to add your user to the dialout group or use sudo
- Try another port: If using a USB hub, connect directly to your computer; hubs can cause connection issues
Board connects but no data appears
- Firmware compatibility: Your board firmware may be outdated. Check the firmware version in the Device panel and update if a newer version is available
- Calibration issue: Run calibration again to reset channel offsets
- Check board state: Ensure your firmware is running and not in a halted or sleep state
"All ports in use" error or connection drops
- Too many connections: Close other applications using the same serial ports (SEGGER IDEs, J-Link tools, etc.)
- Restart the extension: Press
Ctrl+Shift+P and type "Stop Server", wait 2 seconds, then "Renesas Power Profiler" to restart
- Port range: The extension uses TCP ports 3050–3150 for internal communication. Ensure these ports are not blocked by your firewall
Graph shows missing data or gaps
- Packet loss: Check your USB connection and reduce sample rate if problems persist
- Performance: High sample rates (>100 kHz) on slower computers may cause dropped frames. Try reducing to 50–85 kHz
- CRC errors: Hardware communication errors may cause frames to be skipped. Restart the connection
Measurements look incorrect
- Run calibration: Calibration offsets may be stale. Open Configuration and click Calibrate again
- Check channel gain: Verify the voltage gain settings match your hardware configuration in the Configuration panel
- Hardware issue: If calibration doesn't help, test with a known-good firmware or contact Renesas support
Firmware update fails
- Board connectivity: Ensure the board remains connected and powered during the entire update process
- Image compatibility: Verify the firmware image is compatible with your RA6B1 Pro-Development Kit configuration
- Retry: Cancel the update, restart the extension, and try again
Known Limitations
- Board support: Supported platform is the RA6B1 Pro-Development Kit (RTK7WBA6B1S0000BK with RTK7WBA6B1S0200BK or RTK7WBA6B1S0500BK)
- Sample rate trade-offs: Very high sample rates (>120 kHz) may introduce frame drops on slower computers
- Continuous acquisition: Sessions longer than a few hours may consume significant disk space for data storage
- Browser environments: When using vscode.dev or Codespaces, the WebSerial API is used instead of native serial ports, which may have additional latency
Support & Feedback
- Issues or feature requests? Contact Renesas technical support or use your internal project issue tracker
- Community support - Visit the Renesas developer community
- User guidance - Open the embedded user manual from the extension UI
License
© 2026 Renesas Electronics Corporation. Licensed under the terms included in the LICENSE file.
© Renesas Electronics Corporation
