ROCKCHIP RK3576: New Generation Platform Chip with Advanced Interfaces and Features

***NOTE: The features and specifications mentioned in this article may not fully reflect the actual product details. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, please consult the official documentation.***

Introduction to the Latest ROCKCHIP Innovation

ROCKCHIP’s RK3576 is a new general-purpose SOC product launched in the second quarter of 2024. Built on an advanced 8nm process, this chip operates with low CPU junction temperature (Tj), supporting applications without a heat sink. It simultaneously supports multiple peripherals and numerous IO ports to meet the requirements of various applications.

CPU Architecture and Performance

The RK3576 features an eight-core architecture with four ARM Cortex-A72 high-performance cores and four Cortex-A53 efficiency cores, plus an M0 co-processor. This configuration delivers computing power of 58K DMIPS.

• A72 cores: Maximum frequency up to 2.3GHz
• A53 cores: Maximum frequency up to 2.2GHz
• Supports Arm CoreLink CCI-500 cache coherent interconnect
• MCU co-processor: ARM Cortex-M0 with 400MHz main frequency
• Coremark benchmark performance: 658 points

The CPU architecture is designed for AMP (Asymmetric Multi-Processing) heterogeneous systems, making the RK3576 particularly suitable for display and control integration.

GPU Capabilities

The 3D graphics engine employs ARM Mali-G52 MC3 at 950MHz, supporting:

• OpenGL ES 1.1, 2.0, and 3.2
• Vulkan 1.2
• OpenCL 2.0
• AFBC (ARM Frame Buffer Compression)
• Dual-core Rockchip RGA V2.5 engine for 2D graphics processing

Neural Network Processing Unit (NPU)

The RK3576 incorporates ROCKCHIP’s self-developed latest iteration NPU:

• Dual-core NPU providing 6TOPS@INT8 computing power
• Support for parallel multi-tasking
• Computation support for INT4, INT8, INT16, FP16, BF16, and TF32
• Compatible with multiple deep learning frameworks including TensorFlow, TF-lite, PyTorch, Caffe, ONNX, MXNet, Keras, Darknet, and Android NN

Memory Support

Internal Memory

• BootROM supporting boot from FSPI Flash, eMMC, SDMMC, UFS, USB, and other storage devices
• USB OTG firmware download support
• 32KB PMU_SRAM for low-power applications and 512KB SYS_SRAM for general applications

External Memory

• LPDDR4/LPDDR4X with 4266Mbps bandwidth
• LPDDR5 with 4800Mbps bandwidth
• 32-bit data width, 2 RANK data blocks, maximum support for 16GB capacity

Storage Device Support

• eMMC V5.1, HS400, HS200, DDR50, data width 1/4/8 bit
• SD3.0, MMC V4.51
• New UFS2.0 support, dual-channel, each channel supporting HS-G3 5.8Gbps transmission rate
• FSPI flash interface supporting serial flash interfaces, NOR, NAND, pSRAM, SRAM devices

Video Codec Capabilities

Video Decoder

Supports parallel multi-stream decoding:

• H.264/AVC (main10, L5.2) at 4K@60fps
• H.265/HEVC (main10, L6.0) at 8K@30fps or 4K@120fps
• VP9 (Profile 0/2, L6.0) at 8K@30fps or 4K@120fps
• AVS2 (Profile 0/2, L8.2.120) at 8K@30fps or 4K@120fps
• AV1 (main10, L6.0) at 8K@30fps or 4K@120fps

Video Encoder

• Supports H.264/H.265 at maximum resolution of 4K@60fps
• RK3576 is currently one of only two chips besides RK3588 that can support 4K60 encoding
• Supports parallel multi-stream encoding

Display Interfaces

Video Input Interfaces

MIPI-CSI2

• Supports up to 5 MIPI CSI-2 interfaces
• 4 D-PHY V1.2 x 2lane, each lane 2.5Gbps or 2 x 4Lane flexible configuration
• 1 x 4Lane D-PHY or 3trio C-PHY
• D-PHY V2.0 with 4.5Gbps per lane
• C-PHY V1.1 with 2.5Gbps per trio
• Each interface supports four virtual channels, maximum 20 virtual channels total
• Built-in VICAP and ISP, MIPI CSI RX input data can be processed via VICAP, ISP
• ISP V3.9 supports 16M@30fps camera sensor
• RK3576 adds support for RGB-IR camera sensors

Video Output Interfaces

HDMI (combo with eDP)

• Supports HDMI V2.1, maximum output resolution 4K120
• Supports HDCP V2.3 and V1.4

eDP (combo with HDMI)

• Simultaneously supports eDP V1.3 and DP V1.2
• Maximum output resolution 4K60
• Supports HDCP V1.3

DP (combo with USB3)

• Supports DP V1.4, USB TYPE C DP ALT mode
• Maximum output resolution 4K120
• Supports HDCP V2.3 and 1.4
• New DP MST functionality for multi-video streaming
• Supports daisy chain and MST hub architectures

MIPI DSI

• Provides one MIPI-DSI2 V1.1 group supporting both D-PHY V2.0 and C-PHY V1.1
• Supports 4 lanes of D-PHY or 3 trios of C-PHY
• Maximum resolution 2560×1600@60Hz
• Maximum color depth 10bit

Parallel RGB/BT.656/BT.1120

• Maximum resolution 1920×1080@60Hz
• Maximum color depth 8bit

EBC

• Upgraded EBC output interface
• Supports E-ink interface for electronic paper displays
• Maximum resolution 2560×1600@60Hz
• 16-bit data width
• Maximum support for 32-level grayscale display
• Supports direct connection, LUT mode, and 3 window mode
• Supports window mode

Image Processor

• Provides 3 independent Video Ports, supporting three different screen displays
• Video Port0 supports 4K120Hz, 10bit data
• Video Port1 supports 2560×1400@60Hz, 10bit data
• Video Port2 supports 1920×1080@60Hz, 8bit data
• Each Video Port can arbitrarily use HDMI/eDP/DP/MIPI DSI-2 interface output
• Parallel output interface can only use Video Port1 and Video Port2

Peripheral Interfaces

Ethernet

• Built-in two MAC 10/100/1000 Ethernet controllers, supporting RGMII interface
• Supports full-duplex and half-duplex operation
• Both GMACs support IEEE.1588 with nanosecond-level precision
• New TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking) support

I3C

• I3C is one of the newly added interfaces in RK3576
• Provides two I3C interfaces, supports SDR mode, transmission speed up to 12.5Mbps, compatible with I2C
• Supports multi-master devices, up to 11 devices
• Supports software interrupts, hot-plugging

DSMC Double Data Rate Serial Interface

• New interface for PSRAM memory expansion and connecting FPGA interface devices
• 4 independent data channels, transmission rate 370MB/s
• Latency below 400ms
• Addressing modes: 8/16bit
• Supports 8/16 line mode, 3 clock modes (normal, always-on, no-edge-clk)
• Supports immediate DMA data transfer upon interrupt reception

CAN

• RK3576 provides 2 newly iterated CAN interfaces
• Supports CAN and CAN FD protocols
• New support for 8192-bit FIFO reception

FlexBus Interface

• RK3576 provides two FlexBus interfaces
• New FlexBus interface can simulate standard protocols like CIF/QSPI/SPI or non-standard protocols
• Data width configurable 2/4/8/16bit, clock frequency 100MHz
• Primarily used for interfaces requiring fast data input and output, and for developing proprietary protocols

UART Controller

• Provides 12 UART interfaces
• Built-in 2 independent 64-byte FIFOs for TX and RX
• Supports 5bits, 6bits, 7bits, 8bits serial data transmission and reception
• Each UART can support different input frequencies, maximum transmission rate up to 8Mbps
• All except UART0 support auto flow control mode and new RS485 automatic switching of send/receive direction

PWM Controller

• 16 PWM channels
• New support for High-Speed Signal Pulse Counter (HSC)
• Bidirectional counter and waveform generator that can produce waveforms without CPU dependency

Other IO Features

GPIO

• Provides 5 GPIO groups, each with 32 pins
• Each 32-pin group can be divided into 4 groups with one interrupt assignable to each
• RK3576 supports a total of 20 interrupts, significantly more than previous chips
• Enhanced flexibility and optimization for AMP heterogeneous solutions

Temperature Sensor (TSADC)

• Upgraded TS-ADC with more channels and improved precision
• Supports 6 channels, sensing temperature range -40~125°C, accuracy 1°C
• New support for user-defined mode and automatic mode

Successive Approximation ADC (SARADC)

• Upgraded SAR-ADC precision
• Resolution increased to 12 bits
• Maximum 1MS/s sampling frequency
• Provides 8 input channels

Package Type

• FCCSP698L (body: 16.1mm x 17.2mm; ball size: 0.3mm; ball pitch: 0.55mm&0.60mm&0.65mm mixed)

Industrial and Automotive Variants

• RK3576J: Industrial grade operating temperature -40~85°C, suitable for power concentrators/energy controllers/specialized collection terminals, HMI, PLC control, and various gateways
• RK3576M: Meets -40~85°C operating temperature and AEC-Q100 specifications, suitable for intelligent cockpit and other automotive application areas