Safety in cars: Infineon’s AURIX is the first embedded safety controller worldwide to be ASIL-D certified

Electro-mobility, advanced driver assistance systems, connected driving - the demand for functionally safe electrical and electronic systems in cars is increasing. Infineon Technologies AG has now reached a significant milestone: Its second generation AURIX™ (TC3xx) microcontrollers are the first embedded safety controllers worldwide to be certified for the highest automotive safety integrity level (ASIL D) according to the latest version of the ISO 26262 standard. This standard describes a globally binding procedure for the development and production of safety-critical systems in cars. In December 2018, the current version of the standard replaced the original version from 2011. The certificate was issued by SGS TUEV Saar.

“This certification underpins our leadership in automotive safety,” said Peter Schaefer, Vice President and General Manager Automotive Microcontrollers at Infineon. “We defined the safety architecture of our second generation AURIX microcontrollers before the new version of ISO 26262 was even available, and yet it fulfills all requirements for an ASIL D safety controller. We have achieved this through a holistic approach to safety that resulted in a sophisticated and robust architecture. Second generation AURIX microcontrollers thus provide the safety and trust necessary to make automated driving happen.”

The AURIX family has always been successful in safety-relevant applications. Leading computing platforms for automated driving rely on AURIX as their safety host controller. Furthermore, the microcontrollers are used in radar systems for processing sensor data, in engine and transmission control, brake, airbag and steering systems, central gateways, domain control units, hybrid and electric cars and many other applications.

In addition to the automotive sector, the product family is also increasingly used for other safety-critical applications, for example in commercial vehicles and robotics. Therefore, in the next step Infineon is planning certification according to IEC 61508. This is a cross-industry basic functional safety standard that serves as the foundation for application-specific standards.

AURIX TC3xx devices have up to six processor cores with 300 MHz clock frequency each. Up to four of them have an additional Lockstep core. With around 3,000 DMIPS, AURIX sets the bar for functionally safe computing power supporting ASIL D among safety microcontrollers. Other features include safe internal communication buses and a distributed memory protection system. Furthermore, AURIX allows the integration of software with different safety levels from different sources. This allows multiple operating systems and applications, such as steering, braking, airbag and driver assistance systems, to be hosted on a common platform.

Infineon has now launched sales of the AURIX TC3xx family for a broad customer and application base in the distribution market. To ease implementation for customers, the company offers extensive hardware and software support. In addition to starter kits and evaluation boards, a range of application kits are available. Infineon offers a free toolkit for software development and testing called AURIX Development Studio. In the AURIX forum, developers can discuss their questions with each other.