Dusseldorf, Germany, May 29, 2012 — Renesas Electronics Europe today announced that it has received VDE certification for its IEC60335-compliant self-test software for the RX200 family of microcontrollers. The latest self-test CPU software routines developed for the RX200 family are fully compliant with IEC60730-1 regulations and have now been certified by VDE (the German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies). VDE is widely recognized for its work on safety standards and approvals.
In addition to the on-chip hardware safety features, the self-test CPU software makes it easier for manufacturers of industrial, motor control and home appliances to meet IEC60730-1 (IEC60335) class B safety requirements. The safety standard requires software running on an MCU to be able to detect any safety critical failures according to specific fault models. "This software offers high value to any firmware developers involved in safety critical applications and appliances because the VDE approved software is suitable for all of Renesas’ RX200 microcontrollers," said Vincent Mignard, Renesas' global marketing leader for Home and Small Appliances.
The RX200 MCU family integrates on-chip key advanced peripherals like the cyclic redundancy check engine (CRC), while the analogue/digital converter includes a self-diagnosis function - to ensure plausibility checks - and a hardware clock monitoring function. Finally, the RX200 offers the unique Data Operating Circuit (DOC) module which reduces the RAM March X algorithms testing time and frees up the overall CPU load.
Renesas’ self-test software has been successfully certified for its periodic test routines for CPU registers and program counter test, stack test, RAM tests (using March X & C algorithms), Flash check (using cyclic redundancy check engines) and clock monitoring tests. These routines are easy to integrate in any existing software and can be called after Reset and periodically during run-time. The software enables the developer to easily design safety relevant software and to meet certification requirements quickly and with less effort. It can reduce development time and the test harness process by up to 3 months, and the cost of certification by 15%.
The software source codes in C and ASM for RX200 is now available on the Renesas website, with detailed timing of routines, application notes and the VDE certificate.
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About Renesas Electronics Europe
Renesas delivers trusted embedded design innovation with complete semiconductor solutions that enable billions of connected, intelligent devices to enhance the way people work and live – securely and safely. As the number one global supplier of microcontrollers, and a leader in A&P and SoC products, Renesas provides the expertise, quality, and comprehensive solutions for a broad range of Automotive, Industrial, Home Electronics (HE), Office Automation (OA) and Information Communication Technology (ICT) applications to help shape a limitless future.
Renesas Electronics Corporation was established in 2010 and is headquartered in Japan.With over 800 hardware and software alliance partners worldwide, it has the industry’s largest local support network. Renesas Electronics’ European structure is comprised of three business units – the Automotive, the Broad-based and the Industrial Solution Business Unit.
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