Dusseldorf, 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.
About Renesas Electronics Europe
Renesas Electronics Europe with its Business Operations Centre located in Dusseldorf, Germany, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Renesas Electronics Corporation (TSE: 6723), the world’s number one supplier of microcontrollers and a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions including microcontrollers, SoC solutions, secure MCU applications and a broad-range of analog and power devices. Renesas Electronics’ European structure is comprised of three dedicated business groups serving the region’s key markets: automotive, communications & consumer and industrial. The business groups are supported by the Engineering Group, which itself includes the Engineering Design Centre; the European Quality Centre that provides technical support to local customers in Europe; and the European Technology Centre to design leading-edge products specifically for the European market. Further information about Renesas Electronics Europe can be found at:www.renesas.eu.
