ALISO VIEJO, Calif.—Feb. 6, 2018—Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC), a leading provider of semiconductor solutions differentiated by power, security, reliability and performance, today announced its Libero® system-on-chip (SoC) development software version 11.5 Service Pack (SP)2, offering a comprehensive suite of field programmable gate array (FPGA) design tools, has achieved functional safety certification from TÜV Rheinland according to the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61508-2, Annex F. With Microsemi now offering a Functional Safety Data Package, engineers designing products to conform to IEC 61508:2010 can utilize the company’s certified Libero tool chain to accelerate certification time.
The functional safety certification of Libero v11.5 SP2 supports Microsemi’s IGLOO™ and ProASIC3 FPGA product families, as well as many intellectual property (IP) blocks, in functional safety applications in accordance with IEC 61508 up to SIL 3. Using the new Functional Safety Data Package with the certified version of Libero makes it easier to pass functional safety assessments, accelerating the time to certification. Designers are also able to leverage the unique benefits of Microsemi’s differentiating FPGA features, including single event upset (SEU) immunity, instant-on and lower power.
As part of Microsemi’s commitment to IEC 61508 safety-critical applications, its newly certified Libero SoC software is ideal for FPGA designs targeting applications within the industrial, medical, locomotive, avionics and defense markets such as robotics, transportation controls, drones and other applications where human life could be at risk if electronics fail. The company’s Functional Safety Data Package includes information on relevant devices and their capabilities; Libero SoC Design Suite v11.5 SP2, certified by TÜV Rheinland; Libero SoC documentation; relevant IP cores and associated documentation; and IEC 61508 Safety Data Manual.
“We are excited to shorten our customers’ functional safety certification efforts with the release of our Functional Safety Data Package, SAFETY-PKG-G3,” said Ted Marena, director of FPGA marketing at Microsemi. “Our flash-based FPGAs have always been compelling for functional safety applications because of their unique SEU immunity. The IEC 61508 safety data package with our flash-based FPGAs make a powerful combination for customers requiring these specific capabilities.”
Functional safety has become increasingly important as designers depend upon the ability to detect a potentially dangerous condition and activate a protective or corrective device to prevent hazardous events. Thus, the IEC 61508Functional Safety of Electrical/Electronic/Programmable Electronic (E/E/PE) Safety Related Systems and other standards were created and continue to be updated. Validating the scope of the issue, the 2016 Wilson Research Group Functional Verification Study reported 44 percent of users were working on projects for safety-critical designs under various standards.
As a global leader in independent inspection services and certifications, TÜV Rheinland assessed and qualified the Microsemi Libero software tools and tool flow as well as selected IPs according to the international IEC 61508 standard. This qualification eliminates the need for customers to qualify the company’s FPGA development tools independently, enabling Microsemi’s customers to achieve an approved safety system much more easily.
Availability
The Functional Safety Data Package is available for purchase using the ordering code SAFETY-PKG-G3. For more information, visit https://www.microsemi.com/products/fpga-soc/reliability/functional-safety or contactsales.support@microsemi.com.
About Microsemi’s FPGAs
Microsemi’s new cost-optimized PolarFire FPGAs deliver the industry’s lowest power at mid-range densities with exceptional security and reliability. The product family features 12.7 Gbps SerDes transceivers at up to 50 percent lower power than competing FPGAs. With densities spanning from 100K to 500K logic elements (LEs), the non-volatile PolarFire product family consumes 10 times less static power than competitive devices and features an even lower standby power referred to as Flash*Freeze. The company’s IGLOO™2 FPGAs and SmartFusion™2 SoC FPGAs deliver more resources in low density devices, with the lowest power, proven security and exceptional reliability. The devices offer 30-50 percent more power efficiency and are ideal for general purpose functions such as Gigabit Ethernet or dual PCI Express control planes, bridging functions, input/output (I/O) expansion and conversion, video/image processing, system management and secure connectivity. Microsemi’s RTG4 FPGAs bring new capabilities to the market and combine a wealth of features with the highest quality and reliability to meet the increasing demands of modern satellite payloads. RTG4’s reprogrammable flash technology offers complete immunity to radiation-induced configuration upsets in the harshest radiation environments, without the configuration scrubbing required with SRAM FPGA technology.
About Microsemi
Microsemi Corporation (Nasdaq: MSCC) offers a comprehensive portfolio of semiconductor and system solutions for aerospace & defense, communications, data center and industrial markets. Products include high-performance and radiation-hardened analog mixed-signal integrated circuits, FPGAs, SoCs and ASICs; power management products; timing and synchronization devices and precise time solutions, setting the world’s standard for time; voice processing devices; RF solutions; discrete components; enterprise storage and communication solutions, security technologies and scalable anti-tamper products; Ethernet solutions; Power-over-Ethernet ICs and midspans; as well as custom design capabilities and services. Microsemi is headquartered in Aliso Viejo, California, and has approximately 4,800 employees globally. Learn more at www.microsemi.com.
