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PowerPC based dualcore MCU with 2MB flash for car safety electronics

Date: 22/02/2013
STMicroelectronics has announced a new 32-bit multi-core microcontroller (MCU) SPC56EL70 for functional safety applications in car/automotive electronics. The new device compliant with automotive safety standards (ISO 26262) has 2MB flash memory.

The SPC56EL70 32-bit microcontroller designed to cover a wide range of automotive applications that need to respect the automotive safety integrity levels (ASIL) that are now required, up to and including the most stringent ASIL D level. These requirements are now commonplace in critical systems such as anti-lock braking, electric power steering, active suspension and advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS).

The ISO 26262 functional safety standard defines the rules needed in order to avoid unreasonable risk due to hazards caused by malfunctioning of the complete electrical system. The microcontroller’s role is extremely critical so all sections of the standard that are applicable have been evaluated for ST’s automotive –safety devices.

SPC56EL70 features two high-performance cores with 2MB Flash and 192kB internal RAM memory, three CAN (Controller Area Network) interfaces and an optimized peripheral set for safety and motor-control applications, supporting up to two brushless 3-phase motors. The dual-core architecture reduces duplication of components at a system level, lowering overall system costs.

The architecture supports user to select lockstep or dual parallel processing (independent core operation) modes.

The SPC56EL automotive microcontroller product line combine the scalable e200-core 32-bit Power Architecture with an application-optimized peripheral set.

SPC56EL product line has an available memory range from 768 Kbytes to 2 Mbytes of Flash and is currently available in LQFP100 and LQFP144 package configurations. BGA257 versions are also planned in the near future.

“Functional Safety Compliance is essential to realize cutting-edge System-on-Chip ICs for mission-critical automotive applications,” said Fabio Marchio, Group Vice President, General Manager of ST’s Automotive Microcontroller & Infotainment Division. “Offering an upward migration path with increased memory while keeping compatibility with already established dual-core devices enables our automotive customers to rapidly address more demanding applications such as in radar applications, as they evolve from producing warnings to taking action.”

Compliant with the ISO 26262 ASIL-D standard, the SPC56EL70 is sampling now.