Latest SafeAssure solution provides extraordinary performance, ruggedized safety and comprehensive enablement for industrial safety applications

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 14, 2012-- Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL) today announced the availability of its PXS20 microcontroller (MCU) family, based on Power Architecture^® technology, targeted for industrial applications with functional safety requirements. Single-chip, dual-core PXS20 devices provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional multi-chip safety systems and offer a streamlined solution to simplify certification and reduce design time and system complexity.

The first available family in Freescale’s PX series of MCUs, the PXS20 targets industrial applications which require compliance with IEC61511 and IEC61508 (SIL 3) safety standards. Built on two e200 Power Architecture cores, devices in the PXS20 MCU family are designed to reduce complexity and component count by integrating key functional safety features on a single chip.

“In industrial markets such as factory automation, process controls, rail, aviation and medical, the need for functional safety and stringent safety certification has intensified,” said Geoff Lees, vice president of Freescale’s Industrial and Multi-Market MCU business. “Freescale’s powerful PXS20 MCU family offers a new approach to functional safety applications and simplifies the path to system-level standards compliance, saving time, money and effort.”

All devices in the PXS20 family use a dual-core safety platform with an innovative safety concept targeting systems featuring IEC61508 (SIL 3) safety integrity level. On-chip redundancy is offered for the critical components of the MCU, which include the CPU core, memory controllers, timers, watch dogs and more. The PXS20 also has the ability to control up to two brushless DC motors or multiple actuators, making it ideal for a wide variety of industrial applications.

The PXS20 MCU family is part of Freescale’s SafeAssure program, which includes a broad solution set of MCUs, sensors and analog ICs as well as support for functional safety application design that extends to training, safety documentation and technical support.

PXS20 MCUs offer many advantages over traditional multi-chip safety solutions, including:

• Easier system-level certification
• Forty times more system checks per cycle
• Simplified design and maintenance with a single software image
• Reduced debug complexity
• Greater than 99 percent diagnostic coverage of the cores
• Increased scalability
• Inclusion in the Freescale product longevity program, with a minimum of 15 years of product availability. For Terms and Conditions and to obtain a list of available products please see: www.Freescale.com/productlongevity.

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Comprehensive enablement and certification support

Freescale offers extensive tools for rapid prototyping with the PX series, including:

• Modular Tower System hardware development platform with QuickStart code initialization
• RAppID Toolbox with links to the MathWorks Simulink® environment
• FreeMASTER debug GUI
• Multicore development & verification toolset, optimized compilers, MISRA C error checking from Green Hills Software

In addition, Freescale works with third-party partners to create a comprehensive functional safety ecosystem that includes RTOS, tool chains, training and certification support, all of which helps guide customers through the certification process for their end products. Functional safety support documentation is available for the PXS20 and includes a safety manual and a failure modes, effects and diagnostic analysis (FMEDA).

“Freescale’s PX Series family of microcontrollers offers an impressive range of innovative features uniquely targeted for functional safety and general purpose applications,” said David Kleidermacher, chief technology officer, Green Hills Software. “We’re thrilled to offer PX customers our proven Platform Solutions targeting Industrial Safety – enabling them to dial in the level of software functional safety that best matches their business and certification needs. Customers can choose from our IEC61508 (SIL 3) pre-certified operating systems, highest performance EEMBC-certified compilers, safety conformant tools and our industry recognized safety certification services – all tuned to the Power Architecture e200 core.”

Availability and pricing

PXS20 MCUs are available from Freescale and authorized distributors worldwide in cost-effective QFP and 257 packages in -40°C to 105°C temperature ranges, with select parts available at 125°C. Suggested resale pricing starts at $6.49 (USD) in 10,000-unit quantities.

For more information, visit www.freescale.com/PXS20.

Resources

Freescale PXS20 Family
Freescale Power Architecture
SafeAssure Functional Safety Program
@Freescale on Twitter
Freescale on Facebook
Freescale YouTube Channel
Freescale Embedded Beat Blog
The function of functional safety

Freescale SafeAssure program: Functional Safety. Simplified.

The Freescale SafeAssure functional safety program is designed to help system manufacturers more easily achieve system compliance with functional safety standards: International Standards Organization (ISO) 26262 and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61508. The program highlights Freescale solutions – hardware and software – that are optimally designed to support functional safety implementations and come with a rich set of enablement collateral. For more information, visit www.freescale.com/SafeAssure.

About Freescale Semiconductor

Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE:FSL) is a global leader in embedded processing solutions, providing industry leading products that are advancing the automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. From microprocessors and microcontrollers to sensors, analog integrated circuits and connectivity – our technologies are the foundation for the innovations that make our world greener, safer, healthier and more connected. Some of our key applications and end-markets include automotive safety, hybrid and all-electric vehicles, next generation wireless infrastructure, smart energy management, portable medical devices, consumer appliances and smart mobile devices. The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing and sales operations around the world. www.freescale.com

Freescale and the Freescale logo are trademarks of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc., Reg. U.S. Pat. & Tm. Off. SafeAssure and the SafeAssure logo are trademarks of Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. The Power Architecture and Power.org word marks and the Power and Power.org logos and related marks are trademarks and service marks licensed by Power.org. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners. © 2012 Freescale Semiconductor, Inc.

Source: Freescale Semiconductor

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