ROHM receives certification under functional safety standard

ISO 26262 was formulated in 2011 as an international standard for functional safety in response to the rising demand for safety performance along with the increasing automation and functionality required in the worldwide automotive market.

In recent years, technical innovation represented by ADAS has accelerated, and to ensure the highest level of safety in vehicles it is necessary to achieve safety targets at the semiconductor level that make up automotive components.

"In ISO 26262 Functional Safety Standard for Automobiles, demand is growing in recent years for a higher level of safety in the electronic components to be used in on-road vehicles. ISO 26262 is also an important standard because it will cover technical innovations related to ADAS. Such innovations are one of the hottest auto-industry topics in recent days. The second edition of the standard is scheduled to be issued this year. The standard's scope will be expanded to include buses, trucks and motorbikes.

"There will be a new section on the reliability of semiconductors, because devices containing semiconductors are central to functional safety, which is essential to the development of autonomous vehicles. ROHM receives an ISO 26262 process certification, ahead of any of its competitors. I believe that this will enable them to produce a stable supply of functionally safe products. The company will be engaging in product development in compliance with ASIL-D, and it seems likely that the results of their efforts will be of substantial benefit to their customers." stated Schweinfurter, President and CEO of TÜV Rheinland Japan.

ROHM has adopted a vertically-integrated production system, from development to manufacturing, within the Group based on a corporate mission of 'Quality First' established since the company was founded, making it possible to incorporate a high level of quality into each process while achieving accurate traceability and an optimised supply chain.

ROHM has also established dedicated production lines for automotive products and implemented product development that conforms to standards related to quality management systems (IATF 16949) and electronic component reliability (AEC-Q100/101). And going forward, they will apply ISO 26262 certified development process to products such as power supply and timing controller ICs used in applications for functional safety.

As the role of electronic parts in vehicles continues to increase, ROHM is committed to manufacturing products that will contribute to safer, more environmentally-friendly vehicles by acquiring ISO 26262 certification for the development process.

Terminology: ISO 26262
An international standard on the functional safety of automotive of electrical controls officially issued in November 2011. This standardises the development process to achieve functional safety by calculating the risk of failure in vehicle electronic control and incorporates mechanisms in the system in advance as a way to minimise these risks.

The entire development life cycle of the vehicle is covered, from overall vehicle design to the system, ECU, embedded software, and device development, along with the production, maintenance, and disposal thereof.

Functional safety
Functional safety involves safety measures (concepts for ensuring safety) that minimise risk by adding mechanisms such as monitoring equipment and protective functions.

In the automotive market, functional safety minimises risk to an acceptable level so as to prevent bodily injury in the event of malfunction due to electronic system failure. ISO 26262 is an automotive functional safety standard. Meanwhile, the protective functions frequently referred to in ICs ensure the safety of the IC itself by monitoring for internal malfunctions and/or damage.