Synopsys Introduces DesignWare ARC EM SEP Processor for Safety-Compliant Automotive Systems

"As a provider of high-performance semiconductors for use in automotive systems it is critical that our products adhere to the highest safety standards," said Vijay Mangtani, business unit director for power ICs at Allegro MicroSystems. "Support for ISO 26262 automotive safety standards is key to enabling us to meet automotive safety system requirements in our chips.  Synopsys' commitment to support these standards in processor cores like the ARC EM SEP helps automotive IC designers meet this important market requirement."

The ARC EM SEP core is configurable to meet the unique performance, power and area requirements of each target application. Giving designers the ability to define custom instructions facilitates the integration of proprietary hardware accelerators that improve application-specific performance while reducing power consumption and the amount of memory required—critical requirements in embedded automotive designs. The EM SEP processor integrates hardware safety features including ECC for single-bit error correction and double-bit error detection, and parity protection for single-bit error detection on closely coupled memories. To minimize system-level latencies and silicon area, SoC peripherals can be directly mapped to the CPU to enable single cycle access. Native ARM® AMBA®, AHB™, AHB-Lite™ and BVCI standard interfaces are configurable for 32-bit or 64-bit transactions to optimize system throughput. Support for ARC EM SEP in Synopsys' Virtualizer™ virtual prototyping environment allows for seamless integration with tools such as Mathworks' Simulink®, Vector's CANoe and Synopsys' Saber to enable virtual hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation and fault testing. 

The DesignWare ARC MetaWare Compiler and accompanying safety documentation help developers of safety-critical systems fulfill the requirements of the ISO 26262 standard. The IP safety collateral, including a safety manual and safety guide, makes it easier for automotive designers to prepare their documentation for ISO 26262 compliance testing. The compiler is part of the ARC MetaWare Development Toolkit, a complete solution for developing, debugging and optimizing embedded software targeted for ARC processors.

"Today, most critical functions in vehicles are heavily managed by electronics, driving the need for IP that has integrated safety features that meet automotive safety standards," said John Koeter, vice president of marketing for IP and systems at Synopsys. "Synopsys' new DesignWare ARC EM SEP processor and ASIL D ready compiler save designers of automotive electronic chips and systems time and effort on their path to ISO 26262 certification."

Availability & Resources

General availability of the DesignWare ARC EM SEP processor core, certified ASIL D ready compiler and associated development tools is planned for the end of October, 2013.