Freescale PXS20 MCU family simplifies compliance for safety system designers

AUSTIN, USA: Freescale Semiconductor 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, VP 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.