Fast Route to Safety-Compliant Appliances: Free VDE Certified Library for XMC Microcontrollers Satisfies IEC60730 Class B Standard

Neubiberg, Germany – September 30, 2013 – Infineon Technologies AG (FSE: IFX / OTCQX: IFNNY) today announced the availability of a free VDE certified IEC 60730 self-test library for its XMC1000 and XMC4000 families of industrial 32-bit microcontrollers. With the Infineon Class B library packages, the XMC1000 and XMC4000 families satisfy the requirements defined by IEC 60730 Class B, a standard which is mandatory since October 2007 for the safety of household appliances sold in Europe. The standard affects all electronic controls used in home appliances to prevent unsafe operation, e.g. cookers and motor controls for dishwashers, refrigerators, dryers, cloth washers, and fans. In order to get household products certified, embedded microcontrollers have to perform certain self-tests to prove that they are running correctly at all times.

VDE is the German Association for Electrical, Electronic & Information Technologies and one of Europe’s largest technical and scientific associations with more than 36,000 members. VDE provides an independent test and certification institute.

XMC hardware functions meet Class B requirements

The XMC microcontrollers integrate all hardware functions to meet Class B requirements, such as a CRC engine and watchdog with an independent clock. Combining these with the free self-test software library that offers detailed tests and diagnostic methods, XMC microcontrollers support a very effective approach to implement the related safety functionality for Class B certification. In addition to the startup tests such as reset mechanism, memory test (RAM, Flash, ECC and parity), clock system test (source, PLL and oscillators) and core tests, a rich set of runtime tests is provided. As a consequence, test routines on the CPU and on the microcontroller peripherals evaluated by a safety period monitoring mechanism ensure exact achievement of the Class B requirements on extremely high diagnostic coverage. The modular library design allows easy integration of startup tests and runtime tests into the application software or the customers’ software designs.

XMC microcontrollers at a glance

Specifically developed to replace low-end 8-bit industrial MCUs, XMC1000 microcontrollers offer 32-bit performance at 8-bit prices and are targeted for use in household appliances. XMC1000 microcontrollers combine the ARM® Cortex™-M0 processor with an advanced 32-bit peripheral set. Target applications include sensor and actuator systems, LED lighting, digital power conversion, such as uninterruptible power supplies, and simple motor drives, such as those used in household appliances, pumps, fans and e-bikes.

XMC4000 microcontrollers are based on the ARM® Cortex™-M4 processor and offer application-optimized peripherals and outstanding real-time capability for electric drives, solar inverters and the automation of manufacturing and buildings. With flexible timers, fast ADCs, fast and robust Flash memory, extended temperature ranges of up to 125 °C and support for a large number of communications protocols they are well-suited for applications that improve energy efficiency.

Both the XMC1000 and XMC4000 are supported by the free, integrated development platform DAVE, which makes development of application-oriented software user-friendly and eases transition between the XMC1000 and XMC4000 families.

Cooperation with embedded systems solutions provider

In the field of Class B software library Infineon today cooperates with the embedded systems solutions provider Hitex Development Tools. Hitex provides the Class B software library for the XMC microcontrollers and supports XMC users to receive certification through VDE.

Availability

The Class B Certified packages are available for all products of the XMC4000 and XMC1000 families. They comprise the complete library and documentation.

Further information

The free software library supporting single-channel architecture with periodic self-test routines to be called at system startup or periodically at system run time is available at www.infineon.com/classB.

Further product information for the XMC4000 and XMC1000 families is available at www.infineon.com/xmc. DAVE is available as a free download from the Infineon website at www.infineon.com/dave.

Further information on Hitex is available at www.hitex.com

Infineon Technologies AG, Neubiberg, Germany, offers semiconductor and system solutions addressing three central challenges to modern society: energy efficiency, mobility, and security. In the 2012 fiscal year (ending September 30), the Company reported sales of Euro 3.9 billion with close to 26,700 employees worldwide. Infineon is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange (ticker symbol: IFX) and in the USA on the over-the-counter market OTCQX International Premier (ticker symbol: IFNNY).