Microchip Simplifies Automotive Designs with ISO 26262-Compliant, AUTOSAR-Ready Devices and Ecosystem

OEMs are experiencing increasing application complexity and the need for AUTOSAR, ISO 26262 functional safety-compliant and secure solutions as the market for electric and autonomous vehicles grows. For automotive developers looking to design scalable applications for future technology while also meeting the latest automotive requirements, Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP) today announces a comprehensive ecosystem around AUTOSAR-ready dsPIC33C Digital Signal Controllers (DSCs) to enable accelerated development and a high level of system optimization while reducing total system cost.

Microchip is expanding its broad portfolio of dsPIC33C DSCs to cover the large memory segment with the new ISO 26262-compliant dsPIC33CK1024MP7xx family. This new family of dsPIC33C DSCs with 1 MB Flash enables applications running automotive software like AUTOSAR, OS, MCAL drivers, ISO 26262 functional safety diagnostics and security libraries. The family of dsPIC33 DSCs also includes a high-performance Central Processing Unit (CPU) with deterministic response and specialized peripherals for general automotive, advanced sensing and control, digital power and motor control applications.

“The AUTOSAR-ready dsPIC33C DSCs enable designers to achieve a high level of system optimization by implementing AUTOSAR-based applications, functional safety goals and security use cases in a single microcontroller (MCU) while meeting robust automotive application requirements,” said Joe Thomsen, vice president of the MCU16 business unit at Microchip Technology. “This opens up a world of opportunities for designers looking to work with Microchip while expanding into e-mobility and advanced sensing and control applications.”

The benefit of adopting AUTOSAR-ready devices like this one is that customers can improve their risk and complexity management while decreasing development time through reusability. Customers who have previously designed bare metal or non-AUTOSAR automotive applications and are now adopting AUTOSAR can scale up by staying within the dsPIC33C DSC ecosystem and continuing to take advantage of Microchip’s value-added solutions, customer support and product advantages with the new AUTOSAR-ready dsPIC33C DSCs. The AUTOSAR ecosystem for the dsPIC33C DSCs includes MICROSAR Classic from Vector, KSAR OS from KPIT Technologies Ltd. and ASPICE- and ASIL B-compliant MCAL drivers from Microchip.

“We have worked with our partners to offer an integrated solution to simplify development for automotive OEMs and Tier 1s” said Matthias Kaestner, vice president of Microchip’s automotive products business unit. “The integrated solution gives insights into the AUTOSAR-based development. It simplifies evaluation of an ECU project using AUTOSAR 4.3.x and enables customers to get familiar with the systems based on dsPIC33 AUTOSAR-ready DSCs quickly.”

Microchip has expanded its functional safety packages that include FMEDA reports, safety manuals and diagnostic libraries to cover the ISO 26262-compliant dsPIC33CK1024MP7xx DSCs. These AUTOSAR-ready dsPIC33C DSCs, used together with Microchip’s TA100 CryptoAutomotive^TM security integrated circuits (ICs), enable the implementation of robust security in automotive designs.

Development Tools

Software and tools from Microchip Technology include certified MPLAB^® XC16 compiler functional safety licenses, MPLAB X Integrated Development Environment (IDE), MPLAB Code Configurator (MCC), programming and debugging tools for dsPIC33C DSCs, ISO 26262- and ASPICE-compliant MCAL drivers for dsPIC33C DSCs, ISO 26262 functional safety packages for dsPIC33C DSCs and software libraries and reference code for security use cases. Third-party software includes MICROSAR Classic from Vector and KSAR OS from KPIT Technologies Ltd. Third-party hardware tools include TRACE32^® debugger from Lauterbach.

Availability

For information about AUTOSAR BSW, OS and MCAL drivers supporting dsPIC33C DSCs, visit www.microchip.com/dsPIC33-AUTOSAR-Ready. For information about the dsPIC33CK1024MP708 DSCs that offer up to 100 MHz real-time performance, 1 MB Flash, dual CAN FD interfaces and dedicated peripherals for advanced sensing and control, digital power, motor control and high-performance general automotive applications, visit www.microchip.com/dsPIC33CK1024MP708. For information about the ISO 26262 functional safety packages, secure solutions and tools ecosystem for the AUTOSAR-ready dsPIC33C DSCs, visit www.microchip.com/dsPIC33-Automotive or contact a Microchip sales representative.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. is a leading provider of smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions. Its easy-to-use development tools and comprehensive product portfolio enable customers to create optimal designs which reduce risk while lowering total system cost and time to market. The company’s solutions serve more than 120,000 customers across the industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications and computing markets. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com.

Microchip Introduces Industry’s Highest-Performance 16-Channel PCIe Gen 5 Enterprise NVMe SSD Controller

As data processing requirements continue to evolve, cloud-scale infrastructure requires solutions that maximize bandwidth, minimize latency, and are optimized for efficient resource utilization. Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP) today announced the newest member of the Flashtec® controller family, the NVMe® 4016 SSD controller. As the industry’s highest-performing PCIe® Gen 5 NVMe SSD controller, the Flashtec NVMe 4016 addresses the market demand for high-reliability, high-performance solid-state drives (SSDs) delivering greater than 14 GB per second throughput and over 3 million IOPS. With advanced Credit Management technology, this next-generation controller offers the stringent Quality of Service (QoS) required by today’s cloud-focused data center applications.

“Microchip is proud to announce the next generation of our Flashtec NVMe controller product line. Its market-leading performance, coupled with our proven and flexible architecture, means the NVMe 4016 can provide our cloud and OEM customers with a cutting-edge platform for their PCIe Gen 5 NVMe SSD solutions,” said Pete Hazen, vice president of Microchip’s data center solutions business unit.

With 16 high-speed programmable NAND Flash channels capable of up to 2400 MT/s, this fourth generation Flashtec controller can utilize full PCIe Gen 5 x 4 speed bandwidth. The NVMe 4016 allows current customers to leverage their existing firmware investment in previous generations and gives new clients the confidence and flexibility to adopt this proven platform for their toughest cloud and enterprise applications.

“Microchip’s controller solutions are a strong match for our wide array of TLC and QLC SSDs and future NAND technologies,” said Greg Matson, vice president of strategic planning and marketing, Data Center Group, Solidigm™. “They offer a compelling combination of features, scalability and security for next-generation cloud and enterprise architectures.”

“How we rapidly promote cutting-edge technology to our clients is crucial for us,” said Mr. Zhong Ji, deputy general manager, Storage R&D, Inspur. “Maximizing the benefits of reusing known generational architectures reduces development risk and effort. Having a fully mature reference solution such as the Flashtec controller PCIe Gen 5 design will definitely accelerate the efficiency and quality with which we provide leading technology to the market.”

As an NVMe 2.0 compliant controller, the NVMe 4016 not only supports all the latest storage and performance compute applications, including Zoned Name Spaces (ZNS) and cloud Open Compute Platform (OCP), its flexible architecture also enables customers to future proof for continually evolving NVMe specifications.

“Meeting the challenging demands of hyperscale data center environments for scalable efficiency in terms of manageability, power, performance and thermals has been the focus of industry standards such as the OCP data center NVMe SSD Specification and EDSFF E1.S as a form factor,” said Ross Stenfort, hardware system engineer, Storage at Meta. “The Flashtec NVMe 4016 controller supports these requirements to enable SSD makers to meet hyperscale needs.”

“The Flashtec NVMe 4016 Gen 5 SSD controller provides the needed performance and architecture for next-generation NAND,” said Dr. Taile Zhang, chief executive officer of Memblaze. “Memblaze and Microchip have developed a great partnership to advance data center efficiency and bring the flexibility needed to address the cloud storage requirements of today and tomorrow.”

The NVMe 4016 is also the first PCIe Gen 5 controller to introduce PCIe link encryption support as one of the many feature enhancements in this new generation of Flashtec controllers. With dual signature authentication and Trusted Platform support, the NVMe 4016 controller meets all critical storage and enterprise application security needs. The NVMe 4016’s advanced virtualization capabilities enable the large-scale deployment of Virtual Machines (VMs) as well as Physical Functions (PF) per port for the most efficient utilization of the PCIe resources in ever-growing data center and cloud computing infrastructures.

“Intel’s upcoming Next Gen Intel Xeon Scalable processors, code named Sapphire Rapids, will implement PCI Express 5.0 running at up to 32.0 GT/s to deliver the low-latency and high-bandwidth I/O solutions our customers need to deploy,” said Dr. Debendra Das Sharma, senior fellow and chief architect, I/O Technologies and Standards, Intel. “We are pleased to see Microchip’s PCIe 5.0 Flashtec drive controller investment strengthen the ecosystem and drive broader deployment of PCIe 5.0 solutions.”

“Supporting ecosystem growth with the industry’s latest standards is key for enabling modern data centers,” said Raghu Nambiar, corporate vice president, Data Center Ecosystems and Solutions, AMD. “Our next-generation technologies are well positioned to take advantage of new standards like PCIe Gen 5, enabling next-generation applications in the data center. We are pleased to collaborate with key industry leaders such as Microchip to enable the performance and scalability our customers need for their demanding workloads.”

The advanced ECC features armed with stronger bit error correction capabilities continue to pave the way for utilization of denser NAND Flash technologies like Qual-Level-Cell (QLC) Flash into the mainstream and storage space. The Flashtec controller’s innovation continues with the addition of a new, programmable Machine Learning (ML) engine in the NVMe 4016 controller, capable of a variety of pattern recognition and classification functions that are employed in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and ML applications. The NVMe 4016 controller’s new ML technology presents endless opportunities for SSD builders and suppliers to manage SSDs for maximum performance and cost benefits.

“We are pleased to work with enablers like Microchip that continue to advance the PCIe SSD ecosystem,” said Scott Beekman, vice president of memory products for KIOXIA America, Inc. “We congratulate Microchip on their newest addition, which features a flexible architecture to enable compatibility with the latest-generation Flash, including TLC, QLC and potentially future PLC, and new machine learning technology.”

“Supporting a wide variety of form factors allows growth and new development in the SSD ecosystem,” said Jin Lim, vice president of NAND Technology SK hynix America. “Flashtec’s PCIe Gen 5 provides endless opportunities for our partners to optimize the management of NAND Flash while enjoying maximum performance.”

Flashtec controller flexibility supports a wide variety of form factors, including EDSFF. Supported by a comprehensive development platform, debugging tools and dedicated, best-in-class, applications team, the Flashtec NVMe 4016 controller serves all the requirements for the latest SSD solution needs: high capacity, high performance, security, power optimization, and computational-storage ready.

Development Tools

Microchip’s Flashtec NVMe 4016 SSD controller offers several options for software and hardware support. A complete software development kit includes Microchip’s reference firmware with optional hardened firmware modules, simulation tools, debug tools including Microchip’s Chiplink diagnostic tools, evaluation boards and reference designs, global support and a full suite of collateral.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. is a leading provider of smart connected and secure embedded control solutions. Its easy-to-use development tools and comprehensive product portfolio enable customers to create optimal designs which reduce risk while lowering total system cost and time to market. The company’s solutions serve more than 120,000 customers across the industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications and computing markets. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com.

Microchip Further Protects FPGA-based Designs with First Tool that Combats Major Industry Threat to System Security in the Field

Builds on its FPGA family’s best-in-class security to block the theft of data, intellectual property and other private information from deployed systems

June 7, 2021, New Delhi — Mission-critical and other high-assurance systems deployed worldwide are under rapidly evolving threats from cybercriminals who attempt to extract Critical Program Information (CPI) via the FPGAs that power them. Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP) today announced it has extended its FPGA family’s security with the DesignShield development tool that further helps prevent this information from being extracted for malicious purposes.

“As a leader in the security space, Microchip offers a portfolio featuring the latest countermeasures for reducing the risk of cloning, intellectual property theft, reverse engineering, or the insertion of malicious Trojan Horses,” said Bruce Weyer, vice president of Microchip’s FPGA business unit. “Protecting CPI in deployed systems with our DesignShield tool is essential for national security and economic vibrancy. The tool advances the state of bitstream protection mechanisms and provides another defensive layer in ensuring that deployed systems behave as intended and are safe from counterfeiters and their threat to a developer’s design investments and brand reputation.”

The DesignShield tool was created to protect developers of aerospace, defense and other high-assurance systems from cybercriminals trying to acquire an FPGA’s bitstream from the fielded system. It deters reverse-engineering of the bitstream, which can often include CPI, by obscuring its logical equivalent using a combination of logic and routing-based encryption techniques. This improves design security and integrity while reducing system corruption risks, and reduces the possibility that custom code, intellectual property, or information critical to national security is used by non-authorized agents.

Availability

The DesignShield tool is available under license as part of Microchip’s Early Access Program, which enables customers to begin designing with FPGA devices and design tools ahead of broader commercial availability. The DesignShield tool is part of Microchip’s Libero Development Tool Suite. For more information, contact DesignShield@microchip.com.

Microchip’s FPGA Security

Based on non-volatile flash memory, Microchip’s FPGAs offer inherently better security than SRAM-based alternatives that expose sensitive bitstream data on every power cycle. Microchip FPGAs also include unique integrated security features that prevent overbuilding and cloning, protect design IP, and provide a root of trust, secure data communications and anti-tamper capabilities. The company’s layered approach to security includes licensed, patented differential power analysis (DPA) protection, built-in certified security functions, built-in tamper detectors, and supply chain assurance that the FPGA is authentic. Security requires layers and not having a single wall to break through. DesignShield adds another layer that protects the authenticity, integrity, and confidentiality of a design.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Opens Registration for Online Education Courses for Embedded Control Engineers

The innovators who create Microchip’s products and design tools also teach engineers how best to use them in a broad range of popular embedded system applications

New Delhi, May 26, 2021 —Microchip Technology Inc. (Nasdaq: MCHP) today announced it has opened registration for online courses that educate engineers about diverse embedded design topics ranging from C programming to cryptography and help them to use its products most effectively. Microchip University courses offer best practices for implementing a wide variety of systems such as the Internet of Things (IoT), communication protocols like Bluetooth^®, Universal Serial Bus (USB) and Controller Area Network (CAN), plus bootloaders and high-speed data analysis using Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).

“Our customers now have access anytime, anywhere, to the industry’s most comprehensive range of high-quality, general embedded system control design courses,” said Ken Pye, Microchip’s vice president of worldwide applications. “These free courses teach engineers how to bring new designs to market more quickly and efficiently and get the most out of our products and development tools. We have been committed to giving our customers the highest-quality training on our products and now we make it even more accessible for engineers with all levels of experience.”

Until last year, Microchip had offered exclusively in-person training during annual conferences and Microchip University has now moved this curriculum online. Engineers learn how to use the company’s MPLAB^® Code Configurator (MCC) and Core Independent Peripherals (CIP), as well as its solutions for creating embedded Linux^® applications. The rapidly expanding course offering covers best practices in motor control, battery charging fundamentals, power supply, security, analog system design, and more. Microchip University courses also span the full range of Microchip products. Sign up for Microchip University courses taught in English, Korean, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.

About Microchip Technology

Microchip Technology Inc. is a leading provider of smart, connected, and secure embedded control solutions. Its easy-to-use development tools and comprehensive product portfolio enable customers to create optimal designs which reduce risk while lowering total system cost and time to market. The company’s solutions serve more than 120,000 customers across the industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications, and computing markets. Headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, Microchip offers outstanding technical support along with dependable delivery and quality. For more information, visit the Microchip website at www.microchip.com