Microchip Technology has announced the launch of its AVR SD family of microcontrollers (MCUs), aimed at reducing system cost and complexity in safety-critical applications. The new MCUs, priced from $0.93 (approximately INR 77) per unit in bulk quantities, are designed to support strict industry safety standards while remaining affordable for large-scale deployment.
The AVR SD MCU family is the first entry-level product at this price point to support compliance with Automotive Safety Integrity Level C (ASIL C) and Safety Integrity Level 2 (SIL 2) requirements. These standards are common in the automotive, industrial automation, aerospace and medical industries, where reliability and fault tolerance are non-negotiable. The MCUs also align with ISO 26262 and IEC 61508, two of the most widely recognised safety standards.
To meet the demands of functional safety, the AVR SD MCUs include several built-in hardware features such as a dual-core lockstep CPU, dual analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs), memory error correction, a dedicated error controller, voltage and clock monitors, and mechanisms for error injection. These features help reduce the time required to detect internal faults and lower the complexity of safety software development.
One of the most notable advantages of the AVR SD family is its ability to support Fault Detection Time Interval (FDTI) targets as low as 1 millisecond. This fast fault detection capability helps prevent potentially hazardous situations, making these MCUs suitable for applications like thermal runaway detection, sensor monitoring and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).
Greg Robinson, Corporate Vice President, Microchip’s MCU business unit, highlighted that designers working on safety-critical applications have often been constrained by the high cost and complexity of suitable components. He stated that the AVR SD family offers a practical solution by integrating essential safety features into an entry-level MCU, supported by a dedicated software framework, to reduce certification and development time.
The MCUs are also ideal for use as coprocessors in complex systems where they can mirror or offload safety-related tasks. This makes them suitable even in systems that need to meet the higher ASIL D and SIL 3 standards. In sectors such as robotics, ignition control and medical infusion pumps, where accuracy and speed are critical, the AVR SD MCUs offer a reliable and economical alternative.
In terms of development tools, the MCUs are supported by the MPLAB XC8 Pro compiler certified by TÜV SÜD for functional safety. They are also compatible with Microchip’s Curiosity Nano development board. Each chip is backed by a functional safety package including documents like Failure Modes and Effects Analysis reports, safety manuals, and compliance documentation.
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