Infineon, Xilinx and Xylon present IP core safety-critical applications
In a bid to deliver more flexibility in the use of safety microcontrollers in automotive and industrial applications, Infineon Technologies, Xilinx and Xylon present a new Xylon IP core called logiHSSL. It enables high-speed communication between Infineon’s Aurix TC2xx and TC3xx microcontrollers and Xilinx’ SoC, MPSoC and FPGA devices via the Infineon High Speed Serial Link (HSSL). This serial link supports baud rates of up to 320Mbaud at a data rate of up to 84 per cent, reports Infineon.
The HSSL is an Infineon native interface which only requires five pins, two LVDS with two pins each and one clock pin. It is used to exchange data between Aurix devices and customer ASICs to extend function or performance. logiHSSL will allow system developers to combine safety and security provided by Aurix with the range of functional possibilities provided by the Xilinx devices, explains Infineon. Linked devices can access and control each other’s internal and connected resources through the HSSL.
“Our Aurix microcontrollers are the market reference for many safety-critical applications, for example in advanced driver assistance [systems or ADAS] and automated driving [AD],” said Ralf Koedel, marketing director, microcontrollers at Infineon. “Now, we are creating new options for our customers in emerging applications that are both performance-hungry and safety-critical,” he continued, adding that as well as automotive, applications can also be found in industrial automation.
Xilinx FPGAs are used in ADAS and AD architectures for data aggregation, pre-processing, distribution and the more obvious task of compute acceleration. Paul Zoratti, director automotive solutions, Xilinx, adds: “Coupled with the Aurix family providing ASIL D level functional safety, this has created a strong market pull for an FPGA-based HSSL solution. Xylon’s licensable IP core will enable customers to implement a reliable HSSL communications path between Xilinx and Infineon devices without expending valuable development resources.”
A starter kit is available, which includes an Xilinx evaluation kit, an Infineon Aurix evaluation board and an Xylon FMC board. There is also a reference design with the test software application, Xylon’s logicBRICKS evaluation licenses, documentation and technical support.
Visit Infineon at Embedded World (Hall 3A, stand 3A-231) and distribution partner EBV (Hall 3A, stand 3A-229)
