The automotive industry is steering toward a future of self-driving cars, where vehicles can be controlled via smartphones, drive autonomously from the parking lot to pick up their owners, communicate with their surroundings over vehicle-to-everything (V2X) networks, and avoid roads with traffic congestions or accidents. In line with the megatrend of digitization, the automotive industry is incorporating a massive quantity of electronic control units (ECUs) and software systems in today's automobiles.
In particular, an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), in-vehicle infotainment system and digital dashboard all use a myriad of control units comprising microcontroller units (MCUs) and high-performance processing chips. Existing embedded flash memory can hardly keep up with the need of these automotive electronics systems. This gives rise to the growing use of external flash memory with increasing capacities.
As automotive electronics systems grow in the level of integration and complexity, semiconductor chips with robust security implementations to suit artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and V2X applications are grabbing industry attention. The implementations of information security - including identity authentication, crypto keys, secure boot and a range of protection technologies for data storage - have traditionally been carried out by processors. However, a new trend is emerging: making use of native security functionalities on memory chips to guarantee data confidentiality and integrity while reducing potential risks. The combined use of Macronix's new ArmorFlash solution with NVIDIA DRIVE AGX Xavier and Pegasus platforms in high-performance Level 2+ to Level 5 autonomous driving systems set a good example of success scenarios.
Dr. Donald Huang, deputy director of product marketing at Macronix International, commented during a recent interview that the industry is attaching great importance to security implementations on memory chips. The use of native functionalities including data encryption and decryption, identity authentication and anti-tamper protection on top of the "physical unclonable function" (PUF) code generated with the chips' unique and unpredictable characteristics can ensure data confidentiality and integrity. Such high-end secure memory solutions can then be incorporated in wide-ranging applications requiring robust information protection. Macronix's new ArmorFlash Series is Iconic as a secure memory solution.
ArmorFlash enables higher-level information security and protection
As global semiconductor manufacturers and tier-1 automakers exert efforts to meet market demand for higher-level information security and protection in network communication and data access solutions, Macronix leads the industry in launching its ArmorFlash total solution, pushing the frontier of flash memory data security. Macronix ArmorFlash comes with data encryption and decryption, identity authentication, anti-tamper protection, AES 256-bit encryption, TrueRandom Number Generation (TRNG) and monotonic Counter. On top of these features, ArmorFlash features the PUF code to guarantee data confidentiality and integrity. It ideally supports the use in automotive systems, industrial control applications and IoT devices throughout the product lifecycle from deployment, installation to long-term operation by enabling strong protection against data corruption and malware implant.
ArmorFlash supports SPI standards
The Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI) is a synchronous serial communication interface commonly adopted in IoT devices and automotive electronics. Memory products supporting SPI can facilitate electronics system integration, accelerate development cycle and shorten time to market. Manufactured with advanced process technologies and supporting floating gate flash memory technology, Macronix's market-recognized SPI flash memory features an amazingly high 250MHz clock frequency, making the series the fastest SPI NOR flash on the market. Macronix takes it one step further by introducing the ArmorFlash total solution with SPI support to address information security requirements by automotive electronics and IoT devices, pioneering the advances in data protection for the global flash memory industry.
AEC-Q100-Compliant ArmorFlash is available with 1.8V and 3V operating voltages
The first ArmorFlash MX75U25690F is being produced and marketed in volume. The product has passed rigorous AEC-Q100 qualification tests. With the ability to operate in extreme temperatures ranging from -40 degree C and +105 degree C, the MX75U25690F ideally supports data storage and processing in the limited footprint inside automobiles. It also works well with mainstream controller and processor chips manufactured by leading automotive chipmakers. Macronix plans to add products supporting 1.8V and 3V operating voltages to its ArmorFlash product portfolio. Going forward, Macronix's non-volatile memory product families that include SLC NAND, NOR and eMMC will also incorporate ArmorFlash to enable complete data protection for automotive electronics.
Comprehensive capacity selections to meet automotive applications
As automotive systems evolve with ever-increasing innovative features, they need increasingly larger memory capacity. Available in 8Mb to 8Gb capacities, Macronix's ArmorFlash products are designed to meet the two main market requirements: large capacity and robust security. The MX75 ArmorFlash Flash Memory solutions in BGA, SOP or KGD packages are being shipped to customers for authentication and crypto key protection purposes in wide-ranging IoT devices, automotive electronics, smart home products and industrial applications.
Macronix attended 2019 Semicon Taiwan: Smart Transportation Forum, taking place September 18, 2019, and invited attendees to experience the enormous development potential of ArmorFlash in the automotive sector. Visit http://www.semicontaiwan.org/zh/node/14571 for more information.
Macronix ArmorFlash memory optimal for secure authenticity & confidentiality
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