In this EDN article, Enrique Martinez Asensio, Functional Safety Manager at EnSilica, examines how functional safety principles apply to battery-powered home appliances and argues that, for many such systems, a custom ASIC can offer the most cost-effective way to achieve safety and compliance with international standards such as IEC 60335 and UL 1642.
Covering applications from Li-ion battery management to motor control, the article breaks down the trade-offs between discrete components and ASIC integration, explains how mature CMOS and BCD process technologies can significantly reduce mask and NRE costs, and provides practical guidance for designers assessing ASIC versus commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) strategies in safety-critical consumer products. This piece highlights how functional safety and ASIC economics intersect in real-world embedded systems. (edn.com)
Read the full article on EDN: https://www.edn.com/consider-asics-for-implementing-functional-safety-in-battery-powered-home-appliances/