
UM1915 Rev 3
35/43
UM1915
Safety analysis results
42
is a consequence of the performed FFI analysis.
4.2 Dependent
failures
analysis
The analysis of dependent failures is important for microcontrollers. The main sub-classes
of dependent failures are the Common Cause Failures (CCF).
According to ISO 26262 they need to be addressed on a qualitative basis (ISO 26262-
9:2011, 7.4.1 Note3) but an evaluation can be supported by appropriate checklists.
Measures for the resolution of CCF need to include the measures for preventing their root
causes, or for controlling their effects, or for reducing the coupling factors. The ISO 26262-
10:2011, Annex A includes a paragraph dedicated to initiators and measures for dependent
failures. The ISO 26262-9:2011, 7.4.4 Note1 says that IEC 61508 provides information that
can be used as a basis to establish such checklists. Anyway, as there are no on-chip
redundancies on STM8AF devices, the CCF quantification through BetaIC computation
method is not required.
The STM8AF device architecture and structure are potential sources of dependent failures.
These are analyzed in the following sections. The referred safety mechanisms are
described in detail in
Section 3.6: Safety mechanisms/measures.
4.2.1 Power
supply
Power supply is a potential source of dependent failures, because any alteration can
affect many parts, leading to not-independent failures. The following safety mechanisms
address and mitigate those dependent failures:
•
VSUP_SM_1: detection of abnormal value of supply voltage;
•
VSUP_SM_2: the independent watchdog has a different supply source from the digital
core of the MCU, and this diversity helps to mitigate dependent failures related to the
main supply alterations.
The adoption of such safety mechanisms is therefore strongly recommended despite their
minor contribution to the safety metrics to reach the required safety integrity level. Refer to
Section 3.6.16: Supply voltage system
for the detailed safety mechanism descriptions.
4.2.2 Clock
System clocks are a potential source of dependent failures, because alterations in the clock
characteristics (frequency, jitter) can affect many parts, leading to not-independent failures.
The following safety mechanisms address and mitigate those dependent failures:
•
CLK_SM_1: the clock security system is able to detect hard alterations (stop) of
system clock and activate the adequate recovery actions.
•
CLK_SM_2: the independent watchdog has a dedicated clock source. The frequency
alteration of the system clock leads to the watchdog window violations by the
triggering routine on the application software, leading to the MCU reset by watchdog.
The adoption of such safety mechanism is strongly recommended despite their minor
contribution to the safety metrics to reach the required safety integrity level. The use of
system watchdog (WWDG) increases the overall capability to keep the flow under control.
Refer to
Section 3.6.17: Reset and clock control subsystems
for detailed safety
mechanisms description.