7.5.3 Internal Fault Management and Memory Error Correction (ECC)

The UCD90160 verifies the firmware checksum at each power up. If it does not match, then the device waits for I²C commands but does not execute the firmware. A device configuration checksum verification is also performed at power up. If it does not match, the factory default configuration is loaded. The PMBALERT# pin is asserted and a flag is set in the status register. The error-log checksum validates the contents of the error log to make sure that section of flash is not corrupted.

There is an internal firmware watchdog timer. If it times out, the device resets so that if the firmware program is corrupted, the device goes back to a known state. This is a normal device reset, so all of the GPIO pins are open-drain and the FPWM pins are driven low while the device is in reset. Checks are also done on each parameter that is passed, to make sure it falls within the acceptable range.

Error-correcting code (ECC) is used to improve data integrity and provide high-reliability storage of Data Flash contents. ECC uses dedicated hardware to generate extra check bits for the user data as it is written into the Flash memory. This adds an additional six bits to each 32-bit memory word stored into the Flash array. These extra check bits, along with the hardware ECC algorithm, allow for any single-bit error to be detected and corrected when the Data Flash is read.