The European Chips Skills Academy (ECSA) continues to expand its e-learning offering with the launch of a new course from Synopsys, now available on the ECSA e-Learning platform. The course, Test & Repair of SoCs for Functional Safety Applications, provides learners with structured insight into how safety-critical automotive and industrial chips are designed, tested, and maintained to meet functional safety and reliability requirements.

As vehicles, industrial systems, and connected devices become more software-driven and semiconductor-dependent, ensuring the safety and reliability of System-on-Chips (SoCs) has become a critical challenge. This course addresses that need by focusing on the technologies, standards, and engineering practices that support functional safety across the entire SoC lifecycle.

Understanding Functional Safety in SoC Design

The course introduces the principles of functional safety and explains how they are applied in automotive and other safety-critical SoC applications. Learners are guided through the role of key industry standards such as ISO 26262 and Automotive Safety Integrity Levels (ASIL), and how these requirements influence chip architecture, verification strategies, and testing approaches.

In addition, the course highlights how test, diagnosis, and repair IP contributes to achieving safety certification by enabling fault detection, fault isolation, and system-level reliability.

Testing, Diagnosis, and Repair Across the SoC Lifecycle

A central theme of the course is the full lifecycle of SoC test and repair. Learners explore how complex chips — including memories, processors, and mixed-signal blocks — are tested during manufacturing and monitored during operation. Topics such as hierarchical testing, field-oriented test strategies, and defect analysis provide insight into how safety-critical SoCs maintain reliability over long operational lifetimes.

The course also covers the use of embedded test, redundancy, and repair mechanisms that allow faults to be detected and corrected in both factory and in-field environments.

Error Correction and Reliability Strategies

To support robust system operation, the course examines error correction strategies, including multi-bit error correction and diagnostic coverage. Learners gain an understanding of how ECC, redundancy, and diagnostic systems work together to mitigate transient and permanent faults, supporting both functional safety targets and long-term system availability.

Security and Risk Awareness in Safety-Critical Systems

Recognising the increasing convergence of safety and security, the course also introduces ICT security standards and risk identification. Learners are shown how security engineering, vulnerability analysis, and network-level risk assessment contribute to the overall trustworthiness of connected automotive and industrial systems.

Strengthening Semiconductor Skills Across Europe

With the launch of this new Synopsys course, the ECSA e-Learning platform continues to provide industry-aligned training that supports Europe’s growing semiconductor and automotive ecosystems. The platform offers learners access to high-quality, structured learning designed to improve understanding of complex, safety-critical technologies and prepare them for evolving industry requirements.

The course Test & Repair of SoCs for Functional Safety Applications is now available on the ECSA e-Learning platform.

Learn more and start exploring the course at:
https://learn.chipsacademy.eu

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