ISO 26262 and AEC-Q certification for automotive electronics: understand the connections and differences in this article

1. Distinguish the core positioning in one sentence

• AEC-Q: tubeComponent reliability——Whether the chip/device can be carried and used in the car.
• ISO 26262: tubeSystem functional safety——Whether something will happen if the electronic control of the vehicle fails.

2. ISO 26262: Functional safety standard (system level)

• full name：Road vehicles – Functional safety
• core goals: Control the risk of electronic and electrical system failure to avoid personal safety accidents
• Overwrite object：
  • System/Hardware/Software
  • Complete development process (requirements → design → verification → mass production)
• core output：ASIL level (ASIL A～D, D is the highest)
• Key points: Not only look at the product, but alsoprocess compliance

3. AEC-Q: Component Reliability Standard (Part Level)

• Formulator：Automotive Electronics Council
• core goals: Ensure that chips, discrete devices and passive components are stable and reliable in the vehicle environment
• Common series：
  • AEC-Q100: Integrated circuits (MCU, SoC, power supply, etc.)
  • AEC-Q101: Discrete devices (MOSFETs, diodes, etc.)
  • AEC-Q200: Passive components (resistors, capacitors, inductors, etc.)
• core content: High and low temperature, temperature change, damp heat, mechanical impact, life span, etc.Reliability test
• Key points: Test onlydevice itself, regardless of system and software

4. The connection between the two

1. Same goal: All to improve the safety and reliability of automotive electronics
2. Hierarchy
   • AEC-Q Yesbasic threshold: The device must pass AEC-Q before it can be used in automotive systems.
   • ISO 26262 YesHigh level requirements: For a system to pass functional safety, it is almost necessary to use AEC-Q devices
3. indispensable：
   • Only AEC-Q ≠ functional safety standard
   • Without AEC-Q → ISO 26262 is basically impossible to pass

5. The key differences between the two (clear at a glance)

6. Significance to domestic automotive chips

• The current domestic car core self-sufficiency rate is approximately10%, it’s not that the technology is incompetent, butStuck in certification cycle。
• AEC-Q and ISO 26262 certification processes are long and strict, and are generallyyear unit。
• A large number of domestic MCU, power supply, analog, and sensor chips have completed research and development and are in the process of passing certification.The self-sufficiency rate will increase rapidly in the next 1–2 years。

Summary

• AEC-Q is the ticket: Ensure that the device can be used in the car.
• ISO 26262 is a pass: Ensure system security and controllability.
• The combination of the two is completeVehicle-level safety system, is also a key symbol of the real rise of domestic automotive electronics.