topic Re: KE1 ECC RAM Single Bit Corrrection in Kinetis Microcontrollers

KE1 ECC RAM Single Bit Corrrection

sean_dvorscak — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 18:37:48 GMT

Have a few questions regarding ECC.

I am currently using the MCM_LMFAR to determine where the ECC triggered a fault and then using that address to read then write back to correct it.

Questions:

1. Does the ECC have the ability to autocorrect bits? Or do I really need to perform this read/write to address to correct?

2. If there is not autocorrect, will I need to compensate for byte alignment when performing my read/write correction mechanism? Currently I am performing a 4-byte read/write at the address denoted by the MCM_LMFAR. I feel like this is dangerous as I am not sure the MCM_LMFAR will always show a 4-byte aligned address.

Re: KE1 ECC RAM Single Bit Corrrection

Celeste_Liu — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 04:09:01 GMT

Hello @sean_dvorscak ,

Thank you for your post.
Could you please let me know which specific device in the KE1 family you are using?
This will help me locate the relevant documentation more accurately or perform validation using the same device.

Celeste

Re: KE1 ECC RAM Single Bit Corrrection

sean_dvorscak — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 16:24:57 GMT

It's a KE18F512VLH16.

Thanks for your help.

Re: KE1 ECC RAM Single Bit Corrrection

Celeste_Liu — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 06:33:53 GMT

Hello @sean_dvorscak ,

Thanks for your reply.

So for your questions:

1. Does the ECC have the ability to autocorrect bits? Or do I really need to perform this read/write to address to correct?

->> Yes, ECC does support hardware correction for single-bit errors. So you should not need a software read/write sequence to obtain corrected data.

->> If implementing an optional scrub, please align the access according to the actual access size or scrub granularity, not blindly to the raw MCM_LMFAR value. Also don't use a fixed 4-byte access unless you first align the address appropriately and confirm the access size is valid.

In fact, For multi-bit / non-correctable ECC events , do not assume a read/write can repair the data, you should treat it as data corruption and recover from a known-good source or reinitialize the affected memory as appropriate.

Hope it helps.

Celeste

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: If this post answers your question, please click the "ACCEPT AS SOLUTION" button. Thank you!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Re: KE1 ECC RAM Single Bit Corrrection

sean_dvorscak — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 15:38:54 GMT

Thanks for the confirmation and info.

And yes, I am handling uncorrectable bit errors differently.

Re: KE1 ECC RAM Single Bit Corrrection

sean_dvorscak — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 18:39:03 GMT

One more question actually.

The automatic HW ECC correction functionality is enabled by default? I don't really see any bits in the MCM registers that would suggest it's a feature that can be disabled/enabled.

Re: KE1 ECC RAM Single Bit Corrrection

Celeste_Liu — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 02:24:40 GMT

Yes, ECC checking/generation is enabled by default after reset.

Re: KE1 ECC RAM Single Bit Corrrection

sean_dvorscak — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 20:37:50 GMT

Have more follow up questions.

Does the hardware correct the data within the Memory Cell, or only on the Read Out Data?

Example from AN5335, is the Read-out Data being corrected from 0->1? That would mean we need to write back the corrected value to RAM to actually clear it.

We are concerned if the data in the RAM memory cell is not corrected, a single bit error could degrade to a double bit error.

Re: KE1 ECC RAM Single Bit Corrrection

Celeste_Liu — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 03:00:55 GMT

Hello @sean_dvorscak ,

I noticed that this thread has already been closed. To help us better track and follow up on this issue, could you please create a new post? Thank you for your cooperation.

Celeste