Automotive Electronics

Microchip has announced Autosar-ready ISO 26262-compliant dsPIC33C MCUs for vehicle use. Developed following ISO 26262 process, the dsPIC33CK family has hardware features intended to simplify functional safety certifications for ASIL-B and SIL-2 automotive and industrial safety-critical applications. The dsPIC33CK1024MP7xx part of the family has 1Mbyte of flash and “enables applications running automotive software like Autosar, OS, MCAL drivers, ISO 26262 functional ...

Coventry University has received £1 million in funding to support a skills hub for specialist training around the electrification of vehicles. Aiming to supporting the Power Electronics, Machines and Drives (PEMD) community, it will be a specialised “market space” in which different sectors and training providers can get involved, said the university. The project is being supported by funding from ...

Vishay Intertechnology has introduced a series of surface-mount bidirectional transient voltage suppressors in SMC (DO-214AB) packaging for automotive, industrial and telecom use. Surge capability is 3kW at 10/1,000μs to meet the specifications of ISO 16750-2 Pulse b. Called the SMC3KxxxCAHM3_A series, leakage current can be as low as 1μA from 22 to 120V, and operatioj is up to 175°C. For high reliability, ...

Chinese automotive part supplier Zhuhai Enpower Electric has picked IGBTs from Infineon for its latest traction inverter. “Enpower follows the technology route of designing motor control units with discrete components,” said Enpower R&D director Liu Hongxin. “Infineon’s discrete IGBTs are compatible with the last generation in terms of packaging. Together with the high current density, low saturation voltage and good ...

Infineon has created a 60GHz radar for in-vehicle occupancy detection – scanning the cabin for people and pets. “In-cabin monitoring systems detect micro-movements as well as vital signs of left-behind infants and animals and sound the alarm,” according to the company. “The radar sensor enables additional functions such as seat belt reminder and applications such as gesture sensing.” BGT60ATR24C, as ...

National Instruments has announced a fleet of vehicles for Europe, the US and China that will record data for autonomous driving research. The intention is to provide data for training, testing and validating perception algorithms and hardware. “ADAS data recording is one of the most complex challenges, as data from multiple sensor modalities – camera, radar, lidar, ultrasonics, infrared, IMUs, ...

Infineon has added to its LITIX LED controller portfolio with the dual-channel, stand-alone DC-DC controller TLD6098-2ES. The controller is the first product that can drive a full LED headlamp by itself without an additional microcontroller. It can also operate the four standard LED front light functions: High Beam (HB), Low Beam (LB), Daytime Running Lights (DRL) and Turn Signal (TURN). ...

The European Investment Bank (EIB) has granted an €8 million loan to Sensible 4 of Finland which has developed Level 4 automated driving software enabling any vehicle to operate under challenging weather conditions, including snow, heavy rain, fog and sandstorms. The loan is part of the European Guarantee Fund’s venture debt product to provide liquidity to small and medium-sized companies ...

Renesas is putting Y90bn into a 300mm power semiconductor fab in Kai City, Yamanashi Prefecture, citing the rise of electric vehicles as motivation. This is the Kofu Factory, closed in October 2014 when it ran 150mm and 200mm wafer lines in its 18,000m2 cleanroom, now to re-open in 2024 “to enhance production capacity for power semiconductors such as IGBTs”, according to the ...

Rohm revealed details of its fourth generation of silicon carbide mosfets at PCIM in Nurembeg, claiming up to 50% lower switching loss and 40 % reduction of on-resistance compared to its earlier parts, without sacrificing short-circuit ruggedness. They are all trench types and have more flexible gate drive requirements than before – operating at 15 – 18V, with support for ...