Automotive & Transportation

July 2020
Single-pair Ethernet PHY w/ Leading TC10 Sleep Current
A ubiquitous Ethernet architecture simplifies the design, configuration, and control of many different applications. This is especially true for connected mobility that requires more high-speed data delivery than ever before. Automotive networks rely heavily on partial networking in which some segments are hibernated an
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Date:
07/28/2020
12V Class D Audio Amplifier Reference Designs

GaN-based Class-D provides the ultimate in audio quality in many 12V applications.

GaN Systems published the company’s latest technical manual titled, “12V High-Efficiency Audio Reference Designs using GaN Power Transistors.” The technical manual was developed in response to the well-received launch of GaN Systems Class-D audio amplifier evaluation kit in May 2020 and from growing custo
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Date:
07/28/2020
LED Driver Offers Single Solution for Automotive Apps
Taiwan Semiconductor announces the introduction of the TS19501 single channel, dimmable LED driver targeting high-brightness automotive applications. Due to the device’s highly integrated design, this single IC is well suited for virtually every automotive LED application: high and low beam headlights; daytime ru
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Date:
07/28/2020
Buck/Boost Controllers Bring Bidirectional Regulation
Mouser Electronics, Inc., is now stocking the LT8228 and LTC7871 bidirectional buck/boost controllers from Analog Devices, Inc. Offering bidirectional voltage or current regulation and bidirectional reverse current protection, the LT8228 and LTC7871 controllers provide a simple, reliable power solution for dual-battery aut
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Date:
07/27/2020
Optimized PNP Transistors for Automotive Matrix LED Lighting
Diodes Incorporated announced the availability of the automotive-compliant ZXTP56060FDBQ and ZXTP56020FDBQ dual PNP transistors. These new products provide OEMs with a highly efficient solution for controlling matrix LED light clusters. The automotive industry is migrating to adaptive LED headlights and rapidly ad
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Date:
07/23/2020
PSDcast – The H-1B Visa Restriction (Good for the Industry?)

Chris Dries, the President and CEO of UnitedSiC

You’ve probably heard that President Trump and the Department of Homeland Security took actions with mammoth ramifications for our industry. To whit, Trump restricted H-1B visas for engineers, computer programmers and other technical workers through 2020. Is this a boon for domestic employment or a shackle fo
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Date:
07/23/2020
MEMS Sensor for Safety-Critical Automotive Applications
Murata Electronics announced a new Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) Six Degrees of Freedom (6DoF) inertial sensor that delivers high performance for safety-critical automotive applications. The SCHA600 combines a XYZ-axis gyroscope and XYZ-axis accelerometer with Di
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Date:
07/21/2020
Wireless Charging Coils for General, Automotive Applications
Signal Transformer announces their new Wireless Charging Transmission Coils (WCC) in both Single and Multiple Windings for smart car applications, consumer products, controllers, wearable devices, robotic cleaners and drones. Signal’s WCC’s feature pin cooling technology and tight pin tolerance control w
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Date:
07/17/2020
Flyback Switcher IC for Automotive BEV and PHEV Applications
Power Integrations announced the production release of the InnoSwitch 3-AQ, an AEC-Q100-qualified flyback switcher with integrated 750 V MOSFET and secondary-side sensing. The newly qualified device family targets automotive EV applications, such as traction inverter, OBC (on-board charger), EMS (energy management DC
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Date:
07/16/2020
40, 60 Watt DC/DC Converters w/ Ultra-Wide 12:1 Input Range
TRACO Power’s new 40 Watt TEP 40UIR and 60 Watt TEP 60UIR families of high-performance DC/DC converters offer an ultra-wide 12:1 input range in the industry standard quarter brick package. These robust DC/DC converters were designed for railway, transportation and industrial markets providing a diverse set of f
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Date:
07/15/2020
Diodes Incorporated announced the AP64350Q/AP64351Q/AP64352Q series of automotive-compliant, 3.5A, synchronous buck converters for point of load (POL) applications. The AP6435xQ combines a low quiescent current with a wide input voltage range of 3.8V to 40V. The devices have been developed for use in automotive appl
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Date:
07/14/2020
Energy Storage Capacitors Available in 7 Smaller Case Sizes
Vishay Intertechnology, Inc. announced that its ENYCAP electrical double-layer energy storage capacitors for energy harvesting and power backup applications are now available in seven smaller case sizes ranging from 10 mm by 20 mm to 12.5 mm by 40 mm, with capacitance values from 5 F to 22 F. With their new
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Date:
07/13/2020
PSDcast – A Major Research Collaboration for Lead Batteries

Alistair Davidson, Director, Consortium for Battery Innovation

With our big automotive electric and hybrid issue right around the corner, we thought it’d informative to revisit one of the most critical topics in that space – energy storage. And we can think of no better source for that topic than the Consortium for Battery Innovation ...
Date:
07/09/2020
IC Eases Design of 48 V/12 V Dual Battery Automotive Systems

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Figure 1. Next-generation cars will be powered by a 12 V and a 48 V battery

The future of 48V/12V battery systems in automobiles is just around the corner. Most of the major automobile manufacturers across the globe have been working on proving out their systems for the past few years and it is evident that their implementation will be relatively near term. This is a necessary and crucial ste
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Date:
07/09/2020
ROHM and LEADRIVE to Develop SiC Inverters Together
ROHM and Leadrive Technology (LEADRIVE) held an opening ceremony of their joint laboratory on SiC technology in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone (Lingang New Area). SiC power devices have been adopted increasingly in onboard vehicle chargers and DC/DC converters. These devices provide several ad
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Date:
07/08/2020
Highlighting Advances in e-Mobility
Dwindling oil reserves, rising pollution levels and the increasing threat from global warming have made e-mobility an urgent area of focus for most governments. A recent report from the Committee on Climate suggests that to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, all new vehicles produced must be pu
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Date:
07/07/2020
Film Capacitors for Green Energy and Automotive Applications
KEMET announces three new series of metallized polypropylene dielectric film capacitors: C44U-M, C44P-R, and R75H. Constructed with an aluminum canister design, both the C44U-M and C44P-R power film series address the increasing demand for high-power conversion systems in green energy and industrial applications. Th
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Date:
07/07/2020
Electrolytic Capacitors for Electric Vehicle Charging

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Figure 1. EV on-board charger block diagram showing capacitor-stabilized DC link

Automotive remains one of the fastest growing sectors of the electronics industry as car makers look to new technology to increase safety and reliability, support new connected user experiences, and improve economy and emissions. The evolution to electric powertrains from the traditional internal combustion en
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Date:
07/02/2020
The Smarter the Car, the More It Needs GaN

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Figure 1: The MOSFET solution (top) for a 3 kW 48 V – 12 V DC-DC converter requires five phases compared with the eGaN FET solution (bottom) with only four phases. The eGaN FET solution is 35% smaller and 20% less expensive

As the new decade emerges, it is becoming clearer that the trend in automotive is electric. Internal combustion engines (ICE) are succumbing to hybrid and full-electric vehicles.  Along with that major shift in propulsion comes a variety of accessories that need to convert to electric.  In addition, ne
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Date:
07/02/2020
How to Meet Functional Safety Requirements for Automotive Displays

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Figure 1. Modern vehicles boast more displays than ever. Given the safety-critical information delivered via displays, it’s imperative for them to meet automotive functional safety standards. Photo courtesy of Syda Productions/Shutterstock.com

  It’s becoming more common these days to step inside a vehicle and be greeted with a touchscreen that’s larger than a tablet computer. The screen, serving as the center information display (CID), might share data such as the car’s speed, driving directions, preset radio stations, the driver’s phone boo
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Date:
07/02/2020
Efficient WBG Power for Medium Voltage Applications

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Figure 1: Example historical cascode circuits

Perhaps the power conversion industry is now familiar with the concept of the ‘cascode’ device when applied to silicon and wide band-gap semiconductor hybrids, achieving a close approximation to the normally-off, ideal switch, with easy gate drive and a range of other benefits. The idea goes back to 1939 wh
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Date:
07/02/2020
Who’s Afraid of the Big Bad Battery?
  Just how dangerous are electric car batteries? Objectively, not very, but EVs and hybrids are the new kids on the block, and new is scary. And a new battery electrolyte developed at Stanford could help alleviate our collective anxiety. We’ve all seen the headlines – EVs catching fire after accidents, bat
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Date:
07/02/2020
One IC for Multiple DC-to-DC Topologies

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Figure 1. Electrical schematic of LTC3892 in SEPIC and buck application

Each new chip used in an industrial or automotive setting must be qualified via extensive testing before it can be utilized in demanding environments. Implementing a different IC for each application is time consuming and cost prohibitive. It is far better to have a tested and verified IC on the shelf that can be
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Date:
07/02/2020
Inertial Sensor Includes Photonic Integrated Chip Technology
KVH Industries, Inc., announced that the P-1775 inertial measurement unit (IMU) featuring KVH’s new PIC Inside photonic integrated chip (PIC) technology is now available and the first units have started shipping. KVH has been developing and testing the technology for more than three years and is now incorporating it
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Date:
07/01/2020
Automotive Buck Converter with Programmable PFM/PWM
Diodes Incorporated announced the AP61100Q, a 5.5V, 1A continuous output current, automotive-compliant, synchronous buck converter for point of load (POL) applications. With a fully integrated 110mΩ high-side power MOSFET and 80mΩ low-side power MOSFET, it provides high-efficiency step-down DC-DC conversion fr
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Date:
07/01/2020
Transportation Electrification – Where Will it Take Us?
  What I like to call the “electrification of transportation” is the fundamental transformation of the way we will transport ourselves over long distances. The driving forces to becoming a fully electric vehicle (EV) automotive market are energy efficiency and infrastructure. Automotive electroni
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Date:
07/01/2020
Multiply Power of a Boost Converter with a Phase Expander

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Figure 1. The interface of the LT8551 phase expander U1.1 to the primary controller U2. The four additional (expanded) power phases of the solution are shown in Figure 2

Multiphase boost designs have a number of advantages over single-phase designs, including: increased efficiency, improved transient response, and reduced input and output capacitance values (due to reduced inductor ripple current and ripple current in the input and output capacitors) resulting in reduced thermal st
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Date:
07/01/2020
Research into Next-Generation Automotive Battery Technology

The bipolar lead battery developed by Advanced Battery Concepts will undergo automotive testing regimes

One of the latest technology developments in lead batteries will undergo well-known automotive testing standards in a research project collaboration between Advanced Battery Concepts (ABC) and the Consortium for Battery Innovation (CBI).  Bipolar lead battery technology, which has been
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Date:
07/01/2020
High-Voltage Switcher ICs Now Certified for Automotive Use
Power Integrations announced an AEC-Q100-qualified version of its LinkSwitch-TN2 switcher IC for buck or non-isolated flyback applications. Featuring an integrated 750 V MOSFET, the new automotive-qualified LinkSwitch-TN2 IC provides simple and reliable power for EV sub-systems connected to the high-voltage bu
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Date:
07/01/2020
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