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Automotive

Automotive




Transforming the industry

Today’s cars are undergoing the greatest transformation the industry has seen. Continued electrification is resulting in significant changes from the engine right through to the cloud. A lot of this is because vehicles need to be extremely energy efficient, even as ever more electronic functionality is added to increase safety and comfort.

Governments across the globe are stipulating mandates to reduce automotive CO₂ emissions to combat climate change and maintain resources. Obviously, the main focus is on the drivetrain – whether that is combustion, hybrid, or full electrical. However innovative technologies and systems for chassis, safety, lighting and body electronics are also helping drive up overall vehicle efficiency and reducing fuel consumption, CO₂ emissions and costs.

Our application handbooks

ESD Application Handbook Automotive Edition

ESD Application Handbook Automotive Edition

Protection concepts, testing and simulation for modern interfaces
Diode Application Handbook

Diode Application Handbook

Diode Application Handbook - Fundamentals, Characteristics, Applications
Logic Handbook

Logic Handbook

Product Features and Application insights (309 pages)

Electrification

Less than 50 years ago there were virtually no electronics in the car. Today electronic systems are driving a revolution in how we interact with our car but also enabling its electrification. Whether it is plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) or full battery electric vehicles (BEV), the need to charge the battery, manage power requirements and drive traction motors are the same. And while 48 V plays a key role, most systems are moving to either 400 or 800 V batteries requiring greater innovation in high-power wide bandgap semiconductors.

Powertrain

Powertrain

While much of the focus is on battery powered systems, the traditional Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) continues to play a major role particularly with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). More advanced engine control and fuel management helps create efficient air-fuel mix regardless of the running conditions of the vehicle. So, while traditional powertrains remain a key part of automotive designs, ensuring these systems are as efficient and clean as possible is vital.

Chassis & Safety

One of the biggest improvements that electronic systems have brought is an improvement in automotive chassis and safety systems. Whether it is replacing heavy mechanical systems with lightweight electronics – with the additional benefit of reducing CO2 emissions – to dedicated systems to enhance driver and passenger safety, today’s vehicles are radically different. To further enhance safety many of these systems need to offer system level redundancy, significantly increasing the silicon content.

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)

Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)

Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems, also known as ADAS, are electronic systems that help with monitoring, warning, braking, and steering tasks in a vehicle. Existing at various levels, they can simply empower the driver by providing crucial information at the right time or effectively  take full control of a vehicle system. Naturally for systems where automated control is required, such as steering or braking, these systems also need to be fully electronically controllable.

Body control and lighting

While the focus of electrification is often seen to be the powertrain, it is also changing traditional body control and lighting applications. The rise of LED lighting not only gives designers efficient interior and exterior lighting options, but also opens the door to changing the overall look of a vehicle. In addition, any pumps and motors – from heating and ventilation to powered seat, door, window and mirror control – makes changes inside the cabin just as dramatic as under the hood.

Infotainment and telematics

Infotainment and telematics

Car manufacturers are integrating more electronics into their infotainment systems that allow us to connect easily to our personal digital environment. That means more recognized ‘consumer’ interfaces and connections are being used in the noisy car environment. All this is driving demand for more and more connectivity within vehicles using standard high-speed consumer and computing interfaces – from USB (3.2 / 2.0) and HDMI to LVDS, SerDes and SD-card interfaces.

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