Single-wire CAN transceiver suits cost-sensitive automotive networks and body applications

Freescale Semiconductor has introduced the MC33897 series of eight- and 14-pin single-wire CAN transceivers for cost-sensitive applications such as power windows and door locks, seat and mirror controls and internal digital temperature gauges. The devices drop into the same board layouts as two-wire CAN transceivers.

Demetre Kondylis, general manager of Freescale’s sensor and analog products business, said the MC33897 is designed in accordance with General Motors’ GMW3089v2.3 single-wire CAN physical layer specification and operates directly from a vehicle’s 12 V battery system or from a local dc power source.

Features include a low sleep-mode current that minimizes battery drain, bus signal waveshaping that meets automotive electromagnetic compatibility requirements, and protection features that prevent faulted nodes from interfering with other network communications. A high-voltage wake-up feature allows the transceivers to control the external regulator used to supply a microcontroller and other logic. The system MCU can command the low-power sleep feature via mode pins, which causes the transceiver to turn off the external regulator. The presence of a defined wake-up voltage level on the bus reactivates the control line to turn the regulator and the system back on.