Infineon Debuts Embedded Power Series for Automotive Apps

At the recent Embedded World trade fair, Infineon Technologies launched a new family of Embedded Power ICs dubbed the TLE985x series. These AEC-Q100-qualified H-bridge driver motor-control solutions are directed at two-phase dc and single-phase brushless dc motors, replacing relays in low-end motor-control applications such as sunroofs, window lifts, gate lifts and pumps.

By switching from relays to MOSFETs, the higher level of integration helps reduce system costs. Additional advantages are that the PWM control and the integrated current-sense amplifier, which is calibrated, allow the motor currents to be adapted. As a result, the mechanics and motor can be optimized toward the application requirements. In practice, the circuit board and motor become smaller, improving noise behavior.

TLE985x devices integrate an ARM Cortex-M0 processor and peripherals for motor control, power supply, and communication. Two on-chip temperature and battery voltage measurement units along with four monitoring inputs help to save pins. These inputs can be operated directly with battery voltage, which saves costs on additional components such as external voltage dividers or shutdown transistors. In addition, the chips are equipped with two full-duplex serial interfaces (UARTs) with LIN support.

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The TLE985x is equipped with PWM control, an integrated current sense amplifier, and LIN support. (Source: Infineon)

A new feature in the TLE985x family is its adaptive MOSFET driver. The control algorithm is able to compensate MOSFET parameter spread in the system by automatically adjusting the gate current according to required switching times. This makes it possible to optimize the system with regard to electromagnetic emissions (EME, via slow slew rates) as well as power dissipation (short dead times) simultaneously.

The product family includes five devices with different flash sizes (48 to 96 kB) and temperature ranges (Tj up to 175°C). In addition, different numbers of half-bridge drivers for uni- or bidirectional dc motor applications are offered.

According to Infineon, the new solution allows for driving MOSFETs at low battery voltage (≥6 V) with a minimum number of external components. This should enable a cost-effective solution on a system level. In addition, the TLE985x product family supports energy management and embeds several protection functions.

All TLE985x products are based on the same hardware and software platform as Infineon’s other Embedded Power products (TLE984x, TLE986x and TLE987x). Thus, design synergies are possible, and customers can reuse parts of the software. The devices come in a leadless VQFN package with a footprint of 7 × 7 mm.

An eval board is available that offers complete evaluation of all functions and peripherals of the TLE985x product family. Samples of the TLE985x devices will be available from this month onward.