At present, advanced smart cars are generally equipped with advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS). ADAS applications are the key to realizing active safety in automobiles and must have high availability. In contrast, the implementation of autonomous driving technology is more challenging, because the autonomous driving function requires the vehicle itself to complete emergency operations in the event of a failure. This places higher demands on the automotive power distribution system, requiring the introduction of safety elements to ensure that the system can quickly achieve fault isolation within 100 microseconds. Since fuses cannot meet this requirement, a partial or full electrification of the automotive power distribution system needs to be considered. In addition, smart cars will see more and more applications that improve driver and passenger comfort.
Power distribution systems power these applications, allowing electrical energy to flow from the battery or motor to various loads in the vehicle in a highly safe and controllable manner. One of the biggest challenges designers face today is reducing the cost, length, weight and complexity of wiring harnesses. To help designers solve this challenge, Infineon Technologies AG has introduced the EiceDRIVE 2ED2410-EM, an intelligent high-side MOSFET gate driver with integrated line protection for 12 V/24 V automotive applications, which is a The ideal partner for Infineon's 40/60 V OptiMOS MOSFETs.
The gate driver features two output channels for two different MOSFET configurations: common source stage with precharge path or common drain back-to-back configuration. Enhanced driver switching makes it easy to increase the number of MOSFETs to control higher load currents. Even when the current reaches hundreds of amps, it opens quickly in microseconds, while traditional fuses wait several milliseconds to open. In addition, the device can operate normally at voltages as low as 3V from short circuit to disconnection of the faulty load.
With three analog measurement interfaces and four integrated comparators for protection, the EiceDRIVER 2ED2410-EM provides a flexible and rich solution to meet various functional requirements, including adjustable I-t line protection, overcurrent protection, over/ Undervoltage protection, etc. It measures bidirectional current and monitors drain-to-source voltages, determines conditions such as open-circuit loads at the output, etc. Adjustable line protection features help select the smallest possible wire cross-section for the respective load. In the past, wire diameters had to be up to 30% larger than needed to account for the tolerances and aging effects of conventional fuses. The device features extremely low quiescent current consumption of fractions of a microamp, which minimizes self-discharging of the battery when the vehicle is parked.
