Abstract
A novel configurable DC/DC converter architecture, to be integrated as hard macrocell in automotive embedded systems, is proposed in the paper. It aims at realizing an intelligent voltage regulator. With respect to the state of the art, the challenge is the integration into an automotive-qualified chip of several advanced features like dithering of switching frequency, nested control loops with both current and voltage feedback, asynchronous hysteretic control for low power mode, slope control of the power FET gate driver, and diagnostic block against out-of-range current or voltage or temperature conditions. Moreover, the converter macrocell can be connected to the in-vehicle digital network, exchanging with the main vehicle control unit status/diagnostic flags and commands. The proposed design can be configured to work both in step-up and step-down modes, to face a very wide operating input voltage range from 2.5 to 60 V and absolute range from −0.3 to 70 V. The main target is regulating all voltages required in the emerging hybrid/electric vehicles where, besides the conventional 12 V DC bus, also a 48 V DC bus is present. The proposed design supports also digital configurability of the output regulated voltage, through a programmable divider, and of the coefficients of the proportional-integrative controller inside the nested control loops. Fabricated in 0.35 μm CMOS technology, experimental measurements prove that the IC can operate in harsh automotive environments since it meets stringent requirements in terms of electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, operating temperature range, out-of-range current, or voltage conditions.
Highlights
Automotive electronic systems are evolving as a network of embedded control units (ECU) implementing sensor and/or actuator interfacing plus digital signal processing techniques for a wide range of applications
For safety-critical applications, stringent requirements have to be met in terms of extended temperature range, electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, diagnostic against out-of-range current, and voltage
– Step-up and step-down conversion capability – Programmable output voltage, which can be regulated from 1 to 48 V – Advanced techniques such as hysteretic control for low-power consumption and frequency dithering for reduced electromagnetic interference emission – Integrated diagnostic capability and macrocell interfacing through a digital bus Hereafter, Sections 2 and 3 present the architecture of the DC/DC converter macrocell architecture, and the circuital implementation of its sub-blocks focusing on
Summary
Automotive electronic systems are evolving as a network of embedded control units (ECU) implementing sensor and/or actuator interfacing plus digital signal processing techniques for a wide range of applications. Since automotive is a large volume market, a solution integrating the voltage regulation part with the lowpower control/networking part can allow a reduction of the cost and the size of each unit, according to the evolution scheme presented in Fig. 2 with reference to an automotive starter/alternator unit. – Step-up and step-down conversion capability – Programmable output voltage, which can be regulated from 1 to 48 V – Advanced techniques such as hysteretic control for low-power consumption and frequency dithering for reduced electromagnetic interference emission – Integrated diagnostic capability and macrocell interfacing through a digital bus Hereafter, Sections 2 and 3 present the architecture of the DC/DC converter macrocell architecture, and the circuital implementation of its sub-blocks focusing on. LIN is a de facto standard in vehicle engineering for local interconnections [16]
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