Date: 18/10/2008

Automotive high voltage ICs for LIN networked sensor and actuator slaves

Austria Microsystems introduced a new family of application specific automotive System Basis Chips (SBCs) for LIN slaves. The new AS8520 and AS8525 chips helps LIN networked sensor and actuator slave units to achieve better performance, smaller size and lower BOM and offer high voltage functions.

The devices are designed in a 0.35µm 60V High-Voltage CMOS technology for automotive and industrial products. Both the chips are dedicated LIN transceiver with additional features.

The key features of the AS8520 companion IC are:

1. Provides a 50 mA LDO, reset generator and mode select.
2. A micro controller interface
3. A window watchdog
4. Backup registers
5. An application specific precision resistive divider with disable for battery voltage measurement.
6. Two low side relay drivers

The device comes with a default configuration but can be factory programmed according to customers' requirements.
Typical applications of this chip are window lifters, sun roof actuators or seat actuators but also LIN sensor slaves for battery monitoring.

The key features of the AS8525 companion IC are:

1. It includes some of the functions and features of AS8520 like two 50 mA LDOs for high accuracy mixed signal units, reset generator, mode select, micro controller interface, window watchdog and backup register.
2. It also includes an application specific programmable high side current sense amplifier and a precision battery voltage attenuator with disable
3. The AS8525 also offers low power operating modes using an on chip oscillator/timer unit and can be factory programmed towards various requirements like the AS8520.

The AS8525 is dedicated to LIN bus communicated voltage and current sensing applications like intelligent battery high side or low side sensors.

Packaging: AS8520 is available in a 6x6 mm QFN24 package.
AS8525 is available in a 5x5mm QFN32 package.

For more details visit: http://www.austriamicrosystems.com