Automotive manufacturers are adopting more and more LED lightning technology due to its low power consumption and extended lifecycle. However, when the latest technology trends are paired with challenging automotive requirements, there is an increased demand to design solutions that can avoid thermal breakdown while lengthening the life expectancy of the LEDs. This article will present a simple, l...

Across the automotive landscape, the push for electrification has yielded the incredible proliferation of exotic vehicles. Yesterday’s bulky, single-function lights are being replaced with newer, slender designs that wrap around a car’s front, back, or sides. The drive to go beyond traditional illumination or signaling means that tomorrow’s automotive lights will be challenged to display sophistic...

This article is the final part of a three-part series exploring methods for analyzing and improving excessive EMI under long-line loads. Part I discussed the common-mode (CM) EMI model and considered the influence of electric field coupling and magnetic field coupling. Part II validated the transmission line theory through a series of computations. Part III will focus on three methods that were im...

This article is part two in a three-part series exploring methods to analyze and improve excessive EMI under long-line loads. Part I reviewed the common-mode (CM) EMI model and considered the influence of electric field coupling and magnetic field coupling. Part II will discuss the transmission line effect on the output’s long-line impedance to ground, using a series of equations. Part III will re...

In many automotive electronics applications, the load must be connected to the motherboard via a long output line, resulting in excessive conducted EMI. Automotive applications that require long-line loads include Class-D power amplifiers, LEDs, and USB chargers (see Figure 1). This article is the first part of a three-part series exploring methods to analyze and improve excessive conducted E...

More and more automotive manufacturers are adopting LED lighting technology and moving away from halogen light bulbs. LED lighting systems have diverse power supply requirements, depending on the number of devices present on a string, the current needed, dimming, and other factors. A traditional linear regulator cannot always meet these needs. As a result, electronics engineers are increasingly re...

LED lighting is one of the fastest growing segments in automotive electronics, but it is not without its own unique challenges. This article describes several major constraints facing today’s lighting designers and explores how these can be addressed by MPS’s new MPM6010-AEC1 automotive LED module. One of the biggest trends in automotive electronics has been the widespread proliferati...

The specifications of the feedback (FB) voltage resistor divider in DC-DC converters often poses various design challenges, such as determining the required resistance or adjusting parameters (e.g. output voltage, upper divider resistance or lower divider resistance). Figure 1 shows the various magnitude combinations for the FB upper and lower divider resistances. This article examines the ...

A smart cockpit is essential for an intelligent, convenient, and safe automotive environment for drivers. Emerging energy companies and established car brands alike are increasing their investments to innovate cutting-edge smart cockpits. To meet this demand, MPS continues to introduce improved power management solutions in line with the future of automotive electronics. Many automotive features ...

Advances in automotive technology have dramatically increased the number of sophisticated electronic circuits required to improve driving experience and safety in a typical automotive system. New vehicles provide infotainment systems with high-resolution displays, an enhanced user interface, and numerous connectivity options. Improved safety features include LiDAR for collision avoidance, as well ...

The four modern trends of the automotive industry are electrification, intelligence, networking, and sharing. Among these development trends, intelligence requires advanced on-board sensors, controllers, and actuators. Highly intelligent systems tend to have more sensors. As such, the number and variety of cameras/sensors installed on cars increase daily. These include the cameras installed on th...

The high power density requirement and board-level space constraints in modern applications — such as lighting, ADAS, and USB — call for higher integration in buck regulators. There is a trend to integrate MOSFETs and compensation networks inside the chip. This integration of the compensation network’s passive components saves cost, board space, and design iterations. However, it...

Start-stop functionality is expected to be featured in more and more new car models from any manufacturer. However, this presents a challenge in automotive electronics design as starting the motor in cold weather can make the battery’s voltage drop as low as 3V. This is called a “cold crank.” The power stage for most 12V automotive systems consists of a single buck converter tha...

The trend towards LED lighting in vehicles is well accepted for its higher energy efficiency and reliability, but its versatility also offers an excellent way to enhance the driving experience. From advanced steerable headlight beams to sophisticated in-cabin mood lighting, the ability to combine individual LED control, color, and brightness opens up a plethora of opportunities to add style and ap...