SCIENCE

Freescale Semiconductor announced an advanced family of local interconnect network (LIN) physical layer components that enhances network communication within a vehicle by combining low noise emission with high electromagnetic immunity (EMI) robustness and high performance electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection. This cost-effective MC33662 family complies with the latest LIN automotive OEM acceptance standards -- LIN 2.1 and J2602-2.

The expansion of in-vehicle networking provides tangible benefits to automotive manufacturers, including cost reduction and flexibility. The MC33662, which is the latest addition to Freescale's expanding transceiver portfolio, is a standalone LIN physical layer component that offers compatibility with automotive and industrial LIN standards. The device is ideal for applications such as water pumps, rear wipers, rear climate control, remote controls, column position sensors, accessory switch monitors, seat memory, window lifts and sunroof control.

The Freescale MC33662 family meets the strict requirements of automotive LIN design, withstanding the most severe automotive ESD stresses and offering a robust physical layer. Innovations in transistor models and simulation accuracy have resulted in superior signal integrity across all EMI frequency ranges when a direct power injection stress is applied. As a result, the MC33662 family offers OEMs several benefits, including:

* significant reduction of noise emission: 15dBuV below standard industry solutions (in low frequency range)

* high signal immunity performance against power injection: direct power injection (34dBm flat) with and without external capacitor on LIN, and bulk current injection immunity up to 1GHz

* high ESD protection (greater than 15kV unpowered and 10kV powered, according to ISO10605)

* a low quiescent consumption in low power mode (6uA)

"Our latest LIN physical layer family of components packs a lot of smart features," said Gavin Woods, vice president and general manager of Freescale's Analog, Mixed-Signal and Power Division. "It's designed to offer automakers a solution that increases system robustness and optimize system design and cost."

As a founding member of the LIN Consortium, Freescale is a key player in promoting the LIN bus as the industry standard for cost-effective communications in automotive applications. Today, through the global acceptance of the LIN 2.1 and J2602-2 automotive standards, the market for LIN solutions is growing rapidly. According to research firm Strategy Analytics, up to 650 million LIN nodes will be delivered in the automotive market by 2014.

MC33662 features

The MC33662 devices are built on SMARTMOS technology, Freescale's proprietary process technology that integrates analog, power and logic in a cost-effective, single-chip package. The devices feature an innovative wave shaping technology that provides excellent EMI performance and ultra-low electronic emissions. The devices include wakeup, low quiescent current to manage application standby mode and a safety feature that detects permanent dominant timeout (on Txd pin) that prevents LIN network shortage.

The MC33662 devices are pin-to-pin compatible with MC33399, MC33661 and other standard industry LIN devices. Freescale's advanced family of LIN physical layer components will become a standard building block for future Freescale-LIN connected devices, and it includes:

-- MC33662J -- 10 kbps baud rate

-- MC33662L -- 20 kbps baud rate

-- MC33662S --20 kbps baud rate with restricted limits for transmitter and receiver symmetry

Availability

The MC33662 family of devices is available now. To help accelerate time-to-market, Freescale offers the KIT33662JEFEVBE development kit to support LIN networks and the KIT33662LEFEVBE to support J2602-2 networks.