Audi / Volkswagen selects transceivers from Austriamicrosystems for their ECUs

Austriamicrosystems has announced that its AS8221 FlexRay transceiver has been selected by Audi / Volkswagen for use in their Electronic Control Units (ECUs). This transceiver conforms to the FlexRay Electrical Physical Layer Specification V2.1 Rev B and is targeted for use in ECUs connected to the permanent battery supply where the transceiver manages the ECU power-up via its inhibit output pins.

Austriamicrosystems says that the results of the required EMC validation of the AS8221 at the certified test laboratory IBEE in Zwickau / Germany has shown excellent performance during DPI (Direct Power Injection) immunity tests over the complete frequency range and its high system stability enables faultless communication in the harsh automotive environment without usage of expensive measures against electromagnetic interferences.

FlexRay is an automotive network communications protocol targeted to be faster and more reliable than CAN or TTP. These transceivers provide the interface between the digital logic and the copper cable transmission. FlexRay provides transmission rates up to 10 Mbit/s, which is said to be 20 times the speed of unshielded twisted copper cable used in cars today.

Other key features of AS8221 FlexRay transceiver are:

--It has a high common mode range, an interface for Bus Guardian or supervision circuits, automatic thermal shutdown protection, integrated power management, two inhibit pins for external voltage supply control, local wake-up input and remote wake-up capability.
--It supports 12 and 24 V systems with low sleep current and supports 2.5, 3, 3.3, and 5 V microcontrollers.

"The AS8221 FlexRay transceiver is attractive to automotive manufacturers such as Audi /Volkswagen since it provides system stability through its unmatched immunity," commented Harald Gall, Product Manager Automotive at austriamicrosystems. "We focused on minimizing the asymmetrical delay of the transceiver in order to solve one of the car makers' key challenges of providing a stable network."

For more information visit: www.austriamicrosystems.com/Flexray/AS8221