Infineon expands its industry-leading range of smart power switches

Automakers are looking to in-vehicle electronic systems to dramatically improve energy efficiency in the smallest possible space. Infineon Technologies is supporting this development with its new power IC manufacturing technology, SMART7. The technology was developed specifically for automotive applications, such as body control modules or power distribution centers. The SMART7 power IC drives, diagnoses and protects loads in many applications such as heating, power distribution, air conditioning, interior and exterior lighting, seat and mirror adjustment. In addition, they can replace electromechanical relays and fuses in a cost-effective and reliable manner. SMART7 is based on thin wafer processes that reduce power consumption and chip size.

Based on the SMART7, Infineon now introduces two high-side power switch families, PROFET+2 and high-current PROFET. The SPOC+2 multi-channel SPI high-side power controller will be available within a year. Andreas Doll, Vice President and Business General Manager, Body Power Devices, Infineon Automotive Electronics, said: "In this decade, we have delivered one billion PROFET+ switches, the predecessor of PROFET+2. The SMART7 power ics provide enhanced protection solutions, lower power consumption, smaller package sizes and lower system costs for body and convenience applications."

PROFET+2 enables double-digit reductions in power consumption and PCB space

The PROFET+2 product family has been developed specifically for automotive 12V lighting load applications and capacitive loads. They include halogen bulbs in exterior lighting controls, interior lighting and dimming, and LED lighting. PROFET+2 devices offer best-in-class diagnostics and protection. They maintain package pin compatibility with the previous product family PROFET+, ensuring zero cost migration. If a single-channel device is replaced by a dual-channel device, there is no need to change the ECU layout, and vice versa. The package size of the PROFET+2 device is reduced by up to 40% compared to the previous product family, and the energy efficiency is improved and the current consumption is reduced by 50%. The least resistive PROFET+2 device is the 8 mΩ dual-channel switch BTS7008-2EPA, which provides many protection and diagnostic functions.

High Current PROFET supports up to 20 A DC load current in an industry-leading, small-size package

The new high-current PROFET extends the flexible approach of the PROFET+2 series to achieve on-resistance RDS(ON) from as low as 8 mΩ to 2 mΩ in the same TSDSO 14 package. The high-current PROFET in the TSDSO 14 package with a pin spacing of only 0.65 mm achieves the lowest RDS(ON) in the world today as a monolithic switch. The TSDSO-14 is 50% smaller than the mature smart power switch in the DPAK package. It is 80% smaller than the D²PAK. The product family is capable of efficiently driving high current loads. In addition, power consumption in the control module can be reduced by up to 60%. With its optimized features for high current loads of 12 V, including diagnostic and protection functions, the product family meets the needs of a wide range of heating and distribution applications. They include electric plug controllers, PTC(positive temperature coefficient) heaters, starting relays, horns, trailer loads and auxiliary power outlets.

Both the PROFET+2 and high-Current PROFET families are pin-compatible and share the same key features. Its on-resistance RDS(ON) ranges from 2 mΩ to 200 mΩ. Load current detection accuracy below 5% at nominal current (kILIS) sets a new benchmark in the market. Protection features include current trip, overtemperature, overvoltage, load drop, and ReverSave. Infineon is the first in the market to implement reverse battery protection in a single chip. Another functional benchmark is the starting voltage capability, which works as low as 3.1V.