Automotive primary power distribution unit

Providing best-in-class supply, control, communication, sense, and actuation functions for primary power distribution modules.

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Overview

To guarantee the utmost safety in advanced driver assistance systems and automated driving, the automotive primary power distribution is increasingly dependant on reliable and fail-operational electrification. Infineon's cutting-edge primary power distribution unit solutions ensure the seemless operation of supply, control, communication, sensing, and actuation functions. Moreover, you benefit from scalable and flexible chip-set solutions.

Benefits

  • Diagnostic coverage at 99%
  • Failure isolation time <100-500 µs
  • I2t wire protection
  • Low power ON
  • Capacitive load switching
  • Scalable chipset solutions

Block diagram

About

Discover the benefits of primary power distribution centers (PDC)

The main function of primary power distribution is to facilitate energy flow from the low-voltage (LV) battery in a controlled and safe manner, providing power to secondary power distribution units and high-power electronic control units (ECUs). Traditionally, this was referred to as the "pre-fuse box", but with increasing demand for higher reliability and smaller size, primary distribution is getting partly or fully electrified.

As a result, primary power distribution units (PDU) or power distribution centers (PDC) are being used, which can be located in non-accessible areas and integrated with zone control units. In Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV), power distribution plays a critical role in ensuring all-time availability or fail-operational functionality, as per ISO26262.

Automotive secondary power distribution unit
Ethernet solutions
Infineon's power distribution solutions - A platform-ready portfolio

Primary power distribution units require scalable and flexible semiconductor chip-set solutions, accounting for varying degrees of electrification and diverse currents per output channel. Infineon offers the broadest portfolio for designing scalable and flexible automotive PDCs. Infineon's PROFET™ smart power switches, MOSFETS and corresponding gate drivers are best-in-class in terms of current scalability and adaptability. While the AURIX™ family enables integration of pPDU functions with high-end computing performance applications, such as zone controllers, the TRAVEO™ microcontrollers serve as a complementary low-end alternative for price-performance optimized power distribution. Various other components, such as Infineon's OPTIREG™ power supply solutions and communication transceivers complement the portfolio and enable a highly interoperable chipset. Pin-to-pin compatibility is ensured throughout various product families to enable easy adaptation of your designs to a variety of needs and for migration to the next generation of primary power distribution modules. 

Easily adoptable ISO-26262 automotive PDC solutions

Infineon's AURIX™ microcontrollers are best-in-class for ASIL-D functional safety designs and are complemented by the TRAVEO™ family for ASIL-B needs (partly with ASIL-D island). Corresponding OPTIREG™  power supply solutions come with easily-implementable safety manuals, enabling not only a safe design, but also a quick realization of functional safety goals. The PROFET™ smart power switches are ISO-ready and partly ISO-compliant with plenty of safety documentation available, allowing the overall easiest functional safety design in the market.

Enabling fail-operational power supply in primary power distribution

Automotive E/E architectures are evolving rapidly, with the automotive power distribution unit becoming the backbone of a fail-operational power supply. To enable mega trends such as the "software-defined vehicle", electromobility and the introduction of X-by-wire & ADAS/AD, smart power switches are being employed. These semiconductor-based devices, sometimes also refered to as "e-fuses", function as so-called safety elements, effectively replacing fuses, however with better performance, such as faster failure isolation (<100-500 µs) and additional features. Smart power switches thus enable ASIL-D power supply and bring along other benefits, such as online diagnostics and resetability, ultimately enabling the shift to zone architectures.

Infineon's smart power switches offer seamless platform scalability, adjustable wire and load protection, capacitive charging, minimal power dissipation, as well as low-power parking mode and many more. They are optimized for easy "functional safety" designs, with a focus on ASIL-D compliance and comprehensive safety documentation.

48 V primary power distribution units

Upgrade your 12 V electrical systems and automotive primary power distribution with Infineon's solutions to meet the escalating power demands for cutting-edge features such as ADAS, autonomous driving (AD), central computing, electrical power steering or steer-by-wire, electro-mechanical braking or brake-by-wire, infotainment, and more. 

The adoption of a 48 V based system emerges as the most efficient and compliant approach for the transportation and utilization of electrical energy within the regulatory framework, particularly with regard to contact protection ISO 6469-3. This has spurred significant discussions regarding a comprehensive strategy at the BEV car level, aiming to achieve substantial system-wide cost savings through significant enhancements in efficiency, power losses, and wire harness optimization – encompassing aspects such as cost, weight, complexity, routing, manufacturing, and assembly – all achievable with a 48 V primary power distribution.

48 V systems
How to get started with your primary PDC design

When designing primary power distribution, customers face a variety of challenges. They need to introduce fail-operational concepts for a dependable power distribution through the use of semiconductor-based safety elements in the primary power distribution units. They have to optimize the overall system as such, that wire harness complexity is reduced, the increasing power demand of BEVs is satisfied and platform re-use becomes possible. And finally, they have to design the system as such, that it is easily scalable and fits the various needs of different vehicles or platforms.

Infineon provides a series of self-support collaterals, such as a configurable blockdiagram to aid the selection of fitting products, whitepapers, application notes, evaluation kits and datasheets. Additionally, Infineon benefits from it position as market leader for automtive and has - over the years - built a strong bottom-up product-to-system expertise. Please contact your Infineon contact if you would like to engage further. 

 

Discover the benefits of primary power distribution centers (PDC)

The main function of primary power distribution is to facilitate energy flow from the low-voltage (LV) battery in a controlled and safe manner, providing power to secondary power distribution units and high-power electronic control units (ECUs). Traditionally, this was referred to as the "pre-fuse box", but with increasing demand for higher reliability and smaller size, primary distribution is getting partly or fully electrified.

As a result, primary power distribution units (PDU) or power distribution centers (PDC) are being used, which can be located in non-accessible areas and integrated with zone control units. In Software-Defined Vehicles (SDV), power distribution plays a critical role in ensuring all-time availability or fail-operational functionality, as per ISO26262.

Automotive secondary power distribution unit
Ethernet solutions

Infineon's power distribution solutions - A platform-ready portfolio

Primary power distribution units require scalable and flexible semiconductor chip-set solutions, accounting for varying degrees of electrification and diverse currents per output channel. Infineon offers the broadest portfolio for designing scalable and flexible automotive PDCs. Infineon's PROFET™ smart power switches, MOSFETS and corresponding gate drivers are best-in-class in terms of current scalability and adaptability. While the AURIX™ family enables integration of pPDU functions with high-end computing performance applications, such as zone controllers, the TRAVEO™ microcontrollers serve as a complementary low-end alternative for price-performance optimized power distribution. Various other components, such as Infineon's OPTIREG™ power supply solutions and communication transceivers complement the portfolio and enable a highly interoperable chipset. Pin-to-pin compatibility is ensured throughout various product families to enable easy adaptation of your designs to a variety of needs and for migration to the next generation of primary power distribution modules. 

Easily adoptable ISO-26262 automotive PDC solutions

Infineon's AURIX™ microcontrollers are best-in-class for ASIL-D functional safety designs and are complemented by the TRAVEO™ family for ASIL-B needs (partly with ASIL-D island). Corresponding OPTIREG™  power supply solutions come with easily-implementable safety manuals, enabling not only a safe design, but also a quick realization of functional safety goals. The PROFET™ smart power switches are ISO-ready and partly ISO-compliant with plenty of safety documentation available, allowing the overall easiest functional safety design in the market.

Enabling fail-operational power supply in primary power distribution

Automotive E/E architectures are evolving rapidly, with the automotive power distribution unit becoming the backbone of a fail-operational power supply. To enable mega trends such as the "software-defined vehicle", electromobility and the introduction of X-by-wire & ADAS/AD, smart power switches are being employed. These semiconductor-based devices, sometimes also refered to as "e-fuses", function as so-called safety elements, effectively replacing fuses, however with better performance, such as faster failure isolation (<100-500 µs) and additional features. Smart power switches thus enable ASIL-D power supply and bring along other benefits, such as online diagnostics and resetability, ultimately enabling the shift to zone architectures.

Infineon's smart power switches offer seamless platform scalability, adjustable wire and load protection, capacitive charging, minimal power dissipation, as well as low-power parking mode and many more. They are optimized for easy "functional safety" designs, with a focus on ASIL-D compliance and comprehensive safety documentation.

48 V primary power distribution units

Upgrade your 12 V electrical systems and automotive primary power distribution with Infineon's solutions to meet the escalating power demands for cutting-edge features such as ADAS, autonomous driving (AD), central computing, electrical power steering or steer-by-wire, electro-mechanical braking or brake-by-wire, infotainment, and more. 

The adoption of a 48 V based system emerges as the most efficient and compliant approach for the transportation and utilization of electrical energy within the regulatory framework, particularly with regard to contact protection ISO 6469-3. This has spurred significant discussions regarding a comprehensive strategy at the BEV car level, aiming to achieve substantial system-wide cost savings through significant enhancements in efficiency, power losses, and wire harness optimization – encompassing aspects such as cost, weight, complexity, routing, manufacturing, and assembly – all achievable with a 48 V primary power distribution.

48 V systems

How to get started with your primary PDC design

When designing primary power distribution, customers face a variety of challenges. They need to introduce fail-operational concepts for a dependable power distribution through the use of semiconductor-based safety elements in the primary power distribution units. They have to optimize the overall system as such, that wire harness complexity is reduced, the increasing power demand of BEVs is satisfied and platform re-use becomes possible. And finally, they have to design the system as such, that it is easily scalable and fits the various needs of different vehicles or platforms.

Infineon provides a series of self-support collaterals, such as a configurable blockdiagram to aid the selection of fitting products, whitepapers, application notes, evaluation kits and datasheets. Additionally, Infineon benefits from it position as market leader for automtive and has - over the years - built a strong bottom-up product-to-system expertise. Please contact your Infineon contact if you would like to engage further. 

 

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