Automotive primary power distribution unit
Providing best-in-class supply, control, communication, sense, and actuation functions for primary power distribution modules.
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.
Discover the benefits of primary power distribution centers (PDC)
The main function of primary power distribution is to facilitate energy flow from the LV battery in a controlled and safe manner. It provides power to the secondary power distribution units, as well as a few high-power electronic control units (ECUs). Traditionally, this is referred to as the "pre-fuse box", with its location being restricted to easily accessible areas, enabling fuse replacement in case of malfunction. To enable higher reliability, diagnostic capability, protection features, and smaller size, primary distribution is getting partly or fully electrified. An electrical automotive primary power distribution is no longer called a pre-fuse box, but is commonly referred to as primary power distribution unit (PDU) or power distribution center (PDC). Such automotive PDCs can be located in non-accessible areas. Within zone architectures, the automotive primary power distribution unit may be integrated with a zone control unit that is located close to the LV battery.
- Diagnostic coverage at 99%
- Fast failure isolation time <100-500 µs
- I2t wire protection
- Low power ON
- Capacitive load switching
- Scalable chipset 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.
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.
The power distribution safety elements have the task to prevent the available Power Distribution System against undervoltage or overvoltage.
There are several reasons why the safety elements have to be implemented by semiconductor:
- One is the diagnostic coverage of semiconductor at 99% compared to fuses, which are on the order of 40%...60%.
- Another is the failure isolation response time. Isolation in less than 100…500 µs is required, which only a semiconductor-based solution can realize. Fuses or relays need much more time and are in the range of several milli seconds.
In case of the power distribution system, dependable power is the failure-tolerant supply and distribution of energy throughout the vehicle. The most common physical solution is a redundant supply and distribution of energy to the safety critical applications. Such systems mandatorily require safety elements to prevent the power distribution system against undervoltage or overvoltage:
The power distribution safety element can be realized with a semiconductor-based solution by using an Intelligent Power Distribution (IPD) switch, either integrated or gate driver + MOSFET.
IPD Switch fast failure isolation requirements and benefits
IPD Switch wire protection requirements and benefits
IPD Switch low power on requirements and benefits
For product related support material, please have a look into the product pages
Supply and communication
OPTIREGTM System Basis Chip (SBC)
Microcontroller
TraveoTM II and/ or AURIX™ TriCore™
High-Side Switches, Gate Driver and MOSFET
In this training, you will:
- Indicate what an electrical power distribution center is and describe what solutions Infineon offers for
- Explain why relays and fuses are being replaced with semiconductors and identify the devices that Infineon provides for replacing
Description:
- Explain how the major automotive trends are shaping the evolution of electrical and electronic or E/E architectures in cars
- Identify the trending E/E architecture concepts and their impact on networking technologies and recognize the solutions that Infineon provides to support current and future E/E architectures
In this training, you will:
- Understand what a body control module is and what solutions Infineon offers for standard and high-end body control modules
- Discover why relays and fuses are being replaced with smart switches and identify Infineon's alternative devices
