Automotive

Magnachip expands OLED DDIC for automotive displays

Mon, Jan 10, 2022

Organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display driver integrated circuits (DDICs) from Magnachip now include models for automotive displays. 

The company has responded to an increase in demand for automotive semiconductors required for electric vehicles (EVs), autonomous driving and connected cars and their infotainment and safety systems. OLED panels offer image quality, high visibility and fast response times.

Magnachip is developing an OLED DDIC for automotive systems’ centre stack and instrument cluster displays, based on its 40nm process technology. The next-generation DDIC supports a wide range of resolutions including FHD (full high definition) and is suitable for both rigid and flexible OLED displays. The DDIC will integrate source drivers, gate drivers and timing controllers in a single chip. This feature will enable the production of cost-effective display panels consisting of fewer components, says Magnachip. 

Market research company, Omdia, expects the automotive display market to grow from $8.2 billion in 2021 to $9.7 billion in 2025. The revenue of global automotive OLED panel market reached $117 million in 2021 and it is expected to increase approximately 350 per cent to $524 million in 2025, says the company.

YJ Kim, CEO of Magnachip, believes: “Vehicles incorporating displays based on our next-generation OLED DDIC technology represents another step in improved safety, functionality and convenience for consumers.”  

The company plans to supply the new product to premium European car manufacturers in the first half of 2023.

Magnachip Semiconductor designs and manufactures analogue and mixed-signal semiconductors for communications, IoT, consumer, industrial and automotive applications. The company provides a broad range of standard products to customers worldwide. It has more than 40 years of operating history and a portfolio of approximately 1,200 registered patents and pending applications, together with extensive engineering, design and manufacturing process expertise. 

http://www.magnachip.com 

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5Mpixel RGB-IR global shutter sensor is a first for in-cabin monitoring

Fri, Jan 07, 2022

For simultaneous driver and occupant monitoring in vehicles, the OX05B1S has been introduced by Omnivision. It is claimed to be the smallest 2.2 micron pixel with the highest near infrared (NIR) sensitivity.

It is also believed to be the automotive industry’s first 5Mpixel RGB-IR BSI global shutter sensor for in-cabin driver monitoring systems (DMS). Despite its pixel size of just 2.2 micron, it offers 940nm NIR sensitivity for performance in extremely low light conditions. It has a wide field of view and enough pixels to view both the driver and occupants, adds the company. It is also claimed to be the first RGB-IR sensor for in-cabin monitoring to feature integrated cybersecurity.

The introduction supports the automotive industry’s transition to 5Mpixel operation and only one camera is needed instead of two for simultaneous driver and occupant monitoring systems, reducing complexity, cost and space,” points out Andy Hanvey, director of automotive marketing at Omnivision. The company adds that the OX05B1S was developed with “strong ecosystem partner support, working with companies such as Seeing Machines, to enable a complete, seamless solution for automotive OEMs”.

The sensor is based on Omnivision’s Nyxel NIR technology which uses novel silicon semiconductor architectures and processes to achieve the world’s best quantum efficiency (QE) at the 940nm NIR wavelength, claims the company. The OX05B1S has an NIR QE of 35 per cent which is four times the capability of the previous generation of sensor. This enables the OX05B1S to detect and recognise objects that other image sensors would miss under extremely low lighting conditions, to enhance in-cabin camera capabilities for occupant and driver monitoring and security. In other non-automotive systems it can be used to enhance selfie images and videoconferencing.

The sensor comes in Omnivision’s stacked a‑CSP package that is 50 per cent smaller than competitive products and allows for higher-performance image sensors in tighter camera spaces. It is also available in a reconstructed wafer option for designers who want to customise their own package.

The OX05B1S has an optional always on optional feature. 

Samples are available now and the sensors will be in mass production in Q1 2023.

http://www.ovt.com

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Infineon expands Aurix microcontroller family with electrification in mind

Thu, Jan 06, 2022

At CES 2022, Infineon has introduced the TC4x series of Aurix microcontrollers. They target trends in e-mobility, advanced driver assists systems (ADAS), automotive electric-electronic (E/E) architectures and affordable AI applications. 

The scalable family allows for a common software architecture, adds Infineon, for dependable electronics and software-based applications. The  Aurix TC4x offers enhanced connectivity, advanced safety and security, says Infineon, while new software over the air (SOTA) features are intended to meet car manufacturers’ demands for fast and secure car-to-cloud connection, with updates in the field, as well as diagnosis and analysis when the vehicle is in use.

Infineon Technologies manufactures semiconductors “that make life easier, safer and greener”. 

http://www.infineon.com

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High resolution radar sensor monitors vehicle’s blind spots

Wed, Jan 05, 2022

Using a Doppler division multiple access (DDMA)-based signal processing method, the AWR2944 radar sensor can help automotive makers implement systems that can detect vehicles further away than is possible today. The 77GHz sensor has been announced by Texas Instruments and is supplied in a small form factor which it claims is approximately 30 per cent smaller compared to radar sensors today. 

The AWR2944 sensor integrates a fourth transmitter to provide 33 per cent higher resolution than existing radar sensors, enabling vehicles to detect obstacles more clearly and avoid collisions. The DDMA signal processing improves the ability to sense oncoming vehicles at distances up to 40 per cent farther away than is currently possible. 

The high resolution radar sensor will enable driver assistance technology to more accurately monitor blind spots and efficiently navigate turns and corners to safely avoid collisions for improved advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), says the company.

According to the Federal Highway Administration, more than half of fatal and injury crashes occur at or near intersections or junctions. Texas Instruments says that the AWR2944 radar sensor can help vehicle manufacturers meet new safety regulations, enabling vehicles to detect obstacles more clearly to avoid collisions.    

“Visibility around corners has historically been challenging for autonomous and semiautonomous vehicles,” concedes Curt Moore, manager for Jacinto processors at TI. “For automated parking and driving, being able to see farther with devices like the AWR2944 sensor – and then seamlessly process that data with our Jacinto processors – leads to improved awareness and safety,” he believes.

The AWR2944 and an AWR2944 evaluation module (AWR2944EVM) are available now. 

Texas Instruments (TI) designs, manufactures, tests and sells analogue and embedded processing chips for markets such as industrial, automotive, personal electronics, communications equipment and enterprise systems. 

http://www.TI.com

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