The LIN Interface and Automotive Interconnects—A Perfect Match (.PDF Download)

As more electronic subsystems populated automobiles over the years, engineers discovered the necessity of interconnecting them with serial data networks to minimize wiring and optimize their performance. Today, the modern vehicle contains multiple networks, combining some mix of the Controller Area Network (CAN), Media Oriented Systems Transport (MOST), FlexRay, and even Ethernet. But probably the most widely used interface is the Local Interconnect Network (LIN), which connects a variety of sensors and actuators. LIN is a simple 1-wire bus that’s flexible, tolerant, and low cost. Here’s a look at how LIN is used in vehicles today.

LIN Applications

Most newer vehicles contain at least a dozen LIN nodes. They’re used in applications where data speed isn’t high and many operations are of the off-on type. Common applications include:

• Power door locks
• Power windows
• Power seats
• Power mirrors
• Windshield wipers
• Seat heaters
• Heating and air-conditioning controls
• Interior lights
• Climate controls
• Steering-wheel controls
• Sun roof
• Trunk

If you want to take a look inside one of today’s car models and see where LIN transceivers might be used, check out this blog from Texas Instruments. Within it, an in-cabin virtual view launches and lets you explore a few of the functions that LIN enables today.

LIN 101

LIN is a single-wire bus that uses the vehicle ground as the return. It was created back in the late 1990s and is sponsored by the LIN Consortium. It’s been standardized as ISO17897 and ISO9141. The standard has been revised and updated several times over its lifetime. The LIN standard defines the physical (PHY) and media-access-control (MAC) layers of the OSI networking model.