NXP is offering a family of system basis chips (SBCs) for use in fail-safe automotive electronic control units (ECUs). The family includes the UJA1061 and UJA1065 for fault-tolerant and high-speed CAN/LIN applications respectively. Two additional devices are expected to be released later this year, the UJA1069 fail-safe LIN SBC and the UJA1066 fail-safe high-speed CAN SBC.
International product marketing manager Rob Bouwer said the devices target in-vehicle networking applications that control power and sensor peripherals with fault-tolerant or high-speed CAN as the main network interface and LIN as a local sub-bus. Such applications include body control modules, rain and light sensors, seat and door modules, and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems.
Bouwer said the chips help improve network reliability by keeping ECU faults local, thus preventing adverse effects on the entire network. The chips also support intelligent, restrictive activation of only those ECUs required for communications, to ensure low levels of power consumption.
The SBCs prevent network deadlock, enable safe and controlled system start-up behavior, and can create partial CAN networks. They feature “smart” operating and power management modes, and can provide detailed system and subsystem-level status reports. Bouwer said the chips’ diagnostic capabilities enhance consumer experience by detecting and logging problems that get resolved at the service shop, before the driver notices.