PHY IC complements new vehicle computer VC4

KDPOF announced that their KD1053 PHY IC and integrated KD9351 FOT (Fibre Optic Transceiver) have been implemented by Renesas, a premier supplier of advanced semiconductor solutions, into the new next-generation automotive vehicle computer VC4. This comprehensive communication gateway ECU from Renesas provides the latest automotive network technologies and sufficient computing power to host the ever-increasing amount of user applications.

“With the VC4, we have integrated an optical Ethernet interface into our automotive evaluation boards for the first time,” stated Tobias Belitz, principal engineer at Renesas. “KDPOF shared their 1000BASE-RH transceiver KD1053 and KD9351 FOT according to IEEE 802.3bv with us, which also covers the wide temperature range we are looking at.”

The four megatrends of autonomous driving, electric vehicles, connected cars and shared mobility shift the E/E architecture from domain-based into a zonal architecture to satisfy the growing complexity and computation demands of the next-generation vehicles. With the VC4 communication gateway ECU, Renesas offers a universal development platform for automotive customers based on their R-Car-S4 system-on-module.

Optical connectivity perfectly fixes the challenges posed by electrical interference in vehicles due to its low weight, low cost, and electromagnetic compatibility due to inherent galvanic isolation.

“We are proud that Renesas has chosen our compact automotive Ethernet chipset for their future-ready vehicle computer VC4,” stated Carlos Pardo, CEO and co-founder of KDPOF. “With the integrated KD9351 FOT in combination with the KD1053 PHY IC, we deliver a complete automotive 1000BASE-RHC physical layer.“

Applications include safe Ethernet backbones, smart antenna modules, and sensor connections for ADAS and audio/video.

Including the transmission and reception optoelectronics – such as transimpedance amplifier, photodiode, LED driver, and LED – into one single component, the KD9351 is an optical transceiver for 100Mb/s up to 1Gb/s with a small footprint. Added benefits are a shorter supply chain and no test duplication with the final test at the Tier1. Also, the assembly is simplified, and the connector provides snap-fit without soldering. The device reuses low-cost MEMs encapsulation and permits SMD reflow assembly with 8mm x 7mm LGA components. It is fully shielded against electromagnetic radiation. The temperature range, from -40C to +105C, conforms to harsh automotive environmental requirements.

Automotive Ethernet Congress, June 1 to 2, 2022, Munich, Germany. On June 2 at 10:00 CEST, Carlos Pardo will deliver the presentation “Automotive Optical Ethernet Reaching for 50Gb/s”.