LED driver supports ASIL-B functional safety-compliant automotive lighting designs

Nexperia has released an AEC-Q100-qualified 12-channel, 40V high-side LED driver IC that complies with the ASIL-B level for designing functionally safe automotive lighting, including tail, brake, signal and in-cabin illumination applications. This release meets the market demand from automotive manufacturers for ICs that can enable systems to achieve ASIL-B compliance much earlier in the design cycle.

The NEX13120FPC-Q100 demonstrates exceptional thermal performance thanks to its low dropout voltage of 600mV at 100mA current, which translates into a power saving of 15mW per channel and a 5C reduction in operating temperature. This dropout voltage is 200mV lower than similar competing LED drivers for the same test conditions. Independent channels on the device can deliver up to 100mA of 8-bit programmable output current and can be connected in parallel for applications with higher current requirements. This LED driver supports phase-shift PWM dimming, delivering better load-transient and reduced EMI. Configurable analog dimming and PWM dimming can support various application needs, including dynamic animation effects.

The UART supports long-distance off-board communication at data rates up to 2Mb/s over a CAN digital interface, supporting up to 27 node addresses. The device's extensive diagnostic features include LED open-circuit, short-to-ground, and single LED short-circuit detection. Also, a configurable watchdog automatically places the device in a fail-safe state if the connection to the CAN bus is lost.

The NEX13120FPC-Q100 can operate at a junction temperature range from -40C to +150C and is housed in a thermally improved 24-pin HTSSOP24 package. The NEX13120PC-Q100 is identical to the NEX13120FPC-Q100 and is ideal for applications without chip-level functional safety requirements.