New automotive IPD enables safe and flexible power distribution

Renesas Electronics Corporation offers a new automotive Intelligent Power Device (IPD) that safely and flexibly controls power distribution within vehicles, managing the needs of next-generation E/E architectures. The new RAJ2810024H12HPD is offered in the small TO-252-7 package and lowers the mounting area by about 40% compared to the traditional TO-263 package. Also, the advanced current detection function of the new device enables highly accurate detection of abnormal currents such as overcurrent. Since the new IPD detects abnormal currents even at low loads, it allows engineers to create highly safe and precise power control systems that can detect even the tiniest abnormalities.

"We are very pleased to launch a new generation of automotive IPDs featuring our new power MOSFET process," said Akira Omichi, vice president of Renesas' Automotive Analog Application Specific Business Division. "Renesas will continue to develop IPDs that improve the safety and reliability of power supply systems and facilitate system development for our customers by offering system-level solutions with our microcontrollers."

The new IPD was created to satisfy the growing needs as E/E architectures evolve. In a conventional distributed E/E architecture, power supply from the battery is distributed to each ECU through long, thick wires from a power box comprising mechanical relays and fuses. IPDs offer a longer life and are maintenance-free compared to mechanical relays so that they can be placed anywhere in the vehicle. As the automotive industry moves toward centralised or zone-oriented E/E architectures, IPDs are an excellent choice for building efficient and flexible power supply networks since they utilise shorter, thinner wires. The company's IPD provides a more efficient, safer and smaller solution for power distribution control.

The company provides the Power Distribution Box with an E-fuse solution utilising an existing IPD. By replacing the conventional fuses in the power supply box with small IPDs and programming the fuse characteristics into the microcontroller, developers can optimise the wiring harness and enhance reliability through current monitoring. This solution is part of its Winning Combinations, which optimally combine mutually compatible Renesas devices that work together seamlessly to lessen user design risk and shorten the time to market. It offers more than 300 other Winning Combinations with a wide range of products from its portfolio.