Digital isolator enables reliable communication

The new isolator enables engineers to better protect low-voltage circuitry from high-voltage events in hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) and electric vehicle (EV) systems and avoid having to design in cooling systems to reduce temperatures to below 125°C, the maximum temperature Grade 1-qualified integrated circuits (ICs) can support.

In addition, when implementing Controller Area Network Flexible Data Rate (CAN FD) communications in system designs, engineers can increase in-vehicle network (IVN) signal protection and reach by using the ISO7741E-Q1 with the new TCAN1044EV-Q1 Grade 0 CAN FD transceiver.

Grade 0-qualified ICs meet the requirements of the AEC-Q100’s highest temperature grade (-40°C to 150°C) and are designed to help engineers simplify design of HEV/EV systems in harsh environments, such as 48-V HEVs where the co-existence of internal combustion engines and battery systems can heat the air around ICs beyond 125°C.

With reliable performance up to 150°C, TI’s new Grade 0 devices, the ISO7741E-Q1 and the TCAN1044EV-Q1, can be placed in high-temperature areas of HEV/EV systems without increasing bill of materials or design complexity.

To learn more about AEC-Q100 automotive temperature grades and why Grade 0 matters for IVN signal isolation, read the technical article, ‘Solving high-temperature isolation design challenges with Grade 0 digital isolators’.

The ISO7741E-Q1 uses TI’s capacitive isolation technology to provide the industry’s highest working voltage of 1.5kVRMS and an isolation voltage of 5kVRMS, enabling engineers to achieve more reliable operation of HEV/EV powertrain and HVAC systems that require signal transmission across an isolation barrier, such as starter generators, cooling fans and traction inverters.

This device provides additional system-level protection in harsh automotive environments due to its high typical common-mode transient immunity of ±100 kV/µs and a ±8kV International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) 61000-4-2 contact discharge protection.

By combining the ISO7741E-Q1 and the TCAN1044EV-Q1 in CAN FD bus designs, engineers can meet the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) 11898-2:2016 timing standard for high-speed automotive communications, allowing for extended reach and reliability of signals across IVNs without diminishing data rates.

The ISO7741E-Q1 Grade 0 digital isolator is available now from TI and authorised distributors in a 10.3-mm-by-7.5-mm, 16-pin small-outline integrated circuit (SOIC) package and is priced at $1.49 in 1,000-unit quantities. Preproduction TCAN1044EV-Q1 Grade 0 CAN FD transceivers are available now, only from TI, in 4.9x3.91mm, eight-pin SOIC packages and are priced at $0.43 in 1,000-unit quantities.