New automotive control unit power management IC with ISO 26262 / ASIL-D support

     Allegro MicroSystems, LLC announced the introduction of a new power management IC, the ARG82800, that integrates a step-down or step-down/boost preregulator, four Ldos, and four floating gate drivers. By using the step-down or step-down/step-up topology architecture, the pre-regulator can efficiently convert the automotive battery voltage into a tightly controlled intermediate voltage, and has the functions of control, diagnosis and protection. Allegro's ARG82800 device is primarily targeted at the automotive market, with end-use applications including electric power steering (EPS), transmission control units (TCU) and Advanced braking systems (ABS).

     The ARG82800's pre-regulator output offers a 3.3V or 5.0V optional 350mA linear regulator, a 5V / 100mA linear regulator and two 120mA protected linear regulators that can be used to track VUC output. Designed to power microprocessors, sensors, and CAN transceivers, the ARG82800 is ideal for a variety of applications under the bonnet of the automotive engine.

     The ARG82800 device's standalone floating-gate driver enables the control of n-channel MOSFETs via SPI. These MOSFETs can be configured as phase or battery isolation devices in high-current motor applications. The integrated charge pump allows the driver output to keep the power MOSFETs on at a high phase-voltage conversion rate throughout the power supply range. The ARG82800 input can be enabled by logic level (ENB) and High voltage key switch (ENBAT), and it can also be flexibly disabled for an output through the serial Peripheral interface (SPI).

     The diagnostic output of the device includes a power-on reset output (NPOR) and a fault flag output (FFn) to alert the microprocessor that a fault has occurred, and the microprocessor can read the fault status via SPI. Dual bandgaps (one for voltage regulation and the other for fault detection), built-in self-testing (BIST) and numerous in-house diagnostic functions extend the reach of functional safety (FuSa) in important automotive applications.