Automotive MCUs for High-speed Networking in Instrument Clusters

Cypress Semiconductor Corp. yesterday announced it is sampling new devices in its Traveo™ automotive microcontroller (MCU) family that provides secure, high-speed networking for classic instrument cluster applications. The new MCUs support the Controller Area Network Flexible Data-rate (CAN FD) standard for high-speed, in-vehicle networking, allowing large amounts of data to be exchanged between each CAN node. Integrated enhanced Secure Hardware Extension (eSHE) support enables the devices to secure data on in-vehicle networks and prevent unauthorized connections to electronic control units (ECUs). The new MCUs offer advanced system features, high-quality sound and graphics, and can drive up to six traditional mechanical gauges, adding to the scalability of Cypress' market-leading Traveo family.

"Our newest 40nm MCUs add to the industry-leading scalability of the Traveo platform for instrument clusters, giving automotive customers options for simple displays in mass-market vehicles up to our MCUs for advanced 3D color graphics in luxury vehicles," said Takeshi Fuse, senior vice president of the Automotive Business Unit at Cypress. "These new offerings open up cost-effective implementations with high-performance and advanced features to classic instrument cluster applications, including support for CAN FD and eSHE to address industry demand for high-speed in-vehicle networking with advanced security".

The new Traveo S6J336xx and S6J337xx series leverage Cypress' 40nm embedded charge-trap (eCT™) Flash technology for higher performance and reliability. The MCU series are based on an ARM® Cortex®-R5 core with robust, 132-MHz performance and feature up to 2MB of high-density embedded flash for application storage. The MCUs offer an LCD interface that supports 4com x 32 segment, which can be used for a basic LCD display such as the odometer. The interface also supports Thin-Film-Transistor (TFT) display sizes up to 480x240 pixels with a sequencer that simplifies control of the meter display, which can be used to show simple diagnostics such as tire pressure or that a door is open. A partial wake-up mode allows the MCUs to operate some functions while the core is in sleep mode and to only wake up if needed, enabling the lowest possible system power consumption. The MCUs also support on-chip sound mixing, eliminating the need for an external mixing IC. Cypress offers a broad range of variations in the series that enables customers to easily develop derivative solutions.

The new Traveo MCUs include the S6J351Cx series, which are targeted for body electronics applications. The series also leverages Cypress' 40nm eCT Flash technology and integrate an ARM Cortex-R5 core with 132-MHz performance, along with up to 2MB of high-density embedded flash for application storage.

The Traveo S6J336xx, S6J337xx and S6J351Cx series are sampling now and will be in production in the first quarter of 2018. The MCUs are each available in a 144-pin or 176-pin thermally enhanced quad flat package (TEQFP), and additional package options are in development.