Next generation automotive electronics: the impact on technologies and design methodologies

Third-generation automotive electronics systems, like antiskid braking, electronic suspension, or four-wheel steering, which consist of complex VLSI circuits, are discussed. The semiconductor technologies they use for smart sensors and power ICs, among them CMOS, bipolar, and BiCMOS, are examined. Smart power processes enable analog, digital, and power functions to be combined on one chip. Usually, they combine bipolar, CMOS, and DMOS structures. Depending on the number of output channels, the processes are optimized for single or multiple outputs. A technique for improved microcontroller performance in automotive electronics is described.<
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