APPLICATIONS

POWER SEMICONDUCTORS

Alfons Graf

SIPMOS high-current switches in automotive

electronics:

Extra features cut system costs

Comparisons of semiconductor power switches with
electromechanical equivalents often focus on the cost
of the switch alone. This
makes sense where only the
switching function matters.
But if an application takes
advantage of the extra
features offered by an intelligent semiconductor switch,
the comparison should be
based on total system costs.

ystem cost calculations must take into

account not only the purely functional
advantages of intelligent semiconductor switches, but also the secondary benefits, such as reduced power requirements
and ultimately lower fuel consumption in
motor vehicles. Now that the automotive industry intends to develop a car with a fuel
consumption rate of only three liters of
gasoline per 100 km (corresponding to
80 miles per US gallon), the power budget
and the resulting cost benefits should not
be overlooked.

More features with semiconductor

switches
In automotive applications, the functions
of intelligent power switches can basically
be divided into direct switching functions
and supplementary functions. In addition,
the use of semiconductor power switches

may produce certain substitution effects

which cut costs in other areas. If they help
reduce overall power consumption, for example, the generator can be scaled down.
The switching function refers to switching
a load, as is done by a mechanical switch, a
relay or a discrete component. A fuel pump,
for example, can be turned on or off statically with such a switch. But an intelligent
power switch offers extra functions. Using
a semiconductor switch instead of a mechanical switch means that a short circuit
will not destroy the switch, load, cable or
fuse. Siemens Smart Power Switches
are designed to survive short circuits unscathed, including, of course, short circuits
with inductive components in all feed lines.
The switches are just as resistant to
overheating: they turn off any load current
selectively as soon as the temperature exceeds a certain limit. It makes no difference

Fig. 1 Product overview of smart high-side switches of the PROFET family (a) and smart low-side switches of the HITFET and TEMPFET families (b).
Their extra features can reduce system costs
b)

a)
R on (m )
5000
300
250
220
200

1 Channel

2 Channel

4 Channel

Ron (m )

BSP350,365
BTS308
BTS100
BTS307

500

BTS707

100

2 Channel

4 Channel

BTS610L1-612N1

BTS711L,712N1

BTS620L1,621L1

BTS721L1

65

BTS630*

BTS730*

60

BTS425L1,426L1

BTS726L1

38

BTS432x2,305

BTS734L1

BSP75

18
12

BTS442x2
BTS542x2
BTS450P

BTS545P

BTS550P

TLE5216G

2x350
2x200

Package

6 Channel
TLE5212G

400

BTS410x2,306
BSP450,452,550
BTS409L1

1 Channel

2x1600
4x16000

TLE5226G

200

BTS110

170

BTS113A

100

BTS117
BTS120,121A

SOT
223

TO
220

50

BTS133

TO
218

SO
20

28

BTS141

18

BTS149

TLE5224G
Package
SOT
223
Power
SO

TO
220
SO
28
SO
24

*Dimmer PROFET

38

Components XXXI (1996) No. 5

APPLICATIONS
POWER SEMICONDUCTORS

whether the temperature increase is caused

by an excessive flow of current or external
thermal influences.
Another extra feature offered by Smart
Power Switches is overvoltage protection.
All PROFET and HITFET power switches
(Fig. 1) are protected against dynamic overvoltages (e.g. load dumping or Schaffner
pulses). This feature includes shutting down
inductive loads. The negative voltage peaks
that occur in such cases are limited to
typical values of 50 or 60 V across the
switch by active zener clamping. In contrast
with mechanical switches, no additional
components are required.
Intelligent power switches offer diagnostic
features too. These are particularly useful
in safety-related applications and system
troubleshooting. As the diagnostic report
provides data on load interruptions, temporary faults can be recorded and stored,
which significantly simplifies troubleshooting. Faults which cannot readily be traced by
the driver or service personnel, such as failure of the lambda probe or the washer tube
heater, can also be detected in this way.
Depending on their design, semiconductor
switches can be operated at high frequency. Applications with very high switching
rates, e.g. brake lights, or switches with
pulse width modulation (PWM) can thus
be implemented. PWM in particular has
opened up new applications, such as
dimming lamps, driving analog valves, or
motor speed control. It makes current and
power easy to monitor and control.
A knowledge of current levels is indispensable to controlling high currents. With the

new switches of the PROFET and HITFET

series, the current flowing can be evaluated
by a sense signal in linear mode and with
respect to ground. Overloads or insidious
short circuits can thus be detected and
turned off as soon as the maximum permissible duration has been exceeded.
This provides protection against overheating and fire hazards while dispensing with
the need for fuses. In addition, the crosssections of cable conductors can be perfectly matched to the rated load currents, so
the savings realized reduce total system
costs.
Intelligent load control reduces power
requirements
Although all users would like to take advantage of the extra features offered by
semiconductor switches, opinions are
divided about the cost benefits attainable.
Substitution values, however, reveal distinct
cost benefits, which can be substantiated
by hard figures.
These benefits can be illustrated by the
example of the fuel pump. Depending on
design, the pump with its powerful electric
motor consumes anything from 80 to 250 W,
regardless of vehicle speed. The motor
output is designed for maximum fuel flow
at full acceleration. When the engine idles,
the excess fuel is returned to the tank via a
relief valve, so only a few watts of power
would be needed to operate the pump
(Fig. 2). So if the pump could be designed
to supply only the amount of fuel actually
needed, the average power consumption of
the electric motor could be reduced to a
figure between 5 and 50 W, depending on
pump capacity.

Fig. 2 Power consumption of an automotive fuel pump permanently

switched on and a pump matched to driving requirements

Intelligent control of the pump motor can

thus save at least 100 W of electric power,
which no longer has to be generated in the
vehicle. A car generates electricity relatively inefficiently: every extra 100 W of power
generated increases fuel consumption by
0.15 liters of fuel per 100 km. Eliminating
that extra consumption would be equivalent
to reducing the vehicles weight by 50 kg.
Table 1 lists automotive loads where intelligent switching could conceivably reduce
power consumption. Today, many of these
loads are still driven mechanically from the
internal combustion engine and are thus
difficult to control. The cooling water pump
is a load that could easily be controlled or
regulated by a suitable electric drive. The
same applies to electrohydraulic power
steering: power would only be consumed
while the steering wheel is actually being
turned in contrast with the 1000 W which
todays cars consume permanently, even
when they are driven in a straight line.
The figures given in the table are approximate values and will obviously vary greatly
among vehicle types. But they make it clear
that in a mid-range or luxury automobile,
several hundred watts can be saved in the
steering system alone. Fuel consumption in
vehicles of these classes, which currently
amounts to 14 liters per 100 km, could thus
be reduced by about six liters.
To illustrate the potential savings, Fig. 3
shows the additional fuel consumption of a
mid-range vehicle caused by the generator
(80 A) and air conditioning system. For
test purposes, these two systems were
disconnected, so that power was supplied
by the battery alone. Under these condi-

Fig. 3 Additional fuel consumption caused by the generator (80 A) and

air conditioning system, as measured on a BMW 525iX using the EUDC
cycle
Additional fuel consumption

P Pump

l
100km

250(80)W

Freeway

Generator and air conditioning

6

Actual power requirement

Generator
Average

50(5)W

Air conditioning

Idle
0

Components XXXI (1996) No. 5

400

800

1200

39

APPLICATIONS
POWER SEMICONDUCTORS

Maximum
power
Fuel pump
Cooling water pump
Rear window/mirror heating
Windshield heating
Air pump
Electrohydraulic power steering
ABS pump
Cooling fan
Electrohydraulic suspension control
Electromechanical air conditioning
Catalytic converter heating

250 W
300 W
320 W
2500 W
300 W
1000 W
400 W
800 W
4000 W
3000 W
3000 W

Total

Average
power required

Potential
savings

50 W
200 W

200 W
100 W
100 W
100 W
200 W
800 W
300 W
200 W
1000 W
1500 W
100 W

100 W
200 W
100 W

16020 W

4600 W

Table 1 Potential power savings for selected automotive electrical loads (many of which are still
driven mechanically)

Pgenerator

P generator
P max

P1+P2

P max
P2

(P1+P2)

max

For example, the heating element for the

rear window can be switched off briefly
while the ABS pump operates. Various
motors can also be switched with different
delays to minimize voltage drops caused
by increased inrush currents. This method
of power management can also be used to
secure the vehicle against theft. The same
applies to selective cutoff of loads and lines
in the event of an accident. In a carefully
designed application, overall vehicle safety
and security can be enhanced as a welcome
side effect.

P2

Smart Power Switches reduce fuel

consumption

P1

P1

Fig. 4 Thanks to power management, the maximum generator output required can be reduced
by switching loads on with different delays

tions, fuel consumption was determined by

means of the EUDC cycle. It can be seen
that at the start of the cycle, i.e. at a low
average speed, consumption is very high.
As the cycle time increases, i.e. at higher
speeds, the additional consumption drops
to about two to three liters per 100 km. It
was found that for an assumed generator
output of about 1 kW, the extra consumption per 100 km mentioned above is rather
conservative and attained only at optimum
engine speed.
Lower system costs thanks to power
management
Reducing the electric power requirement of
automobiles means that the generator can
be scaled down, the battery becomes
smaller, the cables have a smaller crosssection, and overall weight is reduced. This

40

a multiple of this figure. If all the loads can

be switched on simultaneously, the generator, battery, and cabling must be designed
to handle this maximum load. But if the loads
can be switched on intelligently and consecutively, so that certain high-current loads
do not have to and cannot be turned on
simultaneously, the maximum power requirement can be considerably reduced. To
achieve this, loads can be selectively cut off
or reduced to the necessary minimum by
means of PWM (Fig. 4).

reduces the total cost of designing and

manufacturing the vehicle. Since a semiconductor switch can turn off short circuits
and overloads, such as those occurring
when a pump is blocked, the load or pump
can obviously be scaled down accordingly.
This in turn saves costs in pump design as
well as weight.
There are certain rules of thumb here for assessing design costs. Every kilogram of
weight saved reduces design costs per
vehicle by 10 to 20 DM (or $3 to $6 per
pound), and every watt of electricity
saved produces cost savings of 5 to 10 DM
($3 to $6).
If all the electric loads in the motor vehicle
are added up, the total will be in the region
of 1 kW of static power requirements. In
new high-current applications, it can rise to

There is a distinct trend in the automotive

industry to use intelligent semiconductor
switches not only to implement additional functions, but also to take advantage of
potential cost savings. Building a car that can
go 100 km on three liters of fuel means
optimizing electrical and electromechanical
loads in particular. Here Smart Power
Switches from Siemens can help the automotive industry implement solutions which
are both economically viable and environh
mentally friendly.
Check #5-96-6 (HL) on Reader Service Card

Dr. Alfons Graf

studied electrical engineering at Munich
University of Technology and wrote his doctoral
thesis on laser scanning and MOS breakdown
phenomena. In 1990 he joined the Semiconductor Group of Siemens AG, where he was
involved in designing and testing CMOS ASICs
in the Semicustom Division. In 1993 he moved
to SIPMOS and is now responsible for definition and applications of Smart Power Switches
and bridges in the Power Semiconductor
Business Unit.

Components XXXI (1996) No. 5