Microcontrollers for automotive electronics

Developing automotive electronic products with microcontrollers is a complex and time-consuming process. Developing engine controls, entertainment systems, safety sensors and other automotive products requires a solid knowledge of electronics, programming, and engineering practices.

In addition, another important point for manufacturing reliable products with a competent team and ensuring project success is to be aware of automotive regulations, such as the AEC-Q100 (Automotive Electronics Council - Qualification of Electronic Components) certification.

The automotive market needs to comply with certain regulations, such as the AEC-Q100 certification, which sets strict standards for the qualification and testing of electronic components used in vehicles. Here are some reasons why this certification is essential.

The electronic components used in automotive vehicles are subject to extreme conditions, such as temperature variations, vibrations, humidity, and other adverse environmental factors. AEC-Q100 certification ensures that components are tested and designed to withstand these conditions, guaranteeing their reliability and durability.

Vehicle safety is an absolute priority. Unreliable electronic components can cause critical vehicle systems such as brakes, airbags, and power steering to fail. AEC-Q100 certification ensures that components meet safety requirements and function correctly in all situations.

Using AEC-Q100 certified components reduces the risks associated with component failures and, consequently, the costs of recalls, repairs, and maintenance. This is crucial for the company's reputation and for consumer safety.

AEC-Q100 certification defines test procedures and acceptance criteria, simplifying the development process for manufacturers of automotive components and systems. This saves the time and resources required during development.

For these reasons, AEC-Q100 certification plays a critical role in ensuring the quality, safety and reliability of electronic components used in the automotive industry. This certification is an important indicator for car manufacturers and suppliers, as it helps to ensure that vehicles are safe and operate reliably in all conditions.

If you are a developer of automotive electronic products and want to use electronic components that meet market requirements, including AEC-Q10 certification, you need to know about GigaDevice's family of microcontrollers. With an advanced manufacturing process, GigaDevice's GD32H7 microcontroller (MCU) family offers:

• great value for money;
• excellent application potential;
• superior processing power;
• greater energy efficiency;
• connectivity;
• various safety functions.

GigaDevice's GD32H7 MCUs feature a high-performance Arm Cortex-M7 core with a clock frequency of up to 600 MHz and can operate up to 1552 DMIPS at its highest frequency, achieving an exceptional performance of 2888 dots in CoreMark benchmark tests. The large internal memory space of these microcontrollers can support operating systems, artificial intelligence processing and embedded machine learning and other advanced algorithms, enabling high-performance, low-latency real-time control.

The GD32H7 microcontroller family integrates various peripherals, including 8 U(S)ARTs, 4 I2Cs, 6 SPIs, 4 I2Ss, 2 SDIOs and 2 Octal SPI (OSPI, backwards compatible with QSPI) with real-time decryption supported by a Real-Time Detection Module (RTDEC). It also has two USB 2.0 OTG interfaces, supporting Full-Speed and High-Speed operating modes.

These microcontrollers integrate three CAN-FD modules and two Ethernet interfaces to meet the demand for high-speed communication. The sampling rate of the two internal 14-bit ADCs can reach 4 MSPS, and the sampling rate of the 12-bit ADC goes up to 5.3 MSPS.

With all these features, the GD32H7 MCU family offers excellent graphic display solutions and audio and video connectivity. It has a TFT-LCD controller and an image processing accelerator (IPA) for 2D image processing operations such as overlay, rotation, zoom in/out and conversion between various color modes. To top it off, they also integrate a serial audio interface (SAI), an SPDIF audio interface and an 8-bit to 14-bit digital camera interface for video and image capture and transmission.

The GD32H7 MCUs are ideal for:

• signal processing;
• high-precision motor control;
• digital power supplies;
• energy storage;
• audio and voice recognition;
• graphics and imaging applications.

Thanks to the MCU's ultra-high clock speed and large memory size, GigaDevice microcontrollers support applications that require intensive processing resources, such as machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Want to know all the advantages of using GigaDevice microcontrollers in the development of your automotive electronics? Click here and contact us.