Modular Zone Controller Reference Design

The zone controller design simplifies vehicle development by supporting component evaluation, optimizing BOM, and enabling faster time to market with automotive solutions.

Zone controllers are crucial in next-generation electric and electronic (E/E) vehicle architectures by consolidating end-node functionalities into fewer electronic control units (ECUs). The automotive-grade reference design from NXP Semiconductors supports zone controller implementation, simplifying the evaluation of key components. Its flexible joint development model helps automakers focus on their unique software innovations while optimizing the vehicle’s bill of materials (BOM).

The design provides system-level performance indicators, including power consumption, wake-up time, latency, and overall performance, enabling quick assessments and faster time to market. The solution incorporates the latest semiconductor innovations and cost-performance optimized chipsets, ensuring efficient and reliable performance.

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Designed to be customizable and scalable, the hardware can be tailored to meet unique customer needs, offering flexibility in design-to-cost considerations. With extensive ramp-up expertise, the design is ready to support the demands of next-generation vehicles. It also meets automotive-grade design and production quality standards, ensuring durability and compliance. Additionally, the solution comes pre-integrated with NXP’s CoreRide Platform Software and partner ECU systems, streamlining development and reducing time to market.

The S32K5 MCU series builds on the series by offering higher performance, larger memory, and enhanced vehicle network communication while maintaining low power consumption. It features Arm Cortex-M7 and Cortex-R52 cores in single, multiple, or lockstep configurations. With support for Ethernet, CAN FD, and an advanced MRAM memory module, the S32K5 provides a scalable solution for developing applications ranging from IO aggregators to body, comfort, or chassis zone controllers.

The TJA1124 is a quad-channel local interconnect network (LIN) device that serves as an interface between a LIN commander protocol controller and the physical bus in a LIN network. Each of its four channels includes a LIN transceiver and LIN commander termination.

The S32J100 Ethernet Switch and network controller offer dynamic and automated configuration options, making it suitable for various in-vehicle applications. From central compute and zonal controllers to ADAS and IVI systems, it provides the performance and flexibility needed to support zonal architectures and software-defined vehicles (SDVs).

The TJA1462 CAN signal improvement capability (SIC) transceiver with standby mode is a member of the TJA146x transceiver family, designed to support CAN SIC as specified in ISO 11898-2:2024 third edition. The MC33978 is a multiple switch detection interface (MSDI) that monitors the opening and closing of up to 22 switch contacts. It communicates the switch status, whether open or closed, to the microprocessor via SPI, making it ideal for automotive applications.

NXP has tested this reference design. It comes with a bill of materials (BOM), schematics, assembly drawing, printed circuit board (PCB) layout, and more. The company’s website has additional data about the reference design. To read more about this reference design, click here.