ATHENIS_3D: Automotive Tested High-voltage and Embedded Non-volatile Integrated SoC Platform with 3D Technology

Abstract

The ATHENIS_3D FP7 EU project aims at providing new enabling technologies (analog, digital and power components) for high-voltage and high-temperature applications, tested for power systems of new hybrid/electrical vehicles. Innovation is exploited at process/device level (3D chip stacking, wafer level packaging, trench capacitors and TSV-inductors integrated in the interposer, high-reliable non-volatile Magnetic RAM), circuitlevel (inductorless high-voltage DC DC converter, hightemperature 28nm System-on-Chip platform) and system-level (compact 3D embedded power mechatronic system). Enabling high integration levels of complex systems, operating in harsh environments, in a single packaged 3D device, ATHENIS_3D allows for one order of magnitude area reduction vs. today PCBbased power and control systems. Integration costs will be consequently reduced in key industrial sectors for Europe where high-voltage/temperature operations are mandatory (vehicles, avionics, space/defence, industrial automation, energy).

Fully-Integrated Converter for Low-Cost and Low-Size Power Supply in Internet-of-Things Applications

“…The proposed architecture is based on switched capacitor (SC) converter [81][82][83][84][85][86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98] stages that can be easily integrated in silicon since they are characterized by the use of only capacitors and switches. The switches are realized in silicon through MOS transistors.…”

Hard macrocells for DC/DC converter in automotive embedded mechatronic systems

“…Ref. [1] proposes an inductorless DC/DC converter which, compared to the proposed design, has the following drawbacks: limited output programmability since only the conversion ratio (Vout/Vin) can be configured in a limited set of integer factors; missing dithering and low power modes; reduced output current capability to few hundreds of milliamps. Moreover, the works in [7][8][9] miss harsh environment specifications such as an extended operating temperature range, from −40 to 150°C with our design, and extended operating input voltage range from few volts (in case of battery cranking) to maximum 60 V for emerging 48 V DC bus electric/hybrid vehicles.…”

“…For example, Fig. 1 shows the block diagram of a new generation of starter/alternator systems for electric/hybrid vehicles, we recently proposed in [1], consisting of an embedded unit connected through a digital serial bus (Local Interconnect Network (LIN)) to the main vehicle control unit and receiving both 48 and 12 V power supplies. The 48 V value is used for the rotor excitation in the electrical machine, whereas the 12 V is used to supply the sensing and control circuitry.…”

“…Both high-voltage power electronic circuits and low-voltage signal processing and networking circuits have to be integrated within the same embedded mechatronic unit. Particularly, in emerging hybrid and electric vehicles, multiple voltage domains have to be managed [1][2][3]: 24 or 48 V for electric/ hybrid propulsion and power-demanding mechatronic loads and 12 V for conventional on-board electronic sub-systems. From these values, also supply levels of few volts have to be generated for low-power components such as sensors and their analog and mixed-signal frontend, and digital circuitry for processing, memory, and networking.…”

“…Hereafter, Sections 2 and 3 present the architecture of the DC/DC converter macrocell architecture, and the circuital implementation of its sub-blocks focusing on [1,[7][8][9] are the digital programmability of the output voltage, the slope control of the MOS driver, the dithering of the frequency used in the PWM-like control loop, and the asynchronous hysteretic control which is activated when the load current is low to minimize the power consumption.…”