2012: See the innovative application of MCU in new energy vehicles

In 2011, with the fading of BYD's halo, the local pure electric new energy vehicle industry once fell into a slump and was controversial. But as Ding Jiezao, product manager of Fujitsu Semiconductor's marketing department, pointed out at a media seminar titled "2012 Industry and Technology Outlook" in Shenzhen, "Although new energy vehicles have faced many challenges in recent years, including battery technology bottlenecks, high vehicle costs, and inadequate infrastructure, in fact, the desire to develop new energy vehicles has not changed, and it is still urgent, whether at the national government level or at the automobile manufacturers, because energy security and environmental pollution issues are urgent."

These challenges faced by new energy vehicles will surely drive semiconductor manufacturers, automobile manufacturers and even business operators (such as the State Grid, PetroChina, and Sinopec) to find solutions through various technical and commercial means, and the state and local governments will continue to increase subsidies for new energy. "Oil prices are rising day by day, especially the situation in the Middle East, including Syria and Iran, and the situation in the Middle East is unstable. It is certain that the price will exceed $150 in 2012, and even $200 is also a very high probability event, thus forcing the market to launch a replacement plan for pure electric new energy vehicles." Ding Jiezao believes.

Figure 1 : Ding Jiezao, product manager of Fujitsu Semiconductor Marketing Department, believes that the energy crisis is forcing the market to launch alternative solutions for pure electric new energy vehicles.

It is reported that in 2012, all major automobile manufacturers are planning to launch entry-level new energy automobile products that are more suitable for market demand. The government will work with specific operating companies to arrange more funds and provide policy support for the infrastructure construction of charging/swapping stations. "As an important supplier of automotive semiconductors, Fujitsu Semiconductor will make efforts in the new energy automobile market in 2012, including working with partners to truly develop new energy automobiles from 10,000 units to 100,000 units or even 500,000 units, and reach the industrial plan of one million units by 2016," Ding Jiezao said.

At this media seminar, Ding Jie shared the market drivers that promoted the rapid development of new energy vehicles in 2012 and the innovative applications of MCU in new energy vehicles from the perspective of semiconductor manufacturers.

“Plug-in hybrid” returns to market hotspot

Ding Jiezao first analyzed the general pattern of global new energy vehicle development. In 2012, China is expected to take the lead in the number of new energy vehicle models and the construction of charging and swapping station infrastructure, but more innovation is needed in the new generation of power batteries and drive motor control. The US government's policy focuses on the technical research and development and industrialization of power batteries. Their idea is "whoever masters the power battery technology will occupy the future of electric vehicles." Europe will continue to integrate the technologies of excellent global partners to promote the joint development of the new energy vehicle industry, and at the same time take advantage of the huge market potential and low production costs in developing countries to quickly occupy the market. Japan will continue to promote their development plans for hybrid electric vehicles and promote the global export of new energy vehicles.

He stressed that the success or failure of the development of new energy vehicles is related to China's national oil security in the future. China focuses on the development and subsidies of pure electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV). Pure electric vehicles will be the ultimate development goal. In the short and medium term, plug-in hybrid vehicles will be the transitional models that are developed as the focus. Plug-in hybrid vehicles are directly charged by the power grid, with electric motors as the main power output and engines as auxiliary. They use large-capacity batteries and can travel long distances on electricity. If the battery is exhausted, the engine can be used to continue driving, solving practical problems. Plug-in hybrid vehicles have become a trend, and BYD, FAW, Geely Automobile, Great Wall Motors, Changan Automobile, JAC Motors, etc. are all vigorously developing them.

Fujitsu Semiconductor's one-stop automotive system control solution

Whether it is traditional cars or new energy vehicles, safe, green and comfortable automotive electronic systems are common demands. Automobile safety includes zero failure, functional safety and self-diagnosis modules; environmental friendliness refers to reducing vehicle weight and thus reducing energy consumption through the use of on-board networks, and also includes the use of environmentally friendly materials and processes; powerful graphics and image processing technology and intuitive and friendly human-machine interface bring drivers a comfortable driving experience.

"The above demands will mainly involve four aspects of automotive electronics: body electronics, body instrument panel, image multimedia, and chassis motor control. Fujitsu Semiconductor will provide a one-stop system control solution." Ding Jiezao said.

Figure 2 : Fujitsu Semiconductor provides a one-stop system control solution.

Fujitsu Semiconductor can also provide a package solution for new energy vehicles, which basically covers the entire electronic system of an EV/HEV. From the MB91580 series dedicated motor control 32-bit MCU solution with integrated internal RDC, to the graphical virtual display instrument using Fujitsu GDC solution; from the BMS solution and DC-DC converter designed by the low-cost MB96F613 using the CAN bus, to the vehicle controller developed by the multi-channel CAN bus MCU FR81S. Moreover, these different grades of 16-bit and 32-bit MCUs all use the same low-cost emulator and the same compilation environment, which is very convenient and cheap for customers to develop.

Motor control MCU innovation improves energy efficiency

Ding Jiezao specifically shared Fujitsu Semiconductor 's innovations in motor control MCU solutions for EV/PHEV, including: 1. Improve motor operation; 2. Reduce energy consumption; 3. Reduce system costs. MB91580 MCU is the world's first high-performance MCU specifically designed for new energy vehicle motor control. It integrates key peripheral functions such as RDC, which can shorten motor control time and simplify system design.

Figure 3: Fujitsu MCU innovation in motor control.

Figure 4 : MB91580 built-in RDC : system design is greatly simplified!

For electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles, as shown in Figure 3, the existing system uses a dual-chip solution: MCU + external RDC (resolver converter). The CPU needs to read the angle value from the external RDC, and then look up the table to search for the sin and cos values. Fujitsu Semiconductor's MB91580 solution uses a single chip: the MCU integrates the RDC, and the CPU can directly read the absolute angle value, sin and cos values ​​from the register at any time. This can greatly simplify the hardware circuit and the software design work is also simplified.

"If the RDC is placed outside separately, the cost of the entire motor control system may be 6 or 7 US dollars. In 2013, Fujitsu Semiconductor will integrate two RDCs inside the chip of its second-generation new energy vehicle motor control MCU product, thereby further reducing costs." Ding Jiezao said.

MB91580 reduces motor control time by 40% !

As shown in Figure 5 below, there are three ways to shorten the motor control time through high-performance CPU. They require 1-9 steps of processing flow, such as PIC calculation and other transformation processing. All these processes are integrated into the chip and can be implemented through hardware circuits. Now, MB91580 can reduce the process to half and implement it in 5 steps. What are the benefits? The previous processing time was 25 microseconds, and now the processing time can be controlled at 12 microseconds, which can shorten the motor control time by 40%, thereby improving the efficiency of motor operation.

Figure 5 : The MB91580 ’s integrated high-performance CPU and built-in Rx I/F can reduce motor control time by 40% .

Ding Jiezao introduced that the MB91580 series for new energy vehicle motor control includes 9 product signals, providing multiple options from 64 pins to 100 pins and 144 pins. So many models are developed to meet the requirements of customers in different regions. European and American customers may choose 144 pins, Chinese customers may choose 100 pins, and some Indian customers may also choose 100 pins, which can meet the market needs of different design costs.

Figure 6 : MB91580 product family (9 products, 64- pin to 144- pin).

General-purpose processors play a big role in BMS and vehicle control

The entire control solution for new energy vehicles, in addition to motor control, also includes a battery management system (BMS) and a vehicle control unit. These do not require a dedicated control system, and "low-cost, high-performance" general-purpose processors can meet such market demands. Fujitsu Semiconductor has launched a new series of general-purpose MCU products. For example, the 16-bit 16FXS series is a streamlined version that can streamline some functions and reduce costs, which is in line with the trend of automotive platformization.

"Whether customers choose a simple or complex design, we have different models to meet their needs. 16-bit MCUs such as the 16FXS series are more suitable for some low-cost control applications, such as BMS; while 32-bit MCUs such as the FR81S series are more suitable for more complex vehicle control applications." Ding Jiezao said. He explained that the cost of BMS is very high now because there are many battery cells, and each battery cell must be controlled by an MCU, which requires about dozens of MCUs. If the cost of MCUs is reduced without sacrificing performance and quality, it is equivalent to taking the entire new energy vehicle design one step forward.

However, Fujitsu's 32-bit and 16-bit general-purpose MCU series use the same set of emulators and development kits, all of which use USB debugging connections. "This has an advantage. When designers turn to high performance, the investment in tool purchases can be completed with a set. Fujitsu's development tool costs less than $150, less than 1,000 yuan. A thousand yuan can get a complete set of 16-bit and 32-bit tools, which is quite cost-effective." Ding Jiezao said with a smile.

Fujitsu Semiconductor has also developed a series of electric vehicle battery management system reference solutions as shown in Figure 7, which customers need to further customize and modify for mass production.

Figure 7. Fujitsu’s new energy vehicle battery management system reference solution.

Figure 8. Integration innovation concept among various control systems of new energy vehicles.

As shown in Figure 8 above, for the development of new energy vehicle applications, including various control systems, Fujitsu has also proposed a concept called system integration innovation. For example, the MB91580 MCU can suppress the CPU load rate through motor control, so it can perform BMS battery management control and DC-DC control at the same time, which is conducive to reducing overall costs through system integration.