It's Déjà Vu all Over again for powertrain engineers who are focused on improving fuel efficiency while maintaining performance, just as they were in the aftermath of the 1970's oil crisis. Only this time they have more sophisticated tools and are building better cars.

“When you compare the ownership and operating costs of a '69 Ford Mustang Mach 1 and an '07 Mustang GT, they're almost the same-even with the price of gas at $3 per gallon today versus 25 cents,” contended Joe Funyak, Automotive, Industrial and Multimarket business group product marketing manager at Infineon Technologies North America.

“Back then you could get 5-7 mpg city and maybe 12 highway, but owners didn't care, because they wanted power,” Funyak recalled. “Now they can get 17-18 mpg city and 25-26 highway, and there's no comparison in performance. The Mach 1 was fine going straight, but stopping or cornering was a challenge, and it was difficult to find a 6-CD changer in 1969. Today, an owner gets better mileage and performance, along with stability control, disc brakes and airbags. And electronics makes all of that happen.”

Infineon is collaborating with BMW on a new engine control unit for the next BMW M series based on 32-bit flash microcontrollers from Infineon's AUDO FUTURE family. The engine is expected to offer reduced fuel consumption and to meet a range of current worldwide automotive emissions standards, including EURO5 and US-LEV2.

Figure 1. Infineon’s AUDO FUTURE MCUs operate at up to 180 MHz and come with as much as 4 MB of flash memory and a FlexRay controller.

Infineon's AUDO FUTURE MCUs include the 180 MHz TC1797 with 4 MB of flash and integrated FlexRay controller, the 133 MHz or 80 MHz TC1767 with 2 MB of flash, and the entry level, 80 MHz TC1736 with 1 MB of flash. The MCUs are based on the firm's TriCore processor architecture, which combines the capabilities of a microprocessor, a microcontroller and a digital signal processor on a single chip.

A MultiLink interface enables developers to connect multiple AUDO MCUs for data sharing at rates of up to 37.5 Mbps. On-chip peripherals are handled by a peripheral control processor engine, allowing the TriCore core to focus on engine management, transmission control and other powertrain functions.

The AUDO family also supports AUTOSAR software and includes a FlexRay communications block.

The newest AUDO processors offer up to 66% higher performance than previous AUDO products and are suited for OBD2 self-diagnostic functions such as emissions monitoring and emission standards such as EURO6 and Tier2 Bin5 in the US, according to Jochen Hanebeck, senior vice president and general manager of Infineon's Microcontrollers business unit. New emission standards require more complex algorithms and more performance, but Hanebeck said the embedded flash in AUDO FUTURE MCUs can accommodate all of the necessary code.

“Powertrain applications are the harshest of automotive electronic environments,” said Mark Fitzgerald, an automotive electronics analyst at Strategy Analytics. “Future vehicle emissions legislation and propulsion technologies will ensure that powertrain control remains one of the most challenging applications.”

Powertrain engineers everywhere are focused on vehicle performance, fuel economy, and emission requirements, but approaches vary with geography, according to Kevin Klein, automotive microcontroller marketing manager at Freescale Semiconductor.

“Attention is focused on hybrids in North America, where emission requirements involve a dramatic increase that affects powertrain and steering,” Klein said. “Hybrid control systems are complex, requiring sophisticated control of electric motors, battery management, and power conversion. There are pretty intense bandwidth communication issues among modules for drivability and feel, and FlexRay is a means of handling that.”

Klein observed that engineers in Europe are placing less emphasis on hybrids than on common rail direct-injection diesel engine for fuel economy. “Over half the cars in Europe are diesels, and diesel fuel is subsidized,” he noted.

“In India, Asia, and Latin America, the focus is on improving emissions. Design engineers have a clean slate for developing all new systems, and they are doing a quick catch-up, leapfrogging about 15 years of technology; doing the same things as in Europe and North America, but at lower cost points.”