Making microcontrollers for green and autonomous vehicles

Semiconductor companies Renesas Electronics and TSMC are collaborating on 28 nm embedded flash (eFlash) process technology for manufacturing microcontrollers (MCUs) targeted at next-generation green and autonomous vehicles.

The collaboration will see Renesas’ Metal-Oxide-Nitride-Oxide-Silicon (MONOS) eFlash technology combine with TSMC’s high-performance, low-power 28 nm high-K metal gate process technology. This combination will produce automotive MCUs for applications such as autonomous vehicle sensor control, coordinated control among electronic control units (ECUs), fuel-efficient engine control for green vehicles and motor inverter control for electric vehicles.

The MCUs are expected to meet the demands of next-generation automotive computing by delivering more than four times the program memory capacity and fourfold performance compared to the current 40 nm technology, according to the companies. Other enhancements include the use of multiple CPU cores, more advanced security and support for multiple interface standards.

“The auto industry is currently undergoing a major transformation, with next-generation green vehicles and autonomous-driving vehicles on the horizon,” said Ryuji Omura, executive vice president, Renesas Electronics. “Innovative semiconductor technology is essential to accelerate the development of next-generation automobiles, and I am confident that the collaboration with TSMC on the technology development of next-generation MCUs will deliver enhanced peace of mind regarding the stable supply to our customers into the future.”

The automotive MCUs are slated for sample shipment and mass production in 2017 and 2020, respectively.