NXP announced the launch of a full line of in-vehicle Ethernet product portfolios

NXP Semiconductors announced a new product portfolio for in-vehicle Ethernet. The portfolio is based on BroadR-ReachTM, the automotive standard developed by the One Pair Ether-Net Alliance, an industry group, and is designed to enable consumer Ethernet to meet the stringent requirements of the automotive industry. NXP is a founding member of the OPEN Alliance and has pioneered a true automotive portfolio consisting of two product families: Ethernet transceivers (TJA1100) and Ethernet switches (SJA1105).

Ethernet is expected to become the network hub for autonomous driving and connected vehicles, because Ethernet supports high data bandwidth and high communication rates, and can reduce vehicle cable weight and improve cost efficiency to meet the needs of future connected vehicles. NXP's modular design in both switches and transceivers enables flexible, cost-effective and efficient combinations that allow automakers to create optimal solutions for a wide range of network architectures, from entry-level vehicles to high-end luxury vehicles. It also paves the way for a new type of distributed network architecture (video) in the future.

With the rise of the secure connected car and the resulting ultra-high data transmission requirements, the adoption of Ethernet continues to accelerate. Thilo Koslowski, vice president and automotive practice leader at Gartner, said: "Automotive manufacturers plan to use in-vehicle Ethernet extensively for a wide variety of applications and functions. These include safety systems, driver information systems, Advanced Driver assistance Systems (ADAS), and entertainment systems. By 2023, there will be 162 million Ethernet nodes, including 242 million ports, in global consumer vehicles rolling off the assembly line."

Jens Hinrichsen, senior vice president of Secure Automotive Gate and Vehicle Networking at NXP, added: "NXP has been a leading force in bringing Ethernet to the automotive space and is a founding member of the OPEN Alliance Standardization Organization. It is exciting to see the first 'true' in-vehicle Ethernet transceivers and switches on the market. These products meet the stringent requirements of the automotive industry in terms of EMC, quality, reliability and mass production. These Ethernet products complete our leading in-vehicle networking offerings and will bring new features to the connected car of the future."

To date, NXP's CAN, LIN and FlexRay transceivers have shipped 6 billion units to the global automotive industry, with transceivers shipping 2 million units per day. Ethernet will complement these existing standards.

Technical highlight

By developing technology dedicated to automotive applications, NXP's Ethernet PHY TJA1100 product supports in-vehicle low-power modes. When the engine is turned off, the system goes into sleep mode. At the same time, the Ethernet PHY remains partially open and wakes up the system only when there is activity on the network. Unlike conventional solutions, the NXP Ethernet PHY does not require additional components, such as a voltage regulator, to stay on when the engine is turned off, significantly improving power performance and extending battery life.

Transceiver - TJA1100

Designed in accordance with the OPEN Alliance BroadR-Reach™ (OABR) standard (IEEE: 100BASE-T1) and based on the automotive development process, the 6x6mm² HVQFN package minimizes the number of external components and supports low power mode for extended battery life Automotive grade ESD and EMC
The on-board Ethernet switch SJA1105 was developed by NXP in close collaboration with TTTech, a global leader in reliable networking and security control. Switches employ deterministic Ethernet technology to ensure message latency in applications such as autonomous driving, where deterministic communication is critical for operational efficiency or functional safety. Deterministic Ethernet not only meets the trend of increasing bandwidth requirements (up to 1 gigabit), but also ensures the high reliability of network control systems and meets the high availability requirements of applications that are not affected by failures. Deterministic Ethernet is made up of several standards, including the Ethernet standard (IEEE 802.3), the time-triggered Ethernet standard (SAE AS6802), the Audio and Video Bridging Standard (AVB), and the Time Sensitive Networking Standard (TSN).

Digital switch - SJA1105

5-port vehicle Ethernet switch, Support for up to 1 Gigabit network rate Layer 2 storage and forwarding switches MII/RMII/RGMII interfaces support port mirroring and VLAN (IEEE 802.1Q and IEEE 802.1P) Support for AVB and TSN enables deterministic Ethernet solutions compliant with SAE AS6802 TT Ethernet Fault-Tolerant Clock synchronization standard virtual link based on single - and dual-port PHyS, scalable, flexible and cost-optimized configuration