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Telematics control unit

Products and reference designs
Block diagram

Telematics control unit

Block diagram

Overview

Telematics control unit (TCU) is the embedded onboard system that controls wireless tracking, diagnostics and communication to and from the vehicle. These systems can be used in eCall crash notification, electronic tolling and vehicle tracking, among many others. Our range of products empowers you to create TCU designs that enable higher bandwidth, increased integration and smaller solution sizes.

Design requirements

The benefits of TCU include:

  • Increasing amount of connectivity to the vehicle by adding more modems and processing to support communication from the car to the cloud, infrastructure or other vehicles.
  • Antenna power optimization with better current sensing, diagnostics and low noise.
  • Reliable, efficient, and faster data transmission enabling communication to other systems in the vehicle.

Block diagram

Find products and reference designs for your system.

Telematics control unit

Vbat Vbat eCall Trigger eCallTrigger Mic Mic Speaker Speaker Head Unit Head Unit 5V 5V 3.3V 3.3V 3.8-4.2V 3.8-4.2V 9V 9V Off-Battery Power Off-Battery Power Reverse Battery Protection Reverse Battery Protection Off Battery DC/DC Buck Off Battery DC/DC Buck Current & Voltage Sense Current & Voltage Sense Sense Amp Sense Amp Modem Connectivity Modem Connectivity RS232/USB RS232/USB ESD ESD RF Power RF Power Antenna LDO Antenna LDO Antenna ESD Antenna ESD Wireless Connectivity Wireless Connectivity RF Power Detector RF Power Detector Wifi Module Wifi Module Bluetooth Bluetooth Clock Buffer Clock Buffer LNA LNA GSM/LTE GSM/LTE GPS/GLONASS GPS/GLONASS Ambient Backlight Indicator Ambient Backlight Indicator LED Driver LED Driver Optocoupler Optocoupler Hands Free Hands Free Class D Amplifier Class D Amplifier ADC ADC DAC DAC Short to Battery ESD Short to Battery ESD ESD ESD Reference Voltage Reference Voltage Audio Codec Audio Codec Clock Buffer Clock Buffer ANC Audio Amp ANC Audio Amp Battery Backup Battery Backup Gas Gauge Gas Gauge Protection Protection Battery Charger Battery Charger Applications MCU Applications MCU MCU MCU Logic & Voltage Translation Logic & Voltage Translation Digital Logic Digital Logic Voltage Translator Voltage Translator General Purpose OpAmp General Purpose OpAmp Switches/MUXes Switches/MUXes Encoder/Decoder Encoder/Decoder Reference Voltage Reference Voltage High Speed Comparator High Speed Comparator System Boot & Monitoring System Boot & Monitoring LIN Transceiver LIN Transceiver ESD Protection ESD Protection CAN Transciever CAN Transciever Temperature Sensor Temperature Sensor Ethernet PHY Ethernet PHY RS232/485 RS232/485 USB Controller/Redriver USB Controller/Redriver Accelerometer Accelerometer Input User Interface Input User Interface Cap Touch Cap Touch Clocking Clocking Watchdog Timer Watchdog Timer RTC RTC Clock Buffer Clock Buffer Clock Synthesizer Clock Synthesizer Spread Spectrum Clock Spread Spectrum Clock General Purpose Clock General Purpose Clock Timers Timers Oscillator Oscillator Vehicle Processor Vehicle Processor Applications Processor Applications Processor Telematics System Power Telematics System Power Wide VIN Buck Wide VINBuck Mid/Low VIN Buck Mid/Low VINBuck Mid/Low VIN LDO Mid/Low VIN LDO Wide VIN Boost Wide VIN Boost ORing Diodes ORing Diodes Wide VIN UV/OV Supervisor Wide VIN UV/OV Supervisor Load Switch Load Switch Mid/Low VIN Boost Mid/Low VIN Boost Wide VIN Comparator Wide VIN Comparator Mid/Low Buck-Boost Mid/Low Buck-Boost

System boot & monitoring

close

Interfacing with the telematics system or directly to the central processor or MCU, typical interfaces such as LIN and CAN help support the system boot and monitoring scheme of the system.

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Interface (17)
Ethernet PHYs
  • DP83TC817S-Q1—Automotive 100BASE-T1 Ethernet PHY with MACsec, precise time synchronization and TC-10
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • DP83TC814S-Q1—Low-power 100BASE-T1 automotive Ethernet PHY without TC10 (SGMII)
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • DP83TC812R-Q1—TC-10 compliant 100BASE-T1 automotive Ethernet PHY with RGMII
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • DP83TC813R-Q1—Automotive Low-Power, Small Footprint 100BASE-T1 Ethernet PHY
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • DP83TG720S-Q1—1000BASE-T1 automotive Ethernet PHY with RGMII & SGMII
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • DP83TC812S-Q1—TC-10 compliant 100BASE-T1 automotive Ethernet PHY with RGMII & SGMII
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
USB redrivers & multiplexers
  • HD3SS3212-Q1—Automotive two-channel differential 2:1 & 1:2 USB3.2 mux & demux
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TS3USB221A-Q1—Automotive ESD Protected,High-Speed USB 2.0 (480-Mbps) 1:2 Multiplexer/Demultiplexer Switch
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
RS-232 transceivers
  • MAX3232E-Q1—Automotive 3- to 5.5-V 250kbps RS-232 line driver/receiver with +/-15-kV IEC-ESD protection
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TRS3232E-Q1—Automotive 3- to 5.5-V 250kbps RS-232 line driver/receiver with +/-15-kV IEC-ESD protection
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TRS3223-Q1—Automotive 3- to 5.5-V dual channel 250kbps RS-232 line driver/receiver with +/-15-kV ESD protection
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • MAX3221—3- to 5.5-V single channel 250kbps RS-232 line driver/receiver with +/-15-kV ESD protection
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • MAX232—5-V dual channel 120kbps RS-232 line driver/receiver with +/-9V output & +/-2-kV ESD protection
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
USB hubs & controllers
RS-485 & RS-422 transceivers
Power management (6)
Supervisor & reset ICs
  • TPS3850-Q1—Automotive, window supervisor for OV & UV monitoring with window watchdog timer & programmable delay
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS3808E-Q1—Automotive, 600nA ultra-low quiescent current supervisor with programmable delay and manual reset
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS3436-Q1—Automotive, nano-quiescent-current precision window watchdog timer
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS3703-Q1—Automotive high-accuracy window supervisor with reset time delay
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS3710-Q1—Automotive, wide-VIN (18-V) voltage detector
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS35-Q1—Automotive nano-quiescent-current precision supervisor with timeout watchdog timer
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
Sensors (7)
Digital temperature sensors
  • TMP75-Q1—Automotive Temp Sensor with I2C/SMBus Interface in Industry Standard LM75 Form Factor & Pinout
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • AMC6821-Q1—Automotive remote and local temp sensor with automatic fan speed control and fault detection
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TMP112-Q1—Automotive ±0.5°C 1.4V to 3.6V digital temperature sensor with I2C/SMBus in 2.56mm2 package
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TMP411-Q1—Automotive, remote and local temperature sensor with N-factor and series resistance correction
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TMP423-Q1—AEC-Q100 Automotive 3Ch Remote Temperature Sensor
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TMP1075—1°C I²C temperature sensor with performance upgrades to industry standard LM75 / TMP75
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
Analog temperature sensors
  • LMT87-Q1—Automotive ±2.7°C 2.7V to 5.5V analog output temperature sensor with -13.6 mV/°C gain
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
Passive and discrete (6)
ESD protection diodes
  • ESD601-Q1—Automotive, 18V bidirectional ultra-low capacitance ESD protection diode for high-speed applications
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • ESD2CANFD36-Q1—Automotive, two-channel bidirectional 36V ESD protection diode
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • ESD2CANFD24-Q1—Automotive, dual, 2.5pF ±24-V, 25-kV ESD protection diode for in-vehicle networks
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • ESD2CAN24-Q1—Automotive, dual, 3-pF, ±24-V, ±30-kV ESD protection diode for in-vehicle networks
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPD4E05U06-Q1—Automotive Quad 0.5-pF, 5.5-V, ±12-kV ESD protection diode for USB & High Speed Interfaces
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPD1E01B04-Q1—Automotive 0.2pF ±3.6V ESD protection diode in 0402 package for high-speed interfaces
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML

    Technical documentation

    View all 18
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    Type Title Date
    Application note Automotive Diagnostics Using TAS2505-Q1 (Rev. C) PDF | HTML 29 Jun 2022
    Circuit design Non-inverting microphone pre-amplifier circuit (Rev. A) PDF | HTML 26 Sep 2024
    User guide MSP430F2xx, MSP430G2xx Family User's Guide (Rev. K) PDF | HTML 25 Aug 2022
    Application brief Active Filtering in Automotive Audio Applications (Rev. A) 23 Aug 2019
    Selection guide Automotive Infotainment EE Buck Converter/Controller Selection Guide (Rev. B) 21 May 2021
    Technical article Where we’re going with the connected car PDF | HTML 19 Jun 2023
    Technical article How to save space and BOM costs by sharing microphones across automotive subsystem PDF | HTML 18 Jul 2023
    User guide Single-Supply Electret Microphone Preamplifier Reference Design 18 Feb 2015
    White paper Designing infotainment systems that are interactive not distractive 15 Mar 2019
    Technical article Automotive gateways: the bridge between communication domains PDF | HTML 14 Aug 2023
    Technical article There are more ways than you think to reduce conducted EMI PDF | HTML 14 Aug 2023
    Technical article Four design considerations for telematics hardware in the connected car PDF | HTML 11 Sep 2023
    Technical article How connected vehicles leverage data: 3 common questions PDF | HTML 11 Sep 2023
    Application note Implementing Voltage References and Supervisors Into Your Traction Inverter Desi 11 May 2022
    Application note Achieving Low IQ Voltage Supervision in Automotive, Wide-Vin Applications 11 May 2022
    Application brief 12-V Battery Monitoring in an Automotive Module (Rev. A) PDF | HTML 10 May 2022
    Technical article Securing the Scene PDF | HTML 06 Sep 2023
    Technical article Dark-current measurement in automotive telematics applications PDF | HTML 01 Sep 2023

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