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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

Telematics system power

close

Power for a telematics consists of multiple DC/DCs including buck, boost, LDOs and occasionally buck-boost. The power application can have many variants depending on the number of wireless modules, processors, and audio requirements.

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Power management (33)
AC/DC & DC/DC converters (integrated FET)
  • LMR60430-Q1—Automotive, 36V, 3A synchronous buck converter with low Iq and high efficiency with minimized COUT
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS55287-Q1—Automotive 36V 4A buck-boost converter with I²C interface
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LMR36015-Q1—4.2-V to 60-V, 1.5-A ultra-small synchronous step-down converter
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LMR60440-Q1—36V, 4A synchronous buck converter with low Iq and high-efficiency
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS62A01-Q1—Automotive, 2.5V-to-5.5V input, 1A output high-efficiency step-down converter
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LM63610-Q1—3.5-V to 36-V, 1.0-A step-down voltage converter with spread spectrum
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
Ideal diode/ORing controllers
  • LM74930-Q1—Automotive 3-V to 65-V surge stopper with circuit breaker and overvoltage protection
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LM74703-Q1—Automotive ideal diode controller with FET good output
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LM74910-Q1—Automotive ideal diode with circuit breaker, 200-kHz ACS and under- and overvoltage protection
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LM74700D-Q1—Automotive, 3.2-V to 70-V, 80-µA reverse battery protection ideal diode controller
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LM74701-Q1—Automotive 3.2-V to 65-V reverse battery protection ideal diode controller with integrated VDS clamp
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LM74722-Q1—Automotive, low IQ ideal diode controller with 200-khz active rectification and load dump protection
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
Linear & low-dropout (LDO) regulators
  • TPS7C84-Q1—Automotive 150mA 40V low-dropout linear regulator with power good and wide output voltage range
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS7B84-Q1—Automotive 150-mA, 40-V, low-dropout (LDO) linear regulator with enable and fast transient response
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS746-Q1—Automotive 1-A, low-IQ, high-PSRR, low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulator with power good
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS745-Q1—Automotive 500-mA, low-IQ, high-PSRR, low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulator with power good

    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS7A21-Q1—Automotive, 500mA, low-noise ultra-low-IQ high-PSRR low-dropout (LDO) voltage regulator
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS784-Q1—Automotive, 300-mA, low-IQ, high-PSRR, LDO voltage regulator with high accuracy and enable
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
AC/DC & DC/DC controllers (external FET)
  • LM5123-Q1—2.2MHz wide VIN low IQ synchronous boost controller
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LM5176-Q1—55-V wide VIN synchronous 4-switch buck-boost controller, AEC-Q100 qualified
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LM5152-Q1—Automotive 2.2 MHz wide VIN low IQ synchronous boost controller
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LM51521-Q1—Automotive 2.2-MHz wide VIN low IQ synchronous boost controller with disabled bypass mode
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • LM5155-Q1—2.2-MHz wide VIN, 1.5-A MOSFET driver, non-synchronous boost controller, AEC-Q100 qualified
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
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
USB power switches & charging port controllers
  • TPS2553-Q1—Automotive 0.075-1.3A adj. ILIMIT, 2.5-6.5V, 85-mΩ USB power switch, active-high, reverse blocking
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS2042B-Q1—Automotive 2-ch, 0.5A loading, 2.7-5.5V, 70mΩ USB power switch, active-low
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS2559-Q1—Automotive 1.2-4.7A adjustable ILIMIT, 2.5-6.5V, 13mΩ USB power switch, active-high
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TPS2041B-Q1—Automotive 0.5A loading, 2.7-5.5V, 105mΩ USB power switch, active-low
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
Amplifiers (6)
Comparators
  • TL331LV-Q1—Automotive 1.65-V to 5.5-V, low-voltage single standard comparator with Pin 4 output
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TLV4062-Q1—Automotive push-pull dual comparator with integrated reference
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TLV7042-Q1—Automotive dual nanopower comparator with open-drain output
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TLV7031-Q1—Automotive nano power comparator with push-pull output
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TLV9030-Q1—Automotive single low-voltage comparator with push-pull output
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • TLV9032-Q1—Automotive, 1.65-V to 5.5-V, precision dual push-pull comparator
    Data sheet: PDF | HTML
  • PMP21152—Smart OR-ing boost converter reference design for automotive eCall
    Test report: PDF Schematic: PDF
  • PMP31139—Tiny automotive SEPIC reference design using 80-V integrated FET
    Test report: PDF | HTML Schematic: PDF
  • PMP9768—Automotive eCall Power Supply Reference Design with High Intermediate Voltage
    Test report: PDF Schematic: PDF
  • PMP9769—Automotive eCall Power Supply Reference Design with Low Intermediate Voltage
    Test report: PDF Schematic: PDF
  • TIDA-00724—Automotive emergency call (eCall) audio subsystem reference design
    Design guide: PDF Schematic: PDF

Technical documentation

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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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