How semiconductor solutions address safety requirements of future power distribution networks in autonomous vehicles

Open up the bonnet of any modern automobile and many of us would be hard-pressed to find anything that we could fix ourselves. With pipes and cables almost artistically integrated into the engine bay, and sleek plastic covers fitted everywhere, there is very little that can still be recognized, yet alone repaired. Perhaps the only location where we feel comfortable is the “fuse box”, or power distribution center (PDC), housing the fuses and relays.

However, with the introduction of electrical drivetrains and ever more assistive and autonomous driving features, even this last bastion of self-repair is likely to disappear in future vehicles. In this white paper we review how high-side switches, such as those from Infineon’s PROFET™ portfolio, are driving the next generation of automotive power distribution architectures.