The use of LIN nodes in automotive systems continues to grow. To meet the need for LIN transceivers, Melexis has introduced its next-generation LIN transceiver IC for LIN bus systems according to the LIN 2.x standard. The MLX80020BA manages the physical connection of the standard microcontroller to the LIN bus. This standalone transceiver is designed and fabricated in 0.35µm HV-CMOS technology to reduce system costs. It has built-in safety functions including TxD dominant time out as well as high impedance bus pin in case of loss of ground and under-voltage condition. The transceiver is claimed to be robust when subjected to the injection of high frequency disturbances and has also achieved very low electromagnetic emission, which simplifies the design of networked communication in hostile automotive environments. The timing parameters are optimised for the data transmission according LIN 2.x for EMC behaviour. It operates in the automotive temperature range of -40 to 125⁰C and has on chip protection against over-temperature, 40V load dump and LIN short to ground. The integrated standby management ensures that it can wake up from the LIN bus itself or directly from a connected microcontroller or an additional external source. Typical current consumption in sleep mode is lower than 9µA.
