As precise control of cabin airflow and temperature becomes more critical in vehicles to enhance passenger comfort as well as to support advanced thermal management systems, Melexis introduces the MLX81350 LIN motor driver for air conditioning (AC) flaps and automated air vents in electric vehicles (EVs). The MLX81350 delivers a balanced combination of performance, system integration, and cost efficiency to meet these requirements.
The fourth-generation automotive LIN motor driver, built on high-voltage silicon-on-insulator technology, delivers up to 5 W (0.5 A) per motor and provides quiet and efficient motor operation for air conditioning flap motors and electronic air vents.
In addition to flash programmability, Melexis said the MLX81350 offers high robustness and function density while reducing bill-of-materials complexity. It integrates both analog and digital circuitry, providing a single-chip solution that is fully compliant with industry-standard LIN 2.x/SAE J2602 and ISO 17987-4 specifications for LIN slave nodes.
The MLX81350 features a new software architecture that enhances performance and efficiency over the previous generation. This enhancement includes improved stall detection and the addition of sensorless, closed-loop field-oriented control. This enables smoother motor operation, lower current consumption, and reduced acoustic noise to better support automotive HVAC and thermal management applications, Melexis said.
However, the MLX81350 still maintains pin-to-pin compatibility with its predecessors for easier migration with existing designs.
The LIN motor driver offers lots of peripherals to support advanced motor control and system integration, including a configurable RC clock (24-40 MHz), four general-purpose I/Os (digital and analog), one high-voltage input, 5× 16-bit motor PWM timers, two 16-bit general timers, and a 13-bit ADC with <1.2 -µs conversion time across multiple channels, as well as UART, SPI, and I²C master or slave interfaces. The LIN interface enables seamless communication within vehicle networks, and provides built-in protection and diagnostic features, including over-current, over-voltage, and temperature shutdown, to ensure safe and reliable operation in demanding automotive environments.
The MLX81350 is designed according to ASIL B (ISO 26262) and offers flexible wake-up options via LIN, external pins, or an internal wake-up timer. Other features include a low standby current consumption (25 µA typ.; 50 µA max.) and internal voltage regulators that allow direct powering from the 12-V battery, supporting an operating voltage range of 5.5 V to 28 V.
The MLX81350 is available now. The automotive LIN motor driver is offered in SO-8 EP and QFN-24 packages.