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Selective MiB Thermal and Power Pathways for Automotive Applications
November 5, 2013 |Estimated reading time: 1 minute
Industry forecasts continue to paint a bright picture for the growth of automotive electronics. Strategy Analytics estimates that the value of electronics in automotive systems is expected to reach US $314.4 billion by 2020, from a value of about $191 billion in 2013. This represents a CAGR over the next seven years of some 7.3%.A top-of-the-line vehicle may contain up to 150 electronic control units. Many of these are sensors or processors in cockpit applications; however, about 65% of the electronics value is in powertrain/body/chassis, according to PCB Network/ZVEI. And most of this involves digital power.Early digital applications such as engine controllers and antiskid braking are either morphing into more intelligent and capable subsystems (e.g., the move from simple antiskid braking to enhanced stability control), or the advances in digital power are enabling the replacement of electromechanical or hydraulic systems by smaller, lighter, all-electric functions such as electric power steering. The growth of the hybrid/electric vehicle (H/EV) market is presenting a further set of opportunities and demands.Although one of the initial insights which led to the growth of the digital age and solid state devices was that the reliability of silicon was essentially the same as copper wire, the nano geometries of modern semiconductor processes and general complexity of electronic assemblies continue to support doubts that electronic systems reliability is sufficient to meet the demands of the automotive industry at competitive price points. While these concerns derive in part from the lack of field experience at the high voltages and currents of powertrain/body/chassis applications, the combination of miniaturisation and power density in digital power systems represent a further series of challenges.Read the full article here.Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2013 issue of The PCB Magazine.