Next-Generation Automotive Microcontrollers

Nov 9 2024 2024-11 Semiconductors STMicroelectronics

STMicroelectronics (ST) is dedicated to supporting the automotive industry's challenges with electrification and digitalization. Through current solutions and a future-oriented unified MCU platform development strategy, ST aims to enable the next-generation vehicle architecture and the evolution of software-defined vehicles (SDV) with breakthrough innovations. Here, Remi EL-OUAZZANE, President of ST’s Microcontroller, Digital IC, and RF Product Division (MDRF), unveils ST's strategic roadmap for next-gen automotive microcontrollers.

Electrification and digitalization are transforming the automotive sector. Despite some manufacturers scaling back on electrification, ST anticipates affordable hybrid and electric vehicles will dominate. Future cars will be software-defined, with Ethernet as the main in-vehicle protocol. Over-the-air (OTA) updates will enhance functionality and integrate new features seamlessly, making OTA crucial to user experience. Software updates drive demand for increased storage capacity and high read-write performance, ensuring smooth functionality expansions throughout the vehicle lifecycle.

While some emerging manufacturers are already integrating these capabilities, traditional automakers are adopting them gradually, transforming their vehicle architectures over time. Despite regional challenges, automakers share common goals: increasing competitiveness, achieving sustainability, investing in superior technologies, and adapting business models. This has presented significant challenges for automakers and suppliers, driving them to boost production efficiency, address design complexity, and shorten SDV development timelines.

ST’s mission is to assist Tier-1 suppliers and OEMs in accelerating this transformation. ST provides a complete portfolio, addressing needs ranging from local actuators and intelligent sensors to high-performance real-time processing, with functional integration across multiple application domains.

ST’s Automotive MCU Strategy: Stellar Family and STM32A

As the core of this transformation strategy, ST is implementing a two-pronged approach to automotive MCU development under its vertically integrated manufacturing (IDM) model. The industry’s first Arm®-based automotive MCU portfolio spans from low-end to high-end solutions:

Stellar Family: A scalable Arm-based architecture supports multiple ASIL ECU real-time virtualization, extensive I/O, and unique OTA value. It integrates ST’s embedded non-volatile memory (eNVM) and 28nm FD-SOI, one of the market’s most mature, compact storage solutions. Stellar targets electrification, including X-in-1 motor control, new vehicle architectures, and safety-critical systems like ADAS and zonal control.
STM32A: This series within the STM32 family is based on ST’s eNVM technology and mainly supports automotive network edge applications, including body control and smart sensor management, adhering to ASIL B safety standards.

The expanded ST Arm-based automotive MCU portfolio will provide all the necessary capabilities for next-generation automotive E/E architectures. Both platforms are strengthened by an expanding ecosystem of partners, enabling more straightforward, faster, and efficient development.

ST has successfully launched the Stellar P and G series, which have passed certification tests with customers, and the products are poised to enter mass production. Stellar has garnered significant attention from clients in Asia and Europe. For instance, BYD is significantly improving its next-gen electrification system architecture by consolidating multiple electronic units into a streamlined, high-efficiency device.

Unified Platform for Future Innovation

Looking forward, ST plans to develop a unified MCU platform strategy that simplifies design, enhances scalability, reduces development complexity, and ensures higher safety and reliability, while delivering superior performance and energy efficiency to help automakers lower manufacturing costs. This platform will integrate the best features of ST's industrial and automotive MCU platforms, meeting the growing automotive demands in areas like edge AI and security.

In summary, STMicroelectronics is committed to enabling the automotive industry to meet electrification and digitalization challenges. Through present solutions and a stronger future MCU platform, ST is working to reduce design complexity, ensure vehicle safety and reliability, and deliver high performance and efficiency, all aimed at supporting the development of next-gen vehicle architectures and SDVs.

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