Melexis, a global microelectronics engineering company, announced the launch of the fourth generation automotive LIN motor driver MLX81350, which can provide up to 5W (0.5A) of power to motors. This driver is designed specifically for the air conditioning damper and automatic ventilation system of electric vehicles (EVs), with high cost-effectiveness. It not only achieves silent and efficient operation of the motor, but also simplifies the system integration process and ensures stable and reliable performance.
With the continuous development of electric vehicle technology, the importance of precise control of airflow and temperature inside the car is becoming increasingly prominent. Good control not only helps improve passenger comfort, but also effectively optimizes energy utilization efficiency, providing support for advanced thermal management systems. For this reason, modern vehicles are typically equipped with a greater number of air conditioning damper motors and electronic vents. However, engineers face multiple challenges in this design process: ensuring reliable and silent operation of the motor, achieving seamless integration, and controlling system costs within a reasonable range.
MLX81350 successfully addresses the above challenges with its balanced combination of performance, system integration, and cost-effectiveness. As the fourth generation 0.5A intelligent LIN motor driver based on high-voltage SOI (silicon on insulator) technology, this IC features flash programmability, high reliability, and high functional density, while reducing the complexity of the Bill of Materials (BoM). By integrating analog and digital circuits, MLX81350 achieves a true single-chip solution that fully complies with the industry standard LIN 2.x/SAE J2602 and the LIN slave node requirements defined by ISO 17987-4 specifications.
The core advantage of MLX81350 lies in its optimized software architecture, which further improves performance and efficiency compared to the previous generation product. The key is to improve the stall detection function and add sensorless closed-loop magnetic field orientation control (FOC) function. These improvements make the motor run more smoothly, with lower current consumption and less noise, thus better meeting the needs of various automotive HVAC and thermal management applications.
The MLX81350 maintains pin to pin compatibility with its predecessor, allowing engineers to easily migrate to existing designs with minimal modifications. Its LIN interface enables seamless communication within the vehicle network, while the built-in protection and diagnostic functions - including overcurrent, overvoltage, and temperature shutdown protection - ensure that the product can operate safely and reliably in harsh automotive environments. In addition, the chip also provides rich peripherals that support advanced motor control and system integration, including: configurable RC clock (24-40MHz), 4 universal I/O (both digital and analog functions), 1 high-voltage input, UART, SPI, and I ² C master-slave interfaces, 5 × 16 bit motor PWM timer, 2 × 16 bit universal timer, and a 13 bit ADC with multiple channels (conversion time less than 1.2 microseconds).
This IC is developed according to the ASIL B (ISO 26262) standard and supports flexible wake-up through LIN bus, external pins, or internal wake-up timer. It has the advantage of low standby current consumption (typical value of 25 microamperes, maximum value of 50 microamperes) and is suitable for energy-saving operation scenarios. It integrates a voltage regulator internally, allowing direct power supply from a 12 volt battery and supporting an operating voltage range of 5.5 volts to 28 volts. Combining robust protection mechanisms, high integration, and advanced motor control capabilities, MLX81350 provides an economical, efficient, and high-performance solution for modern air conditioning dampers and electronic ventilation applications in electric vehicles.
The MLX81350 combines sensorless FOC technology, advanced software integration, and cost-effective design to meet the dual requirements of performance and cost in the automotive industry, "said Marc Lambrechts, Product Line Director at McLaren." With decades of deep accumulation in the field of automotive motor drives and sufficient supply guarantee during the product launch phase, we are committed to providing engineers with stable and reliable technical support to help them achieve their goals in noise control, performance optimization, and cost control of modern electric vehicles
The MLX81350 is now officially launched. For more information, please visit www.delexis.com/MLX81350.
