In-vehicle networking growth continues to be driven by the need for electronic monitoring and control. As application features in power train, body and convenience, diagnostics and safety increase, more Electronic Control Units (ECUs) are being added to existing CAN buses, causing automotive OEMs to become bandwidth limited.

In addition, the end-of-line programming time for ECUs is on the rise due to more complex application programs and calibration, which raises production line costs. The emerging CAN FD bus protocol solves these issues by increasing the maximum data rate while expanding the data field from 8 data bytes up to 64 data bytes.

With their robustness and industry-leading features, including data rates of up to 8 Mb/s, Microchip’s MCP2561/2FD transceivers enable customers to implement and realize the benefits of CAN FD. These new transceivers have one of the industry’s lowest standby current consumption (<5 µA typical), helping meet ECU low-power budget requirements. Additionally, these devices support operation in the -40C to 150C temperature range, enabling usage in harsh environments.

“Microchip has been involved since the beginning of CAN FD, planning and developing products to help serve the overall system needs,” said Bryan J. Liddiard, marketing vice president of Microchip’s Analog and Interface Products Division. “Our transceivers are defined and developed with a global perspective, allowing our customers to sell their end products across all regions of the world. This new family achieves unprecedented CAN FD performance levels while maintaining industry-leading robustness and overall quality.”

The new family of MCP2561/2FD CAN FD transceivers is available in 8-pin PDIP, SOIC and 3x3 mm DFN (leadless) packages, providing additional design flexibility for space-limited applications. The family also provides two options. The MCP2561FD comes in an 8-pin package and features a SPLIT pin. This SPLIT pin helps to stabilize the common mode in biased split-termination schemes. The MCP2562FD is available in an 8-pin package and features a Vio pin. This Vio pin can be tied to a secondary supply in order to internally level shift the digital I/Os for easy microcontroller interfacing. This is beneficial when a system is using a microcontroller at a Vdd less than 5V (for example, 1.8V or 3.3V), and eliminates the need for an external level translator, decreasing system cost and complexity.

The MCP2561FD and MCP2562FD transceivers are both available now for sampling and volume production in 8-pin PDIP, SOIC and 3x3 mm DFN packages.