High noise tolerant comparators enable simpler automotive designs

New advancements in computerisation and increase of densely packed electric devices have increased the amount of noise in electric vehicles and cars equipped with Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS).

However, evaluation of noise performance of individual boards and systems, and implementing measures against noise are not feasible in isolation during the development phase. This evaluation and measure implementation need to be done after the whole car has been assembled, making the process of optimisation against noise a very lengthy and costly process that might require several iterations.

In response, in 2017 ROHM developed Operational Amplifiers using EMARMOUR, a proprietary technology that features superior noise tolerance and helps to reduce design resources to implement measures against noise. These devices have been well received by automotive manufacturers. To further meet market needs, today ROHM is introducing the first ultra-high noise-tolerant comparators that use the same technology.

This series has achieved superior noise tolerance when used as comparators to determine the threshold value of sensor output signals. It ensures an output voltage fluctuation within ±1% across the entire noise frequency band when testing according to the ISO11452-2 standard. Conventional comparators usually have output voltage fluctuations of up to ±20% due to noise, which can lead to malfunctions (High/Low inverted).

In contrast, ROHM’s new series is not susceptible to noise, providing greater reliability while reducing system design man-hours by reducing the amount of time needed for noise evaluation and measure implementation that typically require the use of external filters.

ROHM will offer these new comparators as one of the EMARMOUR series. ROHM is committed to enabling even simpler designs and greater reliability in automotive systems by expanding this high noise-tolerant technology to other power supply ICs from ROHM.