Analogue control of the slew-rate in LIN bus digital transitions using translinear circuits

摘要

A novel technique to control the LIN (Local Interconnect Network) bus slew-rate transitions in automotive environment, where large fluctuations of the battery voltage are present, is reported. A bipolar translinear circuit generates a non-linear current that is used to modulate a MOS relaxation oscillator, producing a clock frequency that delivers a constant number of pulses during the LIN bus digital signal transition. This frequency modulated clock when applied to a digitally controlled analogue wave-shape driver results in a LIN bus digital transition with a slew-rate that is constant and independent of the car battery voltage. Experimental results measured in an IC implemented in a BiCMOS process showed that constant slew-rate transition of 1 ± 2% V/μs is obtained for battery voltages varying from 6 to 40 V, over the temperature range of −40 to 150°C.