In the rapidly evolving era of electric vehicles, rear lighting systems have evolved from simple functional components into key elements that showcase brand identity and technological innovation.
Today’s consumers expect more than basic signaling functions. Modern rear lights must offer high levels of customization to satisfy consumer demands for aesthetics and differentiation.
In response to these demands for smart, energy-efficient lighting that meets strict regulatory compliance, Nexperia has launched China's first LED driver supporting ASIL-B function safety standards. This breakthrough technology enhances design flexibility while ‹optimizing energy efficiency, improving reliability, and reducing overall system costs.
Safety First: Fault Detection and Protection
As automotive intelligence advances and design complexity increases, exterior lighting systems such as tail lamps and turn signals require greater intelligence, integration, and safety reliability.
Nexperia’s answer to these challenges is the NEX13120, a 12-channel linear LED driver. It supports independent 12-bit PWM dimming for each channel, enabling sophisticated dynamic animations that enhance both aesthetics and functionality.
Designed in compliance with ISO 26262 and certified to ASIL-B functional safety standards, the NEX13120 features advanced diagnostic and fault protection capabilities. These include real-time monitoring of individual fault and status flags via UART, configurable fault management, and diagnostics for open circuits, short-to-ground, and single LED short circuits. Additionally, its internal clock monitoring and configurable watchdog ensure the system transitions to a failsafe state during MCU connection interruptions, significantly improving overall safety and reliability.
Intelligence Meets Reliability
As critical components directly impacting road safety, automotive tail lamps must exhibit exceptional durability and self-diagnostic capabilities to meet stringent regulatory standards. Continuous tail lamps, which span across the rear of a vehicle, introduce complex wiring challenges that extend throughout the circuit board. Traditional single-ended interfaces often fail to meet the rigorous electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements for long-distance off-board communication.
To address this, external physical layer transceivers are essential for ensuring robust and reliable long-distance communication, as illustrated in Figure 3. The NEX13120 linear LED driver incorporates a host of intelligent features to overcome these challenges. With its high level of integration, advanced diagnostics, and fault management, it not only simplifies system design but also reduces complexity, making it the ideal choice for automotive lighting systems.
In conclusion, the NEX13120 is a smart, reliable and highly integrated 12-channel linear LED driver that fully supports ASIL-B function safety standards. As the market for electric vehicles continues to evolve, the NEX13120 will underpin the innovative lighting systems of tomorrow.
Product portfolio
Nexperia's LED products currently include 12-channel versions that are functional safety capable and functional safety compliant.
