Introducing Multi-core Technologies to Powertrain and On-vehicle Information Equipment

Tsutomu Miki General Manager

Automotive Semiconductor Business Unit, MCU Business Group, Renesas Technology Corporation

Renesas Technology Corporation integrated the product lineups of its two predecessor companies, including Hitachi's SH and Mitsubishi Electric's M16C/M32R, and now holds the world's top share of microcontrollers. In terms of automotive applications, the company rolled out analog ICs and power semiconductors, in addition to microcontrollers to currently demonstrate a major presence in Japan. We interviewed with Tsutomu Miki, general manager of the Automotive Semiconductor Business Unit and asked some questions about the overseas rollout, which is a pressing issue for Renesas Technology, and such semiconductor technologies that may be needed for automobiles in the future. Renesas Technology's Automotive Semiconductor Business Unit may impart the strong perception that it is specialized in microcontrollers. In fact, starting with car navigation systems in which we have an 80% share of the domestic market, the Company has the top domestic market shares in a variety of applications from dashboards, air bags, and powertrains to electrically operated power steering systems.

Tsutomu Miki: In 1978, joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation after graduating from the School of Engineering Science of Osaka University. In 1998, assumed the post of general manager of Sales Department No. 1, Semiconductor Business Division No. 2. In 2003 when Renesas Technology Corporation was inaugurated, succeeded to the position of deputy general manager of Renesas' Sales Division No. 3, and in 2004, assumed the post of deputy general manager of the Automotive Semiconductor Business Unit, MCU Business Group. In 2006, assume his current post. In April 2007, the Automotive Semiconductor Business Unit was transferred from the System Solution Business Group.

In addition, the company positivel rolled out not only microcontrollers but also such new products as analog ICs and power semiconductors and, characteristically, handles a wide variety of semiconductor products necessary for automobiles. In dealing with the semiconductor businesses, it is important to "select and concentrate on" products, but we dared to adopt our full lineup system and did not narrow down our products so that we can easily meet customer requirements for conversion into modules or systems.

Toward a preferred supplier

When compared with the domestic market, where we rolled out in a dominant position, strengthening our overseas businesses has been an important challenge. Though we have the top market share in Japan, our company is number four in addition to three other major overseas companies in the global automotive semiconductor market, and there is ample room for expansion. In concert with the domestic automobile companies, which have worked on globalization of production bases, major domestic Tier 1 suppliers have also worked on full-scale reinforcement of their overseas production capabilities, and with their rollout of production bases, they have started to expand their order receipts from overseas automobile manufacturers at the same time. If our Company reinforces our overseas rollout in synchronization with the movements of the domestic automobile manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers, it should lead to the expansion of our overseas market share. In the automobile supply chains, direct customers of semiconductor manufacturers are Tier 1 suppliers. In Europe, however, there are many cases where automobile manufacturers, which are in the uppermost stream, designate semiconductor manufacturers as "Preferred Suppliers." To obtain this certification, we have positively participated in such standardization activities as the FlexRay consortium and AUTOSAR in Europe and JasPar in Japan so that we can instantaneously incorporate any new standards into our products. In addition, it may be necessary to enable automobile manufacturers and Tier 1 suppliers to utilize Renesas' microcontroller
models as standard equipment in their software and tool environments. For example, our cooperation with VaST Systems Technology of the United States has enabled our SH and R32C models to become standard equipment in ECU simulation environments. In terms of software, it is necessary for a semiconductor manufacturer to provide a low level driver for the software standard, AUTOSAR that is being formulated in Europe The content of AUTOSAR Release 3.0 was announced at the end of 2007, and following this, a 3.0-compatible low level driver is scheduled for release in March 2008.

Accelerating the development of microcontrollers
In the development of microcontrollers for the next generation, it has become necessary to introduce multicore technologies for power trains and information system. In terms of powertrains, further high processing capability is required for both engines and transmissions. Our company has already supplied samples of microcontroller products with builtin SH2A cores, a drive frequency of 200 MHz, and 4 MB flash memory based on a 90 nm process, but it appears that 300 MHz may be the limit for single-core systems when considering heat resistance and power consumption.
We will deal with the requirements for further higher performance using SH2A dual-core systems. In addition, mechanical and electronic integration, which integrates mechanical and ECU specifications is our theme for technical development of powertrains, and we intend to proceed
with the introduction of wafer process package technology to enhance radiation performance and downsizing. In terms of car information system, we have already started mass production
of SH2A dual-core products for car audio products, and we will also release SH4A multi-core platforms for car navigation systems during 2008. We did a demonstration for our quad-core system at CEATEC JAPAN 2007, but it will be put into commercial production after the dual-core systems. In terms of microcontrollers for the chassis category and brake and steering systems, it is necessary to deal with the Functional Safety Standard, which guarantees safety movements, and we are now in the midst of the development of the SH-Chassis in which ECC memory is mounted. In addition, in terms of preventive safety systems, such as adaptive cruise control systems, we have proposed our SH-ACC incorporating the unique functions of millimeter-wave radar signal processing
and image recognition, which are different from previous control systems. In terms of memory built into microcontrollers, we have adopted the FMONOS structure type flash memory which is based on a 90 nm process and capable of high speed access, and as a next-generation nonvolatile memory technology, we are also developing an MRAM (magneto-resistive random access memory) that can dramatically boost rewriting speed and service life. In terms of network-related systems, we now propose a chip set consisting of a microcontroller and a bus driver corresponding to FlexRay, which is the next-generation onboard network standard. Furthermore, we think that as a
multiple number of networks will coexist in an automobile in the future, including CAN, LIN, FlexRay, and MOST for information systems, it will be necessary to reciprocally exchange information among them. Thus, we are now developing a gateway microcontroller that will execute routing among
various networks. In terms of analog ICs, we have started mass production in our 0.25μmBiCDMOS process using SOI (silicone insulator),
and we have achieved further downsizing and higher performance.
When we can achieve our 0.15μm process, which is now under development, we will be able to produce an integrated chip containing a microcontroller and an analog IC for use in airbags. If future automobile development is oriented to weight reduction for improved fuel efficiency by downsizing a multiple number of ECUs, there should be more and more occasions where higher integration of semiconductors can contribute to such development. If only digital processing is considered in the development of higher integration, it may be sufficient for a device combining internal and external IPs to deal with the development. In terms of analog ICs and power semiconductors, they largely depend on processes, and thus our wide ranging product lineup
will have greater significance.

（Interviewer: Sang-Soo Pac）