• 2025-11-07 15:16:26
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Infineon Expands Motor Control Portfolio with New MOTIX TLE994x/5x SoC Families

Infineon Technologies has recently broadened its 32-bit motor control offerings with the launch of its MOTIX TLE994x and TLE995x system-on-chip families. Designed for cost-sensitive automotive applications, these new SoCs integrate an Arm Cortex-M23 microcontroller, a LIN communication interface, and N-FET bridge drivers to efficiently manage auxiliary drives like water pumps and cooling fans.

The company showcased demonstrations of this motor control technology at Embedded World North America in Anaheim, California, this week.

The MOTIX TLE994x/5x Family

Each SoC in the MOTIX TLE994x/5x series features a 32-bit Arm Cortex-M23 core operating at up to 40 MHz, coupled with 72 kB of flash memory supporting ECC and 6 kB of SRAM.

The two-phase MOTIX TLE994x targets brushed motor applications for comfort functions such as power seats and windows. The three-phase MOTIX TLE995x, designed for brushless motors, is optimized for pumps and fans within thermal management systems.

These devices support a single supply voltage from 5.5 V to 29 V for direct connection to automotive electrical systems. They include dedicated hardware peripherals such as a two-phase (TLE994x) or three-phase (TLE995x) NFET pre-driver, an integrated charge pump for gate driving, and a 12-bit ADC supporting up to 16 analog input channels. According to Infineon, the enhanced motor-control peripherals reduce the CPU load by approximately 5-10% compared to the previous TLE987x series.

Furthermore, the SoCs incorporate a Current Sense Amplifier and Comparator to facilitate low-side shunt-based current measurement for closed-loop control strategies like single-shunt Field-Oriented Control. A Configurable Capture/Compare Unit provides PWM generation for motor phases, while ten 16-bit timers and a 24-bit system timer allow flexible scheduling. The devices also come equipped with a Serial Synchronous Communication interface, a windowed watchdog timer, and a LIN transceiver with safe transmit-off functionality.

For functional safety, the families are developed as SEooC (Safety Element out of Context) compliant with ISO 26262 for ASIL-B applications. They are also qualified according to AEC-Q100 Grade 0/1 standards, supporting an operating junction temperature range from -40 °C to 175 °C. Additional features include a hardware CRC unit for data integrity checks and Arm TrustZone technology for enhanced security isolation.

Field-Oriented Control for Automotive Motors

Field-Oriented Control is employed by engineers to precisely manage the torque and speed of three-phase BLDC motors. This technique uses mathematical transformations (Clarke and Park transforms) to decouple the stator currents into torque-producing and flux-producing components relative to the rotor's magnetic field. This enables independent control of torque and flux, similar to a DC motor.

In a typical FOC implementation, the controller measures phase currents and rotor position, computes the required voltage vector, and generates corresponding PWM signals for the inverter. This method provides smooth torque output, rapid dynamic response, and higher efficiency compared to traditional trapezoidal commutation, making it the preferred choice for quiet and efficient auxiliary drives in modern vehicles.

Development Support

To assist designers in adopting the new MOTIX solutions, Infineon provides comprehensive software and hardware development tools. The software support includes the free MOTIX MCU SDK, motor control firmware libraries, and the Infineon Solution Designer graphical configuration tool. For hardware evaluation, platforms such as the TLE995x evaluation board and a 150 W water pump reference design are available.

The TLE994x and TLE995x devices are currently in production. Evaluation kits and dedicated motor control software are scheduled for release via the Infineon Developer Center in the third quarter of 2025.