All About NXP S32K39 MCUs for EV Traction Inverters – We Have Your Questions Covered

Today’s EV market is growing and with it comes an increased demand for improved EV performance. What this means for designers and OEMs alike is a need for reduced time-to-market while prioritizing efficiency and end-user experience. A major challenge in this regard is finding the right solutions for the development of a wide range of applications including EV traction inverters. The NXP S32K39 MCU series, a new addition to our S32K family, is set to be launched to provide much-needed leverage.

S32K39 MCUs Are Made for Electric Vehicle Traction Inverters

Lots of consideration goes into ensuring the highest possible EV performance including handling battery management, efficient motor drive, fast charging and load balancing across entire grids. Our extensive electrification solutions have been offering efficient control throughout the whole ecosystem and the soon-to-be-launched S32K39 will follow the same trajectory.

The S32K39 MCU series is a specialized device designed to meet the demands of controlling the traction inverter in EVs. It offers an impressive array of features, including strong performance, extensive integration, reliable networking, advanced security and functional safety capabilities. This is essential because traction inverters play a vital role in how EVs function, the performance of EV batteries and ultimately the driver’s experience.

The versatility of the MCUs also makes them suitable for addressing a wide range of EV applications beyond traction inverter control to include battery management (BMS), onboard charging (OBC) and DC/DC conversion. Their security and functional safety capabilities exceed those of traditional automotive MCUs, and their support for hardware isolation, time-sensitive networking (TSN) and advanced cryptography makes them compatible with zonal vehicle E/E architectures and software-defined vehicles.

Features that Make the S32K39 Optimized for Automotive Inverters

The S32K39 MCUs are a member of the high-performing S32K family. Enabled by key features, the S32K39 MCUs are designed to handle two traction inverters. They are optimized with four 320MHz Arm^® Cortex^®-M7 cores arranged in a lockstep pair, two split-lock cores, two motor control coprocessors and a digital signal processor (DSP). These devices are capable of supporting two 200 kHz control loops that work with IGBTs as well as SiC and GaN power switches to enhance energy efficiency and achieve higher switching frequencies. This results in reduced motor size, weight and cost, and extends the driving range. In addition, they have up to 6 MB in-built flash memory and 800 KB of SRAM. The MCUs were developed with certified ISO/SAE 21434 cybersecurity and ISO 26262 functional safety processes.

The S32K39’s integrated hardware security engine (HSE) facilitates trusted boot, security services and secure over-the-air (OTA) updates using public key infrastructure (PKI) and key management. It also has two motor control coprocessors and NanoEdge^™ high-resolution pulse-width modulation (PWM) for higher performance and precision control. For resolver excitation, their multi-channel analog support comes with SAR and sigma-delta A/D converters, as well as comparators and sine wave generators. The S32K39's analog integration and support for a secure software resolver ensures cost savings by eliminating external components such as discrete components and resolver-to-digital converters.

For better experience, download the block diagram.

S32K39 MCUs Are Used in EV Traction Inverters

S32K39 MCUs support traditional insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBT), as well as newer silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN) technologies. They can operate independently and manage up to two drive converters. Furthermore, they can also function as remote intelligent actuators via TSN to drive three or four motors. When combined with NXP's S32E real-time processor, they can serve as a control center for the electric vehicle propulsion domain and control two additional propulsion inverters. This capability especially benefits car manufacturers seeking to enhance their vehicle's performance and handling by supporting up to four electric motors.

When used in combination with the NXP FS26 Safety System Base Chip (SBC) and NXP GD3162 high-voltage isolated gate drivers, an S32K39 MCU can serve as a dual traction converter solution for ASIL D applications. The FS26 SBC supplies system power and ensures isolated security monitoring, while the GD3162 gate driver offers adjustable dynamic gate strength to adapt to driving conditions and PWM dead-time enforcement to reduce switching losses and increase efficiency. Additionally, there are error protection mechanisms that can respond quickly.

Pairing the S32K39 with Gate Drivers and SBCs

Lead customers now have access to engineering samples, evaluation boards and a comprehensive range of software support and tools. These are designed to work with the S32K39 MCUs, which can be paired with the NXP FS26 SBC and the advanced high voltage isolated gate driver GD3162, offering adjustable dynamic gate strength control for a safe inverter control system. Together, they support the highest level of functional safety (ASIL D) for traction inverter development. The plan is to release the product for production in early 2024.

For more information about the S32K39 MCU series and its availability, please contact our distributors near you.

Authors

Nicola Concer

Nicola Concer is a product manager for NXP’s Automotive Real-Time Controllers focusing on the Electrification and Zonal EE architecture markets. Prior to that, he worked as a product manager on NXP’s Ethernet Switch portfolio for seven years. Nicola holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Bologna in collaboration with ST Microelectronics and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Allan Mcauslin

Allan McAuslin is responsible for product management for NXP Automotive Vision and Automated Drive processor solutions. Supporting applications such as forward-facing camera, surround view and sensor data fusion, Allan has been involved in developing processor solutions for ADAS for the past 8 years. He works closely with partners, automotive tier 1 manufacturers and car makers to identify trends and create processor solutions that help accelerate the deployment of highly automated vehicle technologies.

David Lopez

David has held various positions in Product Engineering, Program Management, and Product Marketing in the electronics and semiconductor businesses. For nearly a decade, he has worked as Product Line Manager in the development of functional safety system basis chip for NXP. His experience in the automotive market spans drive train electrification, and autonomous drive markets with technology focus in power management and functional safety. David holds a Master degrees in Physics Engineering, Semiconductors Physics and Business Administration.

Namrata Pandya

Namrata Pandya joined NXP as a Product Marketing Manager for the high voltage gate drivers. For the past 15 years, Namrata’s work included business development and product line management for >$60M semiconductor product portfolios at ON Semiconductor and Microchip Technology. She has been responsible for driving 16 product families from concept to revenue. Namrata holds a Master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from San Jose State University.