Automotive

e2v has been developing and producing automotive components for more than 10 years, enhancing driver comfort and vehicle security.

With its Lincoln and Corcelles facilities TS16949 accredited, e2v is well versed in the stringent requirements of the automotive industry.  The Company has well established relationships with OEM and Tier 1 suppliers and firmly believes in the value of forming strategic partnerships at an early stage in order to develop tailored product solutions to meet specific vehicle and customer requirements.

Air quality sensing

By measuring pollution levels external to a vehicle with an Air Quality Sensor (AQS), the climate control system of a car is able to close the air inlet (recirculation mode), when the vehicle travels through a polluted area.

The following manufacturers trust e2v''s sensors to protect their customers:

  • BMW : X3
  • Citroën : C4 Picasso
  • Ford : Mondeo
  • Mercedes : A-class, B-class
  • Renault : Laguna, Espace, Vel Satis
  • Volvo : S40, V50

 

e2v offers a wide variety of AQS solutions, each of which integrates two dedicated gas sensing chips, one for reducing gases (CO/HC) and one for oxidizing gases (NOx). These modules measure a broad range of reducing gases that are commonly found in traffic pollution, including CO, hydrocarbons and NOx.

Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)

e2v has been working with US, European and Asia Pacific car manufacturers since the early 90s and at present vehicles with e2v’s ACC sensors have their speed automatically controlled, maintaining a safe braking distance to the car in front, making driving a safer and more comfortable experience.

The ACC radar sensors use a 77GHz carrier frequency, which can detect objects up to 120m in front of the vehicle, and effectively scan the radar beam over an angle of approx 15 degrees so as to cover the lane the vehicle is occupying, and those to the side. The position, size and relative speed of objects is determined so that the system can make decisions as to the need to apply brakes, accelerate or just maintain the current velocity.

Vehicle Security: Microwave Alarm sensors

e2v’s alarm sensors are based on microwave technology and are designed to protect the interior of a vehicle without being sensitive to the external environment. Unlike ultrasonic alarms, which are likely to be activated by weather conditions such as thunderstorms, gusts of wind or by contact with the exterior of the car, e2v’s microwave sensors only react when an unauthorised presence is determined in a car.

Application Specific Integrated Circuits: ASICs

These specialist integrated circuits interface with on-board sensors to processes the signals. For example, within rain sensors and automatic headlights an optical light sensor will measure the quantity of light at a specific position. As the amount of light increases or decreases a message is sent to the signal processor via e2v’s ASIC creating a reaction such as headlights coming on or windscreen wipers being activated.

e2v’s current product investment centres on safety (eg airbag deployment) and environmental applications (eg pollution reduction).

Automotive Imaging – Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor (CMOS) technology

CMOS technology is ideally suited for automotive imaging applications, with the market focussing on cost and power consumption over the sensitivity and radiation hardness demands placed on the traditional Charge Coupled Device (CCD) imaging technology used in applications such as space exploration.

In addition to a standard product roadmap for the automotive/security markets, e2v also offers a custom CMOS imaging service to empower customers with the competitive edge through an extensive library of high performance imaging standard cells and processing blocks – termed ‘the CMOS toolkit’.

Please follow the 'Related Products' links to the products we offer for this application.