Panasonic Automotive Systems and TI

For almost 100 years, Panasonic Automotive Systems has developed products and solutions for automakers that enable riders and drivers to have a comfortable and enjoyable drive.

Audio systems play an important role in immersing people in their environments. Panasonic Automotive Systems partners with automakers to produce audio systems that bring studio-listening quality to vehicles, from playing music for singalongs to podcast episodes that transform the commute into an experience.

As listeners come to expect a rich and immersive audio experience from their vehicle’s sound system and other premium features such as artificial intelligence, vehicle architecture is evolving to accommodate higher voltages and power loads.

Though a majority of vehicles today run on 12V systems, automakers – particularly those that make EVs – are exploring 48V systems.

“We’re seeing the transition to the 48V power net to reduce vehicle wiring and increase total available power to accommodate new functions such as steer-by-wire,” said Donovan Porter, general manager for body electronics and lighting on TI’s automotive systems team.

For automakers, 48V systems accommodate these power demands and increase efficiency by reducing vehicle weight, as well as lowering cable harness cost.

As 12V systems still dominate the automotive landscape, engineers must develop most parts for 48V systems using new designs.

“With 48V, component selection is more limited. The range of parts compatible with or optimized for 48V is narrower than what’s available for 12V. These components cost more, sometimes must be physically larger, and have reduced margin,” Gavora said.

To create an audio solution that is compatible with 48V and can better enable automakers to enter the market while giving drivers a premium audio experience, Panasonic Automotive Systems leveraged their years-long relationship with TI. They chose TI’s industry-first integrated buck converter with GaN FETs for their audio solution. The integrated buck converter’s high thermal performance, faster switching speeds and lower losses enable the switching regulators to operate at high temperatures while maintaining high power density and efficiency.

Panasonic Automotive Systems also used TI's audio amplifier solution with 1L modulation technology to deliver Class-D performance while halving the number of inductors per channel. Depending on system design, using 1L Class-D amplifiers can result in up to 50% lower inductor cost and a solution that is up to 50% smaller and lighter.

Because TI’s buck converter integrates GaN FETs into a single package, Panasonic Automotive Systems could quickly adapt a previous design of theirs and only replace the front-end power stage with the 48V buck converter, without using more PCB space than in a 12V solution. Since the existing design was already mature, Panasonic Automotive Systems could maintain the same characterization, performance and confidence for automakers adopting their 48V solution.

Since an integrated buck converter reduces component count and complexity, Panasonic Automotive Systems’ engineers had fewer parts to procure and place and needed to spend less time on design, lessening the 48V premium audio system’s time to market and enabling accelerated adoption of 48V systems.

Now the automotive industry has a practical, accessible and reliable way of shifting to 48V audio systems. Instead of waiting for a complete 48V ecosystem or requalifying components with new technologies, automakers have the resources to adopt 48V vehicle architecture today with solutions such as Panasonic Automotive Systems’ premium audio system. At the same time, drivers and passengers can continue to enjoy premium audio that makes their commute fun, personal and comfortable.

“Our collaboration with TI and the integrated buck converter is the first chapter in our 48V story. This addresses the need our customers have for reliable 48V audio systems right now, while we’re still early in the transition. It’s the right technology at the right time,” Gavora said.