The purpose of the communication interface is to communicate commands and information back and forth between the CAN/LIN bus and the PTC heater module. CAN is a multi-drop, differential communication bus with a data rate up to 5 Mbps which connects multiple nodes in the vehicle while LIN is a single-wire, supply-level interface that communicates at 20kbps. The PTC heater module subsystem may receive signals directing it to supply current to the loads and temperature settings from the bus. Similarly, it may relay power status, temperature settings and fault information back to the network. The data rate and wiring requirements for relaying the information and commands sent to and from the PTC controller can typically be handled with a LIN transceiver.

If the designer needs to have a LIN with a designated WAKE pin, the TLIN1021A-Q1 can be used. If a designated WAKE pin is not needed, the TLIN1029A-Q1 is certainly suitable.

System basis chips (SBCs) are transceivers with integrated power supplies to help reduce system component count and possibly lower total system cost. Having the power supply of the transceiver integrated can eliminate the 12V to 3.3V/5V stage in a PTC heater module. An SBC that can be used in PTC heater modules is the TLIN1028-Q1, which is an integrated LIN transceiver and LDO.

For guidance on best practices of implementing a LIN transceiver into the system layout, the designer can look at the LIN Protocol and Physical Layer Requirements. All LIN transceivers that were suggested previously in this section come in SOIC or VSON packages. A designer can select a leaded or leadless package option based on design requirements. If the designer wants a LIN transceiver with leaded packaging, but has the space advantage of the VSON package, they can pick a device that comes in SOT, like the TLIN1039-Q1.