Hybrid cars to require rugged, reliable signal isolation

With a battery voltage of only about 12V, signal isolation is not a problem that designers of automotive electronics currently face, and that’s a good thing – optocouplers are the most popular way to isolate signals, and the LEDs-and-sensor combination doesn’t do at all well in an automotive environment. The extremes of hot and cold combined with the vibration and jarring wreak havoc in low-end optical isolation devices.

However, a shift towards hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) could change that. HEVs have battery voltages of 300, 400, even 500 volts, making isolation of the electronics a necessity and a challenge. That’s what’s behind Analog Devices announcement of the qualification for the automotive market of its isoPower digital signal and power isolation devices. So far ADI doesn’t have any announced customers for the product family but just going through the expensive, time-consuming qualification process is an indication that ADI sees the HEV market as having some serious potential.