EnSilica chassis control ASIC for premium automotive brand enters mass production

2.5 million mixed-signal ASICs to be produced in 1^st year

OXFORD, United Kingdom – June 29, 2022 -- EnSilica (LON: ENSI), a leading chip maker of mixed signal ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuits), has announced the development of a custom chassis-control ASIC, which has entered mass production, and will appear in vehicles later this year.

The device will first be used in a recently launched flagship model from the premium OEM and is anticipated to be then rolled out to additional vehicles in its range. Depending on the model, up to 24 of the chassis-control devices will be used per vehicle.

2.5 million ASIC devices will ship to the luxury carmaker during the next 12 months, with an anticipated production life of seven years.

About the ASIC

The complex mixed-signal ASIC uses a BCD process with high-voltage transistors, and combines extensive monitoring and fault detection circuits (for example open and short pins, over and under voltage detection and frequency monitoring) with duplicate redundancy on key functions.

The part is qualified to AEC-Q100 grade 0, EnSilica’s in-house functional safety team developed the ASIC to meet the requirement defined in ISO 26262 to the most demanding Automotive Safety Integrity Level (ASIL-D).

Development of the ASIC began in mid 2018 and was signed off for production earlier this year. Design was undertaken by EnSilica, in close collaboration with leading independent semiconductor testing and qualification firm, RoodMicrotec N.V.

EnSilica selected RoodMicrotec N.V. to support it in the qualification and testing of this mixed signal automotive ASIC. RoodMicrotec N.V. will undertake final testing of the ASIC in its in Nördlingen, Germany facility.

Ian Lankshear, Chief Executive Officer of EnSilica plc, commented:

“Our design team were able to deliver the first silicon samples in less than 12 months, given the complexity of this mixed signal chip and the added overhead of complying to the ISO 26262 at ASIL-D, this was real achievement. Both RoodMicrotec and EnSilica’s teams worked well together to take this through AEC-Q100 qualification, test program development and then preparing it for automotive quality production sign-off.”

Martin Sallenhag, Chief Executive Officer of RoodMicrotec, added:

“It has been exciting to support EnSilica in bringing this project to production over the last few years. We are now looking forward to supporting production of this device in our Nördlingen facility. It again shows the demand for our unique combined capabilities, in depth experience and excellent track record in bringing automotive products to the market for our valued customers.”

About EnSilica

EnSilica is a leading fabless design house focused on custom ASIC design and supply for OEMs and system houses, as well as IC design services for companies with their own design teams. The company has world-class expertise in supplying custom RF, mmWave, mixed signal and digital ICs to its international customers in the automotive, industrial, healthcare and communications markets. The company also offers a broad portfolio of core IP covering cryptography, radar and communications systems. EnSilica has a track record in delivering high quality solutions to demanding industry standards. The company is headquartered near Oxford, UK and has a design centres across the UK and in Bangalore, India and Porto Alegre, Brazil and listed on the London Stock Exchange’s AIM market (LON: ENSI).

www.Ensilica.com