How many chips does a car need?

Over the past decades semiconductors have expanded rapidly into vehicles, and automotive electronics has become one of the fastest growing segments. Data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers shows that a conventional combustion vehicle needs 600 to 700 automotive chips, an electric vehicle needs about 1,600 per vehicle, and a more advanced intelligent vehicle is expected to reach 3,000 per vehicle.

The main categories of automotive chips

Automotive chips are like the brain of a vehicle. By function they fall into three groups - control, sensing and actuation - and can be further divided into nine categories: control chips, computing chips, sensor chips, communication chips, memory chips, security chips, power chips, driver chips and power management chips.

1. Control chips: MCU, SoC

A control chip (MCU), also called a microcontroller unit, handles computing and processing for engine, chassis and body control, and for AI chips used in autonomous driving perception and fusion. Chips are appearing in ever greater numbers in vehicles, from the powertrain to the infotainment system to the safety system. MCUs account for about 30% of the semiconductor devices used in a vehicle.

2. Computing chips: CPU, GPU, FPGA and others

CPU chips are mainly used in infotainment systems such as in-car navigation and music playback. They handle complex computing tasks, interface with multimedia ports and provide strong processing capability. GPU chips are mainly used in advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS) and autonomous driving, processing large volumes of video and image data for object recognition, pedestrian detection and route planning.

3. Power chips: IGBT, silicon carbide, power MOSFET

Power semiconductors are the core of power conversion and circuit control in electronic devices. They are mainly used to change voltage and frequency and to convert between DC and AC. In new energy vehicles the average number of medium and high voltage MOSFETs per vehicle has risen to more than 200.

4. Communication chips: cellular, WLAN, CAN/LIN, satellite positioning, NFC, Bluetooth, ETC, Ethernet and others

Wireless communication chips connect the vehicle to the internet, provide data transmission, and support telematics, remote control and real-time navigation. CAN controller chips are mainly used for internal communication, for example between the engine control module and the brake control module. A CAN controller organises and manages the data flow between vehicle systems, ensuring accurate transmission and improving overall operating efficiency.

5. Memory chips: DRAM, NOR FLASH, EEPROM, SRAM, NAND FLASH

Infotainment, navigation and safety systems all need large amounts of storage, so memory chips play an important role in vehicles. Common types include flash memory and solid state drive chips. They store large volumes of data and provide fast read and write speeds, keeping the system running smoothly.

6. Power and analogue chips: SBC, analogue front end, DC/DC, digital isolation, DC/AC

Power management chips handle the power supply for in-vehicle electronics, including start-up power, lighting power and instrument panel power. They manage and distribute power efficiently to keep electronic equipment running normally. According to Oppenheimer, analogue circuits account for 29% of automotive chips, of which 53% are signal chain chips and 47% power management chips.

7. Driver chips: high-side drive, low-side drive, LED and display, gate drive, bridge and others

For electric vehicles, motor control chips play a vital role. They control motor speed and direction to keep the vehicle driving stably. They also manage battery charge effectively, improving battery efficiency and extending service life.

8. Security chips: T-Box and V2X security chips, eSIM and eSAM security chips

Information security and driving safety are priorities for consumers, so a wide range of security chips are used in vehicles. These include identity authentication chips and data encryption chips, which protect vehicle data and prevent unauthorised access and attacks.

9. Sensor chips: ultrasonic, image, voice, laser, millimetre wave, fingerprint, infrared, voltage, temperature, current, humidity, position, pressure and others

Sensor chips play a very important role in vehicles. They include speed sensors, pressure sensors, temperature sensors and radar sensors, which monitor vehicle operating status in real time, provide the driver with important information and supply necessary data to safety systems.

AEC-Q100: the mandatory qualification for automotive chips

(1) AEC-Q is the entry threshold for the international automotive electronics industry

AEC stands for the Automotive Electronics Council, an American organisation founded in 1994 by Chrysler, Ford and General Motors. Its membership now spans major vehicle makers, automotive electronics companies and semiconductor manufacturers worldwide. Components meeting AEC specifications can be adopted by all three founding carmakers at the same time, which encouraged component makers to exchange product characteristic data and promoted standardisation of automotive parts, laying the foundation for rapid growth of the automotive component market. AEC-Q is the automotive reliability test standard issued by the AEC organisation and is an important ticket for component makers entering automotive electronics and the tier-one supply chain.

AEC-Q100 was the first AEC standard. It is a stress test standard designed for integrated circuits used in automotive applications and is important for improving product reliability and quality assurance. AEC-Q100 guards against potential fault conditions by confirming the quality and reliability of every chip under strict criteria, with standardised testing of product function and performance.

(2) Automotive ICs required to pass AEC-Q100

Control chips, driver chips, computing chips, memory chips, sensor chips, communication chips, power chips, power supply chips, security chips and analogue chips.

(3) AEC-Q100: operating temperature grades for integrated circuits

Grade 0: ambient operating temperature range -40℃ to 150℃.

Grade 1: ambient operating temperature range -40℃ to 125℃.

Grade 2: ambient operating temperature range -40℃ to 105℃.

Grade 3: ambient operating temperature range -40℃ to 85℃.

(4) AEC-Q100 qualification flow for automotive IC products

(5) AEC-Q100 test groups

Group A - accelerated environmental stress tests (PC, THB/HAST, AC or UHAST or TH, TC, PTC, HTSL): 6 tests.

Group B - accelerated lifetime simulation tests (HTOL, ELFR, EDR): 3 tests.

Group C - package assembly integrity tests (WBS, WBP, SD, PD, SBS, LI, BST): 7 tests.

Group D - die fabrication reliability tests (EM, TDDB, HCI, BTI, SM): 5 tests.

Group E - electrical verification tests (TEST, HBM, CDM, LU, ED, FG, CHAR, EMC, SC, SER, LF): 11 tests.

Group F - defect screening tests (PAT, SBA): 2 tests.

Group G - cavity package integrity tests (MS, VFV, CA, GFL, DROP, LT, DS, IWV): 8 tests.

(6) NTEK chip testing capability against AEC-Q100 requirements

About NTEK

NTEK Group was founded in 2009 and is headquartered in Shenzhen. The group provides quality research and technical services covering R&D verification, inspection and testing, failure analysis, simulation and market access for intelligent connected vehicles, electronic communications and new energy.

NTEK has extensive experience in automotive-grade electronic certification and has helped more than 100 companies pass AEC-Q series certification, confirming the quality and reliability of each chip case against AEC-Q100. Driven by the need of vehicle makers to localise automotive-grade chips and supported by the domestic semiconductor industry, NTEK provides comprehensive testing and certification services, applying AEC-Q100 automotive standards to control the safety and quality of automotive chips, supporting the growth of domestic automotive-grade chips and adding new momentum to the intelligent vehicle safety system.