The chip is the brain of the car; the MCU (Microcontroller Unit) chip is the brain within the brain—receiving information, issuing commands, directing other chips to control the vehicle and ensure performance. In recent years, domestic automotive chips have made significant progress, but high-performance MCU chips suitable for power, chassis, and other high safety and complex control requirements remain a gap. This situation is about to change.Recently, Zhang Fanwu, Chief Engineer of Intelligent Technology at Dongfeng Motor’s Global Innovation Center, announced that the first fully domestically produced automotive-grade high-performance MCU chip, DF30, has completed its first tape-out (trial production) verification, and automotive-grade validation will begin soon, with plans for mass production and market launch next year, breaking the monopoly of foreign manufacturers.About the size of a fingernail and black in color, the DF30 may seem unremarkable, but Zhang Fanwu stated that to create this Chinese “chip,” Dongfeng has “traveled the most difficult road.”A typical car has 25 to 50 controllers, requiring 500 to 1000 chips, of which 90% have been domestically produced. The MCU chip falls within the remaining 10%. “We started by tackling a ‘hard nut.'” Zhang Fanwu explained that in 2022, Dongfeng Motor took the lead, along with eight other enterprises and institutions, to establish the Hubei Automotive Grade Chip Industry Technology Innovation Consortium. Dongfeng Motor proposed the requirements, and downstream companies were responsible for design, manufacturing, etc., creating a complete chip industry chain.This collaborative R&D model is an exploration within the industry and was not initially smooth. During the collaboration, Dongfeng Motor proposed using a key module in the chip, while the design company insisted on using another module instead. The first tape-out verification failed due to the absence of this key module, preventing the development of a basic function for the controller using this chip. “What we are doing is a zero-to-one endeavor, with no templates to reference. Everyone has their own ideas, which leads to these collisions,” Zhang Fanwu said. The tacit understanding has gradually grown through these discussions and confrontations, and now, the communication mechanism within the innovation consortium is becoming increasingly smooth and efficient.The number of member units in the innovation consortium has grown to 44, covering the entire industry chain of automotive-grade chip standards, design, manufacturing, packaging, and application, producing over 50 invention patents and integrated circuit layouts, along with eight team standards.
DF30 chip. (Photo by Dai Wenhui, Hubei Daily)The DF30 chip has a wide range of applications, suitable for the engines and chassis of fuel vehicles, as well as the three-electric systems of new energy vehicles, with functions and performance comparable to similar international products. In February of this year, Dongfeng Motor completed cold region testing of a power controller based on the DF30 in Mohe, Heilongjiang, achieving the expected goals, further strengthening the team’s determination to complete the high-quality development of this chip and its industrialization, with plans for hot region testing in Turpan this summer.
Series of chips developed by Dongfeng Motor, led by the innovation consortium. (Photo by Dai Wenhui, Hubei Daily)“Verification is another major challenge in automotive chip development. Dongfeng is the domestic automotive enterprise with the most comprehensive variety of vehicles, capable of providing the most comprehensive instance scenarios for chip verification.” Zhang Fanwu explained that next, Dongfeng Motor will also develop other models of the DF30 for different application scenarios, achieving product diversification, while also conducting R&D on domain controller chips.
Source: Hubei Daily
