StrongArm-Latch-Based Receiver for Supply Line Embedded Communication

A PLC receiver based on a StrongArm Latch with tunable hysteresis is developed to realize a supply line embedded transceiver for automotive application. Modern cars are complex systems with a huge number of distributed Electronic Control Units (ECUs) with several sensors and actuators. As automotive systems became more complex, new solutions to drastically reduce the amount of cabling must be developed. A supply embedded communication method can be used to decrease weight, cost, and raw materials usage. A key block of the required transceiver is the here proposed receiver that is based on a StrongArm Latch with tunable hysteresis to guarantee performance robustness and circuit sensitivity. A differential buffer and an input divider are used in front of the Latch to provide a fast, stable, and manageable signal. The full transceiver is developed in a 180nm CMOS SOI technology. Extended simulations in an automotive environment model validate the receiver proposal.