Increasing fuel costs and emission regulations force the car manufacturers to develop powerful but efficient engines. The 3-liter car (3-liter/100 km fuel consumption → 80 miles/gallon) is one of the slogans. To fulfill these requirements a fully electronic controlled Engine Management is necessary.
Carburetor systems are replaced by fuel injection systems. Direct injection for Diesel as well as for gasoline engines is the clear trend for the future.
The mechanical throttle systems, used for a long time will not fit to the requirements of direct injection. A DC motor for electronic throttle control in conjunction with λ regulation and exhaust gas recirculation are the key elements for low emission cars.
Also the automotive ignition system is in a process of change today. Coming from distributor systems, which were substituted by distributorless ignitions systems with double spark coils, we are facing today single coil systems like ‘coil on plug’ or ‘pencil coils’ and ion current measurement for knock detection. This SAE paper will discuss the new requirements and introduce a Smart Ignition IGBT from Infineon Technologies as a solution.