Technological Approaches to Electronic ignition Systems in the European Market

Aside breakerless ignitions driven either by Hail effect or electromagnetic pick-up, widely used in the European cars, stand-alone ignitions with digital electronic control of the spark timing are also becoming very popular. Based on a custom designed LSI chip and on thick film technology the digital ignition system, marketed under the name of “Digiplex”, provides high performances at a cost low enough to make the system used on cars with engines as small as 1 liter or less. A more sophisticated type of ignition systems, used on turbo cars, controls spark timing also vs. engine knocking and coolant temperature. The paper describes the characteristics of such systems with emphasis on the technological approaches adopted for their manufacturing. The importance in the use of thick film technology is stressed.