industry news
Subscribe Now

STMicroelectronics Simplifies Design and Boosts Safety with Highly Integrated Universal Car-Lock Controller

Geneva, May 4, 2020 – The STMicroelectronics L99UDL01 automotive universal door-lock IC integrates six MOSFET half-bridge outputs and two half-bridge gate drivers with protection and diagnostic functions that enhance safety, simplify design, and save space.

As a complete centralized solution for electronically driving car locks from a body-control module (BCM), the L99UDL01 replaces multiple individual motor drivers and associated analog and passive components while providing more sophisticated functionality.

The IC integrates a unique safety feature that overrides normal operation in the event of an accident to help ensure that first responders will have access to the vehicle. Adding further value are PWM output-current regulation and high-level diagnostics capable of detecting over current, open load, short to battery, and short to ground. The load-integrity checks can be completed without actuating the load.

The six integrated MOSFET half bridges can be connected independently or as two channels containing up to three half bridges in parallel to share higher-current loads. The output MOSFETs are fully protected and have low RDS(ON) to boost energy efficiency and ease thermal management. Key parameters are adjustable to ensure optimal performance, including the on-time duration, off-state fault detection, and output-current magnitude and direction. The programmable current limit lets designers lower stress on door-lock motors to enhance reliability.

The two half-bridge gate drivers enhance flexibility by allowing designers to connect their choice of N-channel MOSFETs or Smart Power devices to control additional high-powered loads. The drivers incorporate active recirculation that minimizes power dissipation. Protection for the external power devices is also built-in, including drain-source current monitoring and off-state fault detection.

In addition, the L99UDL01 has two power-saving modes including a 50µA standby mode ready for re-activation by an SPI command from the BCM and sleep mode that reduces current to below 15µA.

The L99UDL01 is in production now, packaged in 10mm x 10mm TQFP64L, and is available from $3.63 for orders of 1000 pieces.

Please visit www.st.com/l99udl01 for further information.

Leave a Reply

featured blogs
May 6, 2026
Hollywood has struck gold with The Lord of the Rings and Dune'”so which sci-fi and fantasy books should filmmakers tackle next?...

featured paper

Quickly and accurately identify inter-domain leakage issues in IC designs

Sponsored by Siemens Digital Industries Software

Power domain leakage is a major IC reliability issue, often missed by traditional tools. This white paper describes challenges of identifying leakage, types of false results, and presents Siemens EDA’s Insight Analyzer. The tool proactively finds true leakage paths, filters out false positives, and helps circuit designers quickly fix risks—enabling more robust, reliable chip designs. With detailed, context-aware analysis, designers save time and improve silicon quality.

Click to read more

featured chalk talk

Analog Output, Isolated Current, & Voltage Sensing Using Isolation Amplifiers
Sponsored by Mouser Electronics and Vishay
In this episode of Chalk Talk, Simon Goodwin from Vishay and Amelia Dalton chat about analog output, and isolated current and voltage sensing using isolation amplifiers. Simon and Amelia also explore the fundamental principles of current and voltage sensing and the variety of voltage and current sensing solutions offered by Vishay that can get your next design up and running in no time.
Apr 27, 2026
16,903 views