Inside The KD7251 ft. Rubén Pérez-Aranda of KDPOF

[00:00:00] Now in the middle of one of the most significant eras in automotive, Carl Anthony amplifies

[00:00:05] the minds and voices behind this historic transformation as the host of AutoVision News Radio, all while

[00:00:11] coming to terms with middle age, father loss, and what it means to be successful in Detroit.

[00:00:17] As part of AutoSense and in Cabin USA 2024, we hosted a number of industry thought leaders

[00:00:24] as part of our AutoVision News live broadcasts from the exhibition floor.

[00:00:29] One such expert was Ruben Perez-Aranda, CTO and co-founder of KD Path.

[00:00:35] Ruben has served for over 20 years as a manager of R&D projects for the development of digital

[00:00:42] communication systems, covering the full path from information theory based research to

[00:00:48] integrated circuits qualification and series production.

[00:00:52] Ruben is an IEEE senior member and an industrial engineer specializing in electronics and automation

[00:00:59] control.

[00:01:00] During AutoSense and in Cabin USA 2024, Ruben spoke more about the latest innovations from

[00:01:07] KD Path including the KD7251, a single chip solution integrating optical fiber interface,

[00:01:14] optical engine, photonics and electronics in a hybrid package supporting a standard

[00:01:21] reflow assembly process.

[00:01:23] As we began our discussion from the exhibition floor, I shared an overview of a prior interview

[00:01:29] I did with Ruben for the AutoSense and in Cabin YouTube channel.

[00:01:33] I'll leave a link in the show notes.

[00:01:35] In the meantime, I'm pleased to be able to replay for you now.

[00:01:39] My interview with Ruben are guests during AutoSense and in Cabin USA 2024.

[00:01:45] Moving at the speed of mobility, this is AutoVision News Radio with Karl Antony in

[00:01:50] Detroit, Michigan.

[00:01:51] Allow me just as we begin to give a little bit of a backstory because we did a previous

[00:01:57] interview that's on the AutoSense and in Cabin YouTube channel.

[00:02:01] So a bit of a backstory here.

[00:02:04] Connecting sensors to AI units requires a data network deployed throughout the vehicle

[00:02:10] where information generated by sensors is aggregated by zonal ECUs and then transmitted

[00:02:16] to the AI units.

[00:02:18] Now aggregation amplifies the rate requirements between 10 and 50 gigabits per second per link.

[00:02:26] In our previous interview that I mentioned, Ruben, for the AutoSense and in Cabin YouTube

[00:02:30] channel, we analyzed that legacy electrical physical layers face limitations such as

[00:02:37] high insertion loss and return loss which translates into signal integrity and EMC

[00:02:43] issues that ultimately impact the cost and energy efficiency.

[00:02:49] Now these problems will worsen over time as cable and connectors age, making electrical

[00:02:55] solutions really inadequate for future scalability.

[00:02:59] In this scenario, optical links become a very attractive solution offering superior

[00:03:06] EMC performance, low power consumption and scalability for future data rates.

[00:03:12] That's a summary Ruben of what we talked about in that prior interview.

[00:03:16] Yeah, I think it's a very good summary.

[00:03:18] So in KDPoF, we are a Spanish company, a fabulous company that we were founded in 2010.

[00:03:27] We invent high speed optical communication for automotive environment, specifically for

[00:03:32] automotive environment.

[00:03:34] We already have chips in serious production for gigabit over a plastic optical fiber

[00:03:39] and now we are really focused in the development of the new multi-gigabit optical communications

[00:03:46] for automotive using a different fiber, that is glass multi-gigabit fiber.

[00:03:51] And we offer to the market a fully qualified automatic gray chips that integrate photonics,

[00:03:59] electronics and optics in a single chip solution.

[00:04:03] What is KDPoF showing here at AutoSense for 2024, Ruben?

[00:04:09] We are presenting in this event the new optical transmitter for multi-gigabit.

[00:04:15] This is the KDPoF 7251, it's able to operate up to 10 gigabits per second.

[00:04:21] We are showcasing here in a booth, in the booth number 258, a demo of a symmetric transmission

[00:04:29] of 10 gigabits using automotive gray optical fiber connectors and cable.

[00:04:36] So the people can touch the cable, can play with the connectors and see how flexible and

[00:04:42] robust is this cable without affecting the performance of the system.

[00:04:48] Ruben, what are some of the other main features and characteristics of what you have on display

[00:04:52] here at AutoSense?

[00:04:54] This chip is very a special chip and unique chip.

[00:04:57] This chip is going to be certified functional safety ACB,

[00:05:02] qualified according to ACQ 102G2.

[00:05:06] And we have different functionalities.

[00:05:08] We have in the chip the capability of operating as Ethernet-5, so supporting the connectivity

[00:05:15] between some ECUs and artificial intelligence units with symmetric traffic.

[00:05:22] But this chip also includes MIPE interfaces.

[00:05:25] So CSI-2 for connecting cameras, radar, leader or DSI-2 for connecting displays.

[00:05:32] And we also support IEEE 1722 encapsulation, so we encapsulate our Ethernet, MIPE and

[00:05:41] the remote control protocols.

[00:05:45] We have also the support of aggregation, desegregation, multi-drop traffic because

[00:05:51] for example, you can use this chip to aggregate the traffic from a leader, camera, radar and put all together

[00:05:59] over a single fiber and send to the main processor in the car.

[00:06:03] Right. Ruben, I think the next question, and I would imagine you could ask that frequently,

[00:06:09] this, ask this frequently is how do you integrate all of these functionalities into an optical transceiver?

[00:06:16] How is that possible?

[00:06:17] Yeah.

[00:06:18] Yeah, it's a very good question because it's one of the most difficult things.

[00:06:22] Yeah.

[00:06:23] Yeah.

[00:06:24] So I would like to emphasize because this is a single chip solution.

[00:06:27] So we integrate the optical interface for connecting the fiber directly to the chip,

[00:06:34] the optical engine that make the optical coupling between the photonics on the fiber,

[00:06:40] the photonics, so laser, photodial, and electronics.

[00:06:45] And everything in a hybrid package supporting assembly process in PCB.

[00:06:53] So this is the very best optical transceiver able to support reflow process for direct assembly in PCB.

[00:07:02] Right, right.

[00:07:03] You had mentioned that this is a single chip solution.

[00:07:06] Ruben, can you elaborate more on the characteristics of this single chip that we've been discussing?

[00:07:12] Yes.

[00:07:13] So inside this chip we have a first CMOS die.

[00:07:18] This CMOS die, the silicon integrates the DSP, the electronics, the analog signal circuits,

[00:07:27] the high speed digital interface, microprocessors, monitors, et cetera.

[00:07:31] And we decided to integrate everything in a single die using CMOS because CMOS technology

[00:07:37] are qualified for automotive and allows you to produce in very low cost.

[00:07:42] So this is the first element that we have.

[00:07:45] Then we have a pixel that is the laser and we have the photodiode.

[00:07:50] And these three dies are assembled over an organic substrate, that is a BGA substrate.

[00:07:57] And on top of that we have a lead and a small structure that implement the optical lenses

[00:08:04] to couple the photonics to the fiber and the mechanical interface with the optical ferules of the chip.

[00:08:11] And this package is very innovative because it requires very high precision positioning

[00:08:17] of the photonics on the lead and requires to select the materials and the glues, et cetera

[00:08:24] to support the reflow process that is operating up to 345 degrees Celsius.

[00:08:31] So you need to select all these recipes for assembly of this chip and the materials very well.

[00:08:38] Sure. Ruben, I imagine this question is something you might get as frequently as well

[00:08:43] but if you have this single solution approach and this hybrid packaging

[00:08:47] which is remarkable and innovative all at the same time

[00:08:50] but how do you manufacture it in a series production or in a method

[00:08:56] that supports high volume for the automotive industry?

[00:08:59] Yeah, it's a very frequent question and very good question.

[00:09:02] This hybrid package is not a standard package.

[00:09:05] So you cannot subcontract these big companies doing assembly and test for you.

[00:09:12] You cannot contract the big O's at the A's here.

[00:09:15] So what we are doing in the company is setting up an assembly facility to make this assembly.

[00:09:23] So we are setting up manufacturing lines, fully automatic manufacturing lines

[00:09:28] including all the steps that you need.

[00:09:30] Wafers are processing with dicing, high precision positioning,

[00:09:37] tibonding, fleet chip, wire bonding, lead attached, final test, et cetera.

[00:09:42] So we subcontract the manufacturing of the CMOS die.

[00:09:45] We subcontract the pixel on the photo diode or the substrate on the lead

[00:09:49] but we put all together inside the manufacturing line

[00:09:54] to guarantee a very high quality and low cost production of this very unique kind of product for automotive industry.

[00:10:05] For more information about KD-POP, see the links in the show notes.

[00:10:09] AutoVision News Radio is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Podbean and more

[00:10:15] from the Huntington Place in downtown Detroit

[00:10:18] as part of AutoSense and in Cabin USA 2024 alongside Ruben Perez-Aranda.

[00:10:24] I'm Carl Anthony. AutoVision News Radio.