Monitoring active filters under automotive aging scenarios with embedded instrument

In automotive mixed-signal SoCs, the analogue/mixed-signal front-ends are of particular interest with regard to dependability. Because of the many electrical disturbances at the front-end, often (active) filters are being used. Due to the harsh environments, in some cases, degradation of these filters may be encountered during lifetime and hence false sensor information could be provided with potential fatal results. This paper investigates the influence of aging in three different types of active filters in an automotive environment, and presents an embedded instrument, which monitors this aging behaviour. The monitor can be used for flagging problems in the car console or initiate automatic correction.