The TDA7576B is suitable for commercial vehicles such as trucks and buses with an electrical system operating voltage of 24V, as well as agricultural vehicles (cars with an electrical system voltage of 12V). It is the world's first audio power amplifier to drive speakers directly in a car with an operating voltage of 24V without the need to add any external components, proving ST's long-standing dedication and R&D investment in the automotive market. This is the world's first audio power amplifier that can directly drive loudspeakers in a car without any external components, demonstrating ST's longstanding commitment to the automotive market.

Luca Celant, Director of Audio and Power Marketing, Automotive Products Division, STMicroelectronics, said: "Millions of truckers and other heavy-duty vehicle drivers are usually alone on long-distance drives, and a high-quality sound system helps them to relax and focus their attention, but until now they have only been able to barely use the existing heavy-duty vehicle sound systems. With our leadership in the global market for automotive audio power amplifiers, ST has developed this industry-unique product that enables heavy vehicle drivers to enjoy the high quality sound that is only available in new cars."

Automotive audio amplifiers must be able to withstand the effects of the harsh automotive environment, including high levels of electrical noise, and must provide comprehensive protection against potentially hazardous incidents, such as short-circuit, load-surge, and chip overheating protection. Audio amplifiers for 12V automotive systems are very sophisticated, and car audio manufacturers are still unable to replicate the audio performance of a 12V system within a 24V automotive system without adding external components, which not only increases the cost, but even poses a safety hazard under certain conditions.

The TDA7576B 24V audio power amplifier overcomes this challenge. Using the market-proven mass-production semiconductor process technology BCD5, the product integrates the power module and signal management module on a single chip, which is more cost-effective than a multi-chip solution, and can withstand a peak supply voltage of 60V without any damage. As the highest-performance audio power amplifier for 24V systems on the market, the TDA7576B utilizes the exact same design principles and R&D inputs as ST's power amplifiers for car radios, so drivers of heavy-duty vehicles can enjoy a high-quality sound system at the level of a sedan.

The TDA7576B audio amplifier further expands ST's 24V automotive-specific product portfolio, which includes the recently launched external lighting chip and internal lighting chip.

Key features of the TDA7576B:

● 24V battery power;

● High output power (2 x 20 W);

Dramatically reduced number of external components, such as no decoupling capacitors, no bootstrap capacitors, and no external compensation component;

● Integrated power-saving standby function;

●Diagnostic output pins; clipping, short-circuit, or overheating alarms;

●Output DC compensation detection (offset detection);

Protection functions: 60V load dump protection, chip overheat protection, electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection, output GND or Vcc short circuit or load short circuit protection.