Vendors » Top CAN Controller Manufacturers | Trusted CAN IC Suppliers

Top CAN Controller Manufacturers | Trusted CAN IC Suppliers

can controller manufacturers automotive

Introduction : In modern automotive and industrial applications, CAN controllers are central to enabling reliable, standardized communication between multiple electronic control units (ECUs) on a CAN bus. Let us understand functions of CAN controller and explore popular manufacturers.

What is CAN Controller?

These controllers implement the protocol stack which performs framing, arbitration, error detectio (using CRC) and message handling. It coordinate with a physical layer transceiver to send and receive data across the CAN bus. It should be compliant with CAN 2.0 or CAN FD or CAN XL standards.

Selection Criteria

  1. Integrated Vs. Standalone : Whether to use microcontroller having built-in CAN controller or a standalone CAN controller.
  2. Choose protocol version of CAN such as classical CAN or CAN-FD or CAN-XL as per data rate and payload size requirements.
  3. Number of channels required to interface different networks.
  4. Buffer size to store incoming/outgoing messages. More is better to reduce the risk of message loss and to lower the load of CPU.
  5. Ensure logic level voltage of controller e.g. 3.3V or 5V matches with host MCU and other system components.
  6. Select appropriate temperature grade as per environment requirements.

Typical CAN Node

CAN Controller Chip Manufacturers

A robust CAN controller from a reputable manufacturer ensures compliance with CAN standards. It enables scalable, efficient and interoperable network designs for embedded systems, vehicles and industrial automation.

ManufacturersProduct with Features
Microchip TechnologyMCP2515 : A very popular and widely used standalone CAN controller with an SPI interface. MCP2518FD : An external CAN FD controller with an SPI interface, allowing any MCU to connect to a CAN FD bus. AT90CAN128 : 8 bit AVR microcontroller with integrated CAN controller. Other parts : PIC32MX series, dsPIC33C series, ATSAME51 series etc.
NXP SemiconductorsSJA1000 : A standalone CAN controller, widely used in automotive and industrial applications., LPC17xx series : ARM Cortex-M3 based microcontrollers with integrated CAN 2.0B controllers, S32K series : ARM MCU with CAN FD controller.
STMicroelectronicsSTM32F103 series : integrated bxCAN (Basic Extended CAN) controllers, STM32F4 series etc.
Infineon TechnologiesXMC4000 series (e.g., XMC4500) :ARM Cortex-M4 based industrial microcontrollers with integrated CAN modules.

CAN Controller based modules

  • MikroElektronika produces wide range of “Click boards” such as MIKROE-2575 (CAN FD Click) and MIKROE-679 (CAN SPI Click 3.3V)
  • SparkFun Electronics part number DEV-13262 is arduino shield based on MCP2515 (controller) and MCP2551 (transceiver).
  • Adafruit Industries offers various boards and modules. One such part number is 4108 (Adafruit CAN PAL).
  • Seeed Studio 114990223 (CAN-BUS Shield V2) is an arduino shield that uses MCP2515 controller.

Summary : Choosing trusted CAN controller manufacturers gives system designers a solid foundation for stable, standard compliant and maintainable network infrastructure.