Geneva, Switzerland, February 16, 2026 — STMicroelectronics has introduced the VNQ9050LAJ quad-channel automotive high-side driver. This device has a minimum operating voltage of 4V and can maintain power supply even under extreme disturbance conditions such as cold cranking down to 2.7V, helping to improve vehicle reliability and user experience. Its harsh transient immunity complies with the LV124 standard, a stringent quality standard for electrical and electronic components in the automotive industry.
The VNQ9050LAJ is designed to power 12V ground-referenced loads and is compatible with 3V and 5V logic signals. Manufactured using ST's latest VIPower-M09 technology, it features a typical on-state resistance of 50Ω, improving efficiency and saving energy.
As an intelligent power switch, the VNQ9050LAJ incorporates innovative protection features suitable for resistive, capacitive, and inductive loads. It achieves high-precision load current sensing through an on-chip current mirror circuit and a sense FET that closely tracks the parameters of the main power FET. The current mirror connects to an external pin, allowing connection of a resistor to convert the sense current into a voltage for continuous load monitoring and anomaly detection.
The high accuracy of the current mirror supports various current sense diagnostics, such as load current analog feedback, overload and ground short-circuit or power limitation alerts, thermal shutdown indication, output-to-VCC short detection, and open-load detection in the off state. The driver also features a sense enable pin, allowing similar devices to share an external sense resistor, reducing the bill of materials cost.
The VNQ9050LAJ's sensing and protection capabilities handle abnormal voltage and temperature conditions, including overvoltage clamping, thermal transient limiting, configurable overtemperature or power limitation latch-off functions, and a dedicated fault reset pin. It also provides electrostatic discharge protection, loss of ground and VCC protection, and reverse battery protection.
The VNQ9050LAJ is now in production and is offered in a thermally enhanced Power-SSO16 package. Pricing starts at $1.09 for orders of 1,000 units. For more information, please visit www.st.com/vnq9050laj.
