December 31, 2025 — With the penetration rate of intelligent driving systems surpassing the 45% threshold, automotive camera modules are accelerating toward higher resolutions above 8 megapixels, alongside miniaturization and enhanced reliability requirements. Halo Microelectronics (688173), a leading domestic power management chip provider, today officially launched its HL8441 automotive-grade PMIC product, delivering a more compact and efficient power solution for next-generation automotive camera modules. This development will significantly bolster module manufacturers' technical competitiveness in the high-end market.
Technical Breakthrough: Tailor-Made for Automotive Vision Systems
The HL8441 employs a "3+1" integrated architecture, incorporating three high-frequency Buck DC-DC converters and one low-noise LDO to independently power the MCU, SerDes chips, and image sensors within camera modules. Its core advantages manifest across three dimensions:
First, space optimization. The 2.2MHz high switching frequency, combined with spread-spectrum technology, reduces peripheral circuit size by over 30%, meeting the stringent space constraints of automotive camera modules. The single-chip solution replaces traditional discrete components, simplifying PCB layout and reducing design complexity.
Second, imaging quality assurance. The integrated low-noise LDO achieves noise levels significantly below industry averages. According to test data from module manufacturers, camera modules powered by the HL8441 demonstrate a signal-to-noise ratio improvement of approximately 2-3dB in dark-room environments, with reduced image smearing and noise. This translates to tangible gains in recognition accuracy for safety-critical applications such as Child Presence Detection (C-PD).
Third, system flexibility. The HL8441 supports programmable output voltage/current ranges and comprehensive OVP/OCP/UVP protection mechanisms, enabling rapid adaptation to image sensor platforms from various vendors including Sony and ON Semiconductor. This flexibility shortens product development cycles for module manufacturers.
Industry Value: Synergies of Domestic Supply Chain
For camera module manufacturers, the mass production of HL8441 carries dual strategic significance. On one hand, it breaks the long-standing monopoly of European and American manufacturers in the high-end automotive PMIC segment, strengthening supply chain security. On the other hand, localized technical support ensures faster response times, facilitating rapid iteration in collaboration with automotive OEMs.
Currently, the average number of automotive cameras per vehicle has reached 6.8 units, with diverging power management requirements across ADAS forward-view, surround-view, and in-cabin monitoring scenarios. Through its single-chip, multi-output design, the HL8441 enables platform-based development for module manufacturers, allowing the same power solution to support products ranging from 2MP to 8MP specifications. This effectively reduces material management and certification costs.
Market Outlook
As Level 2+ autonomous driving becomes mainstream in 2026, annual demand for automotive camera modules is projected to exceed 300 million units. Highly integrated automotive PMICs like the HL8441 will become a key differentiator for module manufacturers competing in the high-end 8-megapixel and above market segment. Industry insiders note that collaborative optimization between power management chips, image sensors, and optical lenses will constitute the core pathway for performance enhancement in automotive cameras in the next phase.
This product launch from Halo Microelectronics marks the deep penetration of domestic power management chips into the automotive vision sector, adding a crucial weight to the autonomous and controllable development of the camera module supply chain.
