This article by Kvaser’s research manager, Kent Lennartsson, part of which was published in CAN CiA magazine, provides background information and recommendations for the design of CAN FD networks using signal improvement capability (SIC) transceivers as specified in CiA 601-4.

Lennartsson details how to improve cable layout or use adjustable CAN drivers to optimise slew rate in a CAN system e.g. a mass-produced machine with a fixed number of ECUs and cable layout. If there’s no possibility to alter the network, the article provides a guide to testing the transmission line in order to understand the problems.

The paper was presented at the 17^th International CAN Conference (iCC 2020). Full conference proceedings, comprising 22 papers and a keynote that cover the latest CAN, CAN FD and CAN XL developments, can be purchased at https://www.can-cia.org/icc.