What is an ADAS?

An Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) is a driving-support technology designed to make automobile journeys safer and more comfortable for drivers. ADAS technologies offer a wide variety of functionality, including gathering information about the surrounding environment from vehicle-mounted sensors, providing helpful displays and warnings to drivers, and even replacing drivers as the primary controllers of vehicles.

In response to demands for safer transportation, the development and installation of accident-prevention technologies will be increasingly essential for vehicles in the years to come. Preventing accidents before they happen requires detecting safety conditions both inside and outside vehicles, making decisions based on those conditions, and controlling instruments and actuators accordingly; in the coming years, along with the trend toward electrification of vehicles, the types and number of automotive sensors continue to increase.

Asahi Kasei offers high-performance resin materials for cameras, millimeter-wave radars, head-up displays, and other ADAS components—with accompanying technical support services—to help make transportation safer and more comfortable.

Materials for ADAS in-vehicle camera barrels, lens spacers, and housings xyron XP640/AA105 (development product)/DG040

Performance requirements for resin materials used in ADAS cameras

For automotive camera applications, materials that achieve a high level of well-balanced properties are required.

  • dimensional stability ⇒ Precise optical properties
  • strength ⇒ Reliability in long-term use
  • Joint characteristics ⇒ Reliability of joints
  • Weather resistance ⇒ Reliability and design for outdoor use
Lens barrel/lens spacer

XYRON™ XP640/AA105 (development product)/DG040 with excellent dimensional accuracy and dimensional stability (roundness)

We offer Asahi Kasei 's modified PPE resins XYRON™ XP640, AA105 (development product), and DG040 for lens barrels, lens spacers, and housings used in various cameras installed in automobiles.

As shown in the figure below, we conducted an aging test on the shape of the lens barrel and measured how accurate the shape was (roundness). It can be seen that XYRON™ DG040 is a material with particularly excellent dimensional stability, with high roundness from the initial state and little change due to aging. In addition, the dimensional stability changes of XYRON™

Changes in roundness due to environmental testing
Changes in roundness due to environmental testing

■ XYRON™ XP640, AA105 (under development)
It is an alloy grade of high heat resistant polyamide (PPA) and PPE. By alloying PPE, which is characterized by its low water absorption properties, with PPA, we have suppressed dimensional changes due to water absorption and achieved high heat resistance and high strength equivalent to PPA. AA105 (under development) is a grade with superior weather resistance and high light transmittance that can be used for laser welding compared to XP640.

Click here to view the XYRON™ XP640 datasheet.

■ XYRON™ DG040
Alloy grade of PPS and PPE. It is characterized by a small decrease in mechanical strength in high-temperature environments, and by containing a special glass filler, the anisotropy of dimensional changes is small.

Click here to view the XYRON™ DG040 datasheet.

Resin materials for ADAS camera enclosures and room mirror brackets Leona SG105・SG115

Performance requirements for resin materials used to form camera enclosures and room mirror brackets

The materials used to make camera components must offer high dimensional accuracy with minimal variation in component dimensions and dimensional stability across a range of operating environments. For enclosures, it is particularly important to choose materials that are attractive in appearance.

Meanwhile, room mirror brackets are no longer simply mounting points for mirrors, as was true in the past; instead, these components have begun to acquire various new types of sensing capability. This, in turn, imposes new requirements on the materials from which these components are made: materials must be heat-resistant, to ensure they can withstand the heat generated by sensing components, and must offer high rigidity to support increased weight.   The resin materials used here must be attractive in appearance—as they will be used for interior components—and must offer high rigidity for vibration suppression and minimal variation in component dimensions or material properties upon water absorption.


Rear view mirror bracket

■LEONA™ SG105/SG115 resin materials reduce variations in component dimensions and material properties due to water absorption and offer excellent strength and rigidity together with an attractive appearance.
Asahi Kasei’s LEONA™ SG105 and SG115 polyamide resins are alloy grades that blend semi-aromatic polyamide 6I with polyamide 66.
These materials feature reduced variation in component dimensions and material properties due to water absorption, and offer high relative strength, high rigidity, attractive appearance, and excellent fluidity.

Click here to view the LEONA™ SG105 datasheet.

Resin materials for ADAS millimeter-wave radar enclosures xyron Development Grade「AA181-7」

Performance requirements for resin materials used to form millimeter-wave enclosures (radomes)

Vehicle-mounted radars comprise two main components: an antenna mount and an enclosure. The enclosure serves not only to protect the antenna mount, but also to send and receive electromagnetic signals; for this reason, it is often known as a radome.

Because the radome is the outermost component of the radar system, it must be lightweight and weather-resistant; in addition, the radome should have low dielectric permittivity to achieve optimal electromagnetic-wave transmission. The need to minimize electromagnetic attenuation in the radome is particularly urgent for high-frequency systems such as millimeter-wave radars. Consequently, the relative dielectric permittivity (Dk) and loss tangent (Df)—physical properties describing the attenuation of electromagnetic waves in a material—are important characteristics of the materials used to fabricate radar components. Materials with high Dk or Df tend to exhibit significant absorption of electromagnetic waves, increasing signal losses and reducing sensitivity.

XYRON™ AA181-7 Development Grade: A low-permittivity resin material for improved electromagnetic-wave transmission

The parent material of Asahi Kasei’s XYRON™ products is polyphenylene ether (PPE), whose low dielectric permittivity and low loss tangent make it well-suited for use in information and communication systems. PPE also features a high glass transition temperature, and its dielectric properties are less temperature-dependent than those of other high heat-resistant resins. These are important advantages for ensuring stable, high-quality communication across a wide range of operating temperatures.

In particular, AA181-7 is a XYRON™ development grade with excellent hydrolysis resistance and shock resistance that simultaneously offers low dielectric permittivity and compliance with the UL94V-0 flame-retardant standard, a combination that is nearly impossible to achieve using conventional materials.

To date, radomes have typically been made from polycarbonates (PCs), polybutylene terephthalate (PBT), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), or similar materials, but these choices leave much to be desired from the standpoint of dielectric properties. In particular, the material properties of crystalline resins such as PBT and PPS vary significantly at temperatures beyond their glass transition temperature (Tg); in particular, the dielectric permittivity of such materials in high-temperature environments must be carefully monitored.

These problems may be eliminated once and for all by choosing Asahi Kasei’s XYRON™ AA181-7 development grade as a material for radomes. Asahi Kasei is also developing additional XYRON™ grades for use as radome materials, including grades that resist color changes induced by light exposure. The XYRON™ family of materials is the right choice to satisfy a wide range of specifications for millimeter-wave radar enclosures.

XYRON™ developed material “AA181-7” radome radio wave transparency simulation results (frequency band @28GHz)
XYRON™ developed material “AA181-7” radome radio wave transparency simulation results (frequency band @28GHz)

Note: AA181-7 is a provisional name for this grade, intended only for use during product development; this material will have a different name when released as an official Asahi Kasei product.

Materials for ADAS head-up displays xyron DG040・744Z

Performance requirements for resin materials in head-up displays (HUDs)

Resin materials for use in head-up displays must offer high dimensional accuracy—with minimal dimensional variation at high temperatures when mounted in vehicle dashboards—to ensure that mirrors properly reflect and project display images.

Head-up displays

XYRON™ DG040 / 744Z: Resin materials with excellent dimensional accuracy and dimensional stability at high temperatures

For head-up displays, Asahi Kasei recommends the following two XYRON™ grades.

XYRON™ DG040
XYRON™ DG040 is an alloy grade blending PPS with PPE. Adding PPE to PPS improves dimensional stability at high temperatures, while the addition of specialized glass fillers reduces anisotropy in dimensional variations.

Click here to view the XYRON™ DG040 datasheet.

XYRON™ 744Z
XYRON™ 744Z is an alloy grade blending PPE and PS. This material offers compliance with the UL V-0 flame-retardant standard, a heat deflection temperature of 135°C, and a good balance of heat resistance, toughness, and dimensional stability.

Click here to view the XYRON™ 774Z datasheet.

Other themes

Related information

LEONA™ polyamide resin

LEONA™ has excellent heat resistance, strength and toughness, insulation, and oil resistance. It is widely used in automotive parts, electrical and electronic parts.

XYRON™ m-PPE resin

XYRON™ has excellent flame retardancy, electrical properties, dimensional stability, and water resistance. It is used in photovoltaics (PV), batteries, and 5G communication components.