Exar Corporation 48720 Kato Road, Fremont CA, 94538 (50)668-707 www.exar.com
SP238A_00_0740
4
FeatUReS…
The SP238A multi-channel RS-232 line trans-
ceiverprovides4driversand4receiverstofit
most communication needs, especially those
applications where ±2V is not available. The
device features low power CMOS operation,
whichisparticularlybeneficialinbattery-powered
systems.
The device includes two charge pump voltage
converters which allows it to operate from a
single +5V supply. These converters convert the
+5V input power to the minimum loaded voltage
of ±5.0V for compliant RS-232 output levels. All
drivers and receivers meet all EIA RS-232D and
CCITTV.28specifications.
The device is available for use over the com-
mercial and industrial temperature ranges. It is
packaged in a WSOIC package.
tHeoRY oF oPeRation
The SP238A is made up of three basic circuit
blocks - ) transmitter, 2) receiver and 3) charge
pump.
Driver/transmitter
The drivers are inverting transmitters, which ac-
cept TTL or CMOS inputs and output the RS-232
signals with an inverted sense relative to the input
logic levels.The transmitter outputs are protected
againstinfiniteshort-circuitstogroundwithout
degradation in reliability. Should the input of the
driver be left open, an internal 400k pull-up
resistor to Vcc forces the input HIGH, thus com-
mitting the output to a low state.
The slew rate of the transmitter output is internally
limited to a maximum of 30V/s in order to meet
the standards [EIA RS-232-D 2..7, Paragraph
(5)]. The transition of the loaded output from V
OL to
V
OH clearly meets the monotonicity requirements
of the standard [EIA RS-232-D 2..7, Paragraphs
() & (2)].
Receivers
The receivers convert RS-232 input signals to
inverted TTL signals. Since the input is usually
fromatransmissionline,wherelongcablelengths
and system interference can degrade the signal,
the inputs have a typical hysteresis margin of
500mV. This ensures that the receiver is virtually
immune to noisy transmission lines.
The input thresholds are 0.8V minimum and
2.4V maximum, again well within the ±3V RS-
232 requirements. The receiver inputs are also
protected against voltages up to ±30V. Should
aninputbeleftunconnected,a5kpull-down
resistor to ground will commit the output of the
receiver to a high state.
In actual system applications, it is quite pos-
sible for signals to be applied to the receiver
inputs before power is applied to the receiver
circuitry. This occurs, for example, when a
PC user attempts to print, only to realize
the printer wasn’t turned on. In this case an
RS-232 signal from the PC will appear on the re-
ceiver input at the printer. When the printer power
is turned on, the receiver will operate normally.
All series devices are fully protected.
charge Pump
The charge pump is a patented design and
uses a unique approach compared to older less
efficientdesigns.Thechargepumprequires4
external capacitors and uses a four phase volt-
age shifting technique. The internal power sup-
ply consists of a regulated dual charge pump
that provides output voltages of +/-5.5V. This
is important to maintain compliant RS-232 lev-
els regardless of power supply fluctuations.
The charge pump operates in a discontinuous
mode using an internal oscillator. If the voltages
are less than a magnitude of 5.5V, the charge
pump is enabled. If the output voltage exceed
a magnitude of 5.5V then the charge pump is
disabled. The internal oscillator controls the four
phases of the voltage shifting. A description of
each phase follows:
DeScRiPtion