SP3238EDS/04
SP3238E +3.0V to +5.5V RS-232 Transceivers
8
Copyright 1999 Sipex Corporation
DESCRIPTION
The
SP3238E
device
meets the EIA/TIA-232
and ITU-T V.28/V.24 communication protocols
and can be implemented in battery-powered,
portable, or hand-held applications such as
notebook or palmtop computers. The
SP3238E
device features
Sipex's
proprietary and patented
(U.S.-- 5,306,954) on-board charge pump
circuitry that generates
±
5.5V RS-232 voltage
levels from a single +3.0V to +5.5V power
supply. The
SP3238E
device can operate at
a typical data rate of 250kbps fully loaded.
The
SP3238E
is a 5-driver/3-receiver device,
ideal for portable or hand-held applications.
The
SP3238E
includes one complementary
always-active receiver that can monitor an
external device (such as a modem) in shutdown.
This aids in protecting the UART or serial
controller IC by preventing forward biasing
of the protection diodes where V
CC
may be
disconnected.
The
SP3238E
device is an ideal choice for
power sensitive designs. The
SP3238E
device
features
Auto-Online
circuitry which reduces
the power supply drain to a 1
μ
A supply current.
In many portable or hand-held applications,
an RS-232 cable can be disconnected or a
connected peripheral can be turned off. Under
these conditions, the internal charge pump and
the drivers will be shut down. Otherwise, the
system automatically comes online. This feature
allows design engineers to address power saving
concerns without major design changes.
THEORY OF OPERATION
The
SP3238E
device is made up of four basic
circuit blocks: 1. Drivers, 2. Receivers,
3. the Sipex proprietary charge pump, and
4.
Auto-Online
circuitry.
Drivers
The drivers are inverting level transmitters that
convert TTL or CMOS logic levels to 5.0V EIA/
TIA-232 levels with an inverted sense relative to
the input logic levels. Typically, the RS-232
output voltage swing is +5.4V with no load and
+5V minimum fully loaded. The driver outputs
are protected against infinite short-circuits to
ground without degradation in reliability. These
drivers comply with the EIA-TIA-232F and all
previous RS-232 versions.
The drivers typically can operate at a data rate
of 250kbps. The drivers can guarantee a data
rate of 120kbps fully loaded with 3k
in
parallel with 1000pF, ensuring compatibility
with PC-to-PC communication software.
The slew rate of the driver output is internally
limited to a maximum of 30V/
μ
s in order to
meet the EIA standards (EIA RS-232D 2.1.7,
Paragraph 5). The transition of the loaded
output from HIGH to LOW also meets the
monotonicity requirements of the standard.
Figure 6. Interface Circuitry Controlled by
Microprocessor Supervisory Circuit
SP3238E
28
25
3
1
27
4
26
GND
C1+
C1-
C2+
C2-
V+
V-
V
CC
0.1
μ
F
0.1
μ
F
0.1
μ
F
+
C2
C5
C1
+
+
C3
C4
+
+
0.1
μ
F
0.1
μ
F
13
14
15
V
CC
2
ONLINE
SHUTDOWN
STATUS
SupeP
IC
V
CC
VIN
RESET
5k
5k
5k
24
23
22
16
21
20
18
5
6
7
8
9
11
RS-232
RS-232
T
1
IN
R
1
OUT
R
1
IN
T
2
OUT
R
1
OUT
T
2
IN
T
3
IN
T
3
OUT
T
1
OUT
R
2
IN
R
3
IN
R
2
OUT
R
3
OUT
UART
or
Serial
μ
C
TxD
RTS
DTR
RxD
CTS
DSR
DCD
RI
19
17
10
12
T
4
OUT
T
4
IN
T
5
IN
T
5
OUT