Rev. 6/30/03
SP3223B/3243B +3.0V to +5.5V RS-232 Transceivers
10
Copyright 2003 Sipex Corporation
DESCRIPTION
The SP3223B and
SP3243B transceivers meet
munication protocols and can be implemented
in battery-powered, portable, or hand-held ap-
plications such as notebook or palmtop comput-
ers. The SP3223B and SP3243B devices feature
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
SP3223B and SP3243B devices can operate at a
data rate of 250kbps fully loaded.
The SP3223B is a 2-driver/2-receiver device,
and the SP3243B is a 3-driver/5-receiver device
ideal for portable or hand-held applications.
The SP3243B 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 SP3223B and SP3243B series is an ideal
choice for power sensitive designs. The SP3223B
and SP3243B devices feature AUTO ON-LINE
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 SP3223B and SP3243B series is made up
of four basic circuit blocks:
1. Drivers,
2. Receivers,
3. the Sipex proprietary charge pump, and
4. AUTO ON-LINE
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. Unused driver inputs
should be connected to GND or V
CC
.
The drivers can guarantee a data rate of 250kbps
fully loaded with 3k
in parallel with 1000pF,
ensuring compatibility with PC-to-PC commu-
nication 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 16. Interface Circuitry Controlled by Micropro-
cessor Supervisory Circuit
SP3243B
28
24
2
1
27
3
26
5K
5K
5K
5K
5K
GND
C1+
C1-
C2+
C2-
V+
V-
V
CC
14
13
12
20
19
18
17
16
15
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
9
10
11
4
5
6
7
8
RS-232
OUTPUTS
RS-232
INPUTS
23
22
21
V
CC
25
T
1
IN
R
1
OUT
R
1
IN
T
2
OUT
R
2
OUT
T
2
IN
T
3
IN
T
3
OUT
T
1
OUT
R
2
IN
R
3
IN
R
4
IN
R
5
IN
R
2
OUT
R
3
OUT
R
4
OUT
R
5
OUT
ONLINE
SHUTDOWN
STATUS
UART
or
Serial μC
μP
Supervisor
IC
TxD
RTS
DTR
RxD
CTS
DSR
DCD
RI
V
CC
VIN
RESET