Date: 10/11/2010

Two UARTs from Exar with integrated level shifters

Exar Corporation has released two UARTs with integrated level shifters. With a maximum data rate of 24 Mbps, the XR16M890 and XR20M1280 are the industry's fastest UARTs with 8-bit/VLIO and I2C/SPI interfaces, respectively, claims Exar. These devices are the latest additions to Exar's market proven 8-bit/VLIO and I2C/SPI family of products. These new offerings are targeted toward a cross-section of portable applications including smart phones, Bluetooth, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), GPS systems, and other battery operated devices.

"As the functionality and features of portable devices are continually enhanced, the demand for multiple voltage rails onboard increases," said Levent Ozcolak, vice president, Interface Product Line. "The XR16M890/XR20M1280 can act as a seamless bridge between two or more components that require different operating voltages, thereby eliminating the need for costly external components."

Product Details:

The main difference between the XR16M890 and XR20M1280 is the CPU bus interface. The XR16M890 has a selectable 8-bit Intel, Motorola or VLIO bus interface. The XR20M1280 has a selectable I2C/SPI bus interface. The maximum clock frequency on the SPI interface is 26 MHz. Both devices share a common set of features including Auto RTS/CTS Hardware Flow Control, Auto XON/XOFF Software Flow Control, TX/RX FIFO Counters, selectable or programmable transmit and receive FIFO trigger levels, and Fractional and Independent TX/RX Baud Rate Generators. They also have Auto RS-485 Half-Duplex Direction Control, Multidrop mode with address detect, 128-Byte TX/RX FIFOs, and Infrared mode. Additionally, these devices have Sleep and PowerSave modes to minimize power consumption, and up to 16 GPIO pins are available.

"Capitalizing on trends in emerging markets, and responding to customer demands, Exar has extended its serial communications capabilities once again with the highly competitive and extremely versatile XR16M890 and XR20M1280," said Rakesh Bhatia, director, strategic marketing, Interface Products. "These devices offer system architects maximum flexibility by delivering voltage choice options for their designs so they can easily respond to rapidly changing market requirements. Using the on-chip voltage level shifters minimizes the number of external components needed and optimizes the overall Bill of Materials."

Package:
XR16M890: 32-pin QFN, 40-pin QFN, and a 48-pin TQFP
XR20M1280: 24-pin QFN, 32-pin QFN, and a 40-pin QFN

Price:
XR16M890 and XR20M1280: Range from US$1.85-US$1.90 for 1K pieces.