
11 FN4910.20
September 15, 2008
Detailed Description
ICL32xxE interface ICs operate from a single +3V to +5.5V
supply, guarantee a 250kbps minimum data rate, require
only four small external 0.1µF capacitors, feature low power
consumption, and meet all ElA RS-232C and V.28
specifications. The circuit is divided into three sections:
charge pump, transmitters and receivers.
Charge-Pump
Intersil’s new ICL32xxE family utilizes regulated on-chip dual
charge pumps as volta ge doublers, and voltage inverters to
generate ±5.5V transmitter supplies from a VCC supply as
low as 3.0V. This allows these device s to maint ai n RS-2 32
compliant output levels over the ±10% tolerance range of
3.3V powered systems. The efficient on-chip power supplies
require only four small, external 0.1µF capacitors for the
voltage doubler and inverter functions at VCC = 3.3V. See
“Capacitor Selection” on page 14 and Table 3 on page 14 for
capacitor recommendations for other operating conditions.
The char ge pump s operate discontinuously (i.e., they turn off
as soon as the V+ and V- supplies are pumped up to the
nominal values), resulting in significant power savings.
Transmitters
The transmitters are proprietary, low dropout, inverting
drivers that translate TTL/CMOS inputs to EIA/TIA-232
output levels. Coupled with the on-chip ±5.5V supplies,
these transmitters deliver true RS-232 levels over a wide
range of single supply system voltages.
Except for the ICL3232E, all transmitter outputs disable and
assume a high impedance state when the device enters the
power-down mode (see Table 2). These outputs may be
driven to ±12V when disabled.
All devices guarantee a 250kbps data rate for full load
conditions (3kΩ and 1000pF), VCC ≥ 3.0V, with one
transmitter operating at full speed. Und er more typical
conditions of VCC ≥ 3.3V, RL = 3kΩ, and CL = 250pF, one
transmitter easily operates at 900kbps.
Transmitter inputs float if left unconnected, and may cause
ICC increases. Connect unused inputs to GND for the best
performance.
Receivers
All the ICL32xxE devices co ntai n st anda rd in ve rting receivers
that three-state (except for the ICL3232E) vi a the EN or
FORCEOFF control lines. Additionall y, the two ICL324XE
products in clude noninverting (monitor) receivers (denoted by
the ROUTB label) that are always active, regard less of the
state of any control lines. Al l the recei vers con vert RS-232
signals to CMOS output levels and accept input s up to ±25V
while presenting the required 3kW to 7kW input i mpedance
(see Figure 1) even if the power is off (VCC = 0V). The
receivers’ Schmitt trigger input st age use s hysteresis to
increase noise immunity and decrea se errors due to slow
input signal transitions.
The ICL3221E, ICL3222E, ICL322 3E, ICL3241E inverting
receivers disable only when EN is driven high. ICL3243E
receivers disable during forced (manual) power-down, but
not during automatic power-down (see Table 2).
ICL3241E and ICL3243E monitor receive rs remain acti ve
even during manual power-down an d forced receiver di sable,
making them extremely useful for Ring Indicator monitoring.
S tandard receivers driving powere d down peripherals must be
disabled to prevent current flow through the periph eral’ s
protection diodes (see Figures 2 and 3). Thi s renders th em
useless for wake up fu nctions, b ut the corresp onding monitor
receiver can be dedicated to this task as sh own in Figure 3.
Low Power Operation
These 3V devices require a nomi nal supply current of
0.3mA, even at VCC = 5.5V, during no rmal operation (not in
power-down mode). This is considerably le ss than the 5mA
to 1 1mA current required by comparable 5V RS-232 devices,
allowing users to reduce system power simply by switching
to this new fa mily.
Pin Compatible Replacements for 5V Dev ices
The ICL3221E, ICL3222E, ICL3232E are pin compatible
with existing 5V RS-232 transceivers - See the “Features”
section on page 1 for details.
This pin compatibility co upled with the l ow ICC and wide
operating supply range, make th e ICL32 xxE pote ntial lower
power, higher performance drop-in re placement s for existing
5V applications. As long as the ±5V RS-232 output swings are
acceptable, and transmitter inpu t pull-up resistors aren’t
required, the IICL32xxE should work in most 5V application s.
When replacing a device in an existing 5V appli cation, it is
acceptable to terminate C3 to V CC as shown on the “Typical
Operating Circuit s” on p age 6. Nevertheless, terminate C3 to
GND if possible, as slightly better p erformance re sult s from
this configuration.
Power-down Functionality
(Except ICL3232E)
The already low current requ ire ment drops significantly when
the device enters power-dow n mode. In powe r-down, sup ply
current drop s to 1µA, because the on-chip ch arge pump turns
off (V+ collap ses to VCC, V- collapses to GND), and the
transmitter outputs three-st ate. Inverting receiver outputs may
or may not disable in power-down; refer to Table 2 for details.
This micro-power mode makes these devices ideal for
battery powered and portable applications.
RXOUT
GND ≤ VROUT ≤ VCC
5kΩ
RXIN
-25V ≤ VRIN ≤ +25V
GND
VCC
FIGURE 1. INVERTING RECEIVER CONNECTIONS
ICL3221E, ICL3222E, ICL3223E, ICL3232E, ICL3241E, ICL3243E