Zilog®, a wholly owned subsidiary of IXYS Corporation (NASDAQ:IXYS) that specializes in application specific solutions with microcontrollers (MCUs), today introduced a new revolutionary UART, based on its advanced MCU technology for industrial, automotive and telecommunication applications.

Zilog’s Digital UART is a single chip CMOS communications device that provides full duplex asynchronous communications with a 128 byte FIFO buffer (64 bytes for Receive, 64 bytes for Transmit). The Digital UART also contains a 4K bit EEPROM and General Purpose Input/Output (GPIO) with a programmable interrupt capability that can be tailored for multiple applications by software.

The Zilog Digital UART has an internal oscillator (8 MHz), so there is no need for an external crystal. This UART is controlled by the simple I2C protocol (2-wire interface), allowing up to eight devices in the same I2C network. Although this device is fully programmable through the exposed commands, it is preconfigured to operate at a 57,600 baud rate. Therefore, it is possible to send and receive data without requiring a change in configuration to access the UART or the EEPROM. Zilog’s Digital UART provides separate programmable interrupts and interrupt lines for UART and GPIO notifications, so the controlling device does not have to poll the device for data.

Key features:

  • Single power supply from 3.0 volts to 5.0 volts
  • No external crystal needed
  • Minimal pin count for space saving
  • Interrupt lines for UARTs and GPIOs for notification
  • Control via I2C standard protocol, up to 400K
    • Up to 8 different addresses available
    • Can stack up to 8 parts on same I2C network
    • Ability to send multiple write commands in a single transfer
  • No configuration necessary
    • Default UART setting: 57600 baud, no flow control, no parity, 8 bits
    • EEPROM is accessed through standard I2C EEPROM communications
    • GPIO configured as inputs
  • Up to 2 industry standard full duplex individual UART channels
    • 64 byte receiver FIFO for each UART
    • 64 byte transmitter FIFO for each UART
    • Flow control using CTS and RTS pins
    • In-band flow control using XON/XOFF
    • FIFO watermark settings for configuring interrupt lines
    • Programmable data formats:
      • 5 to 8 bits data
      • Odd, Even or no parity
      • 1 or 2 stop bits
      • Loopback for testing
    • Flexible baud rate selection, in steps of 100 bits per second, up to 250K
    • Programmable interrupts
  • Built-in 4K bit I2C EEPROM
    • Standard I2C EEPROM communications
    • 300K times endurance
    • 10 year retention
  • General Purpose Input Output pins
    • Up to 12 GPIO pins
    • 2 pins can generate interrupt on change of pin value
    • Each pin is fully configurable
      • Individual pin configuration
      • Direction (input/output)
      • Open drain output option
      • Weak pull-up option
      • Debounce option
      • Quickly return to default settings

Examples of applications

  • Point of sale devices
  • Communication bridges
  • Process control
  • Building/automation control
  • Terminal servers
  • Print systems
  • Sensors communications
  • IoT applications

“Many times in designing various types of systems the engineering community will run into a design where having these additional UARTs helps accomplish the mission. In this case, using Zilog’s Digital UART provides several other features which have also been added that can solve the designer’s needs,” remarked Steve Darrough, Zilog’s VP of Marketing.

Zilog’s Digital UART device is now available for customers that place orders through the distribution channels. For more information, visit www.zilog.com.

About Zilog

Zilog makes and markets technology driven products to improve power conversion efficiency, generate solar and wind power, and provide efficient motor control for industrial applications. IXYS offers a diversified product base that addresses worldwide needs for power control, electrical efficiency, renewable energy, telecommunications, medical devices, electronic displays, and RF power.

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Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact, including the performance, rating, benefits, reliability, availability and suitability of products for various applications, may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause the results of IXYS to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including, among others, risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2015. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release the results of any revisions to these forward-looking statements.