HID class IC offers USB-to-I2C & USB-to-UART functionality

Supplied in compact 28-pin SSOP and 28-pin QFN package options, these USB bridge chips have dual HID interface support, with I²C and UART bus conversion capabilities.

As the entire USB protocol is handled on the chip, the FT260 offering presents engineers with a plug & play solution that is simple to incorporate into contemporary embedded system designs. These ICs employ standard class drivers, which means it is not necessary to worry about installing complex vendor-specific drivers. Their flexible IOs mean they are compatible with 1.8-3.3V systems. During full operation only 24mA of current is drawn and this drops to just 385μA when in suspend mode.

The FT260 is the first device of its kind to be compliant with the HID-over-I²C protocol, as specified by Microsoft with the release of Windows 8. A total of four different speed modes can be utilised while in I²C bus - standard mode, fast mode, fast mode plus and high speed with 7-bit addressing supported. The integrated memory resource enables storage of customised USB descriptors. The built-in oscillator PLL dispenses with the need for an external crystal - thereby saving space and lowering BOM costs. Furthermore, unlike competing ICs, the FT260 has USB battery charger detection mechanism included, so that more efficient charging may be benefitted from. To further assist engineers, this IC will be backed up by a series of board level products.