Latest MCU based UART is a single chip communication device

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 4 Kbit 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 include single power supply from 3.0volts 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 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; among others. 

Examples of applications are point of sale devices, communication bridges, process control, building/automation control. terminal servers, print systems, sensors communications and 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.