Communications

RS-485/RS-422 transceivers for harsh industrial environments

13th November 2013
Nat Bowers
0

Exar have introduced a new series of ruggedized RS-485/RS-422 transceivers, the XR3070-78X family. Suited for harsh industrial environments, these devices consume half the power of a comparable ±18V fault tolerant solution, operating from 3.3V with an industry-leading 300μA idle current. The analog bus pins can withstand direct shorts up to ±18V and are protected from ESD events exceeding IEC Level 4.

Comprised of nine devices, the XR3070-78X family supports data rates up to 20Mbps in either full or half duplex configurations. The new transcievers are intended for use in energy metering, building automation, security systems, process control, and other industrial automation applications.

Jack Roan, product marketing manager, Exar, commented: “ESD and over-voltage events are leading causes of field failures and equipment returns in industrial communication applications. The XR3070-78X family delivers robust protection in both these areas, providing our customers with an additional measure of safety against installation errors or cable faults and at the same time significantly reducing system power consumption.”

In industrial communication applications it is common practice to route 15Vdc or 12Vac power in the same cable pack as the RS-485 data lines. Damaged cables or incorrect wiring can expose the transceiver to these voltages, permanently damaging standard RS-485 devices. With cost effective insurance against wiring faults up to ±18V, the XR3070-78X also protects against ESD events exceeding IEC Level 4. The IEC standard is significantly more stringent than the Human Body Model ESD test commonly referenced by semiconductor device manufacturers, mainly due to the higher currents requirements.

1-driver/1-receiver RS-485/422 devices operating from a 3.0V to 3.6V power supply (3.3V ±10%), the XR3070-78X family of transcievers are fully compliant to the TIA/EIA-485 and TIA/EIA-422 standards. The bus pins feature enhanced ESD protection to ±15kV (±15kV IEC 61000-4-2 Air Gap Discharge, ±8kV IEC 61000-4-2 Contact Discharge, ±15kV Human Body Model); non-bus pins are protected up to ±4kV Human Body Model.

Available in industry standard 8 NSOIC and 14 NSOIC packages, the suggested retail price for the XR3070-78X family is $1.25 (USD) in 1,000-unit quantities. Contact Exar for samples.

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