embedded world: FTDI launches next gen usb to UART/FIFO interface IC

According to the company, the single channel usb to UART/FIFO interface device can be configured via EEPROM to use a variety of different serial or parallel interfaces. Bundled with FTDI's usb device drivers, the solution is optimised to enable designers to easily add Hi Speed usb connectivity into new and legacy peripheral designs with a minimum of design and support effort. In addition, the associated UM232H evaluation module is said to allow engineers to quickly prototype and test the FT232H's suitability for incorporation into new system designs. The controller contains usb, serial and parallel protocol engines to eliminate any requirement for usb specific firmware development and supports IO interface levels of 3.3V with 5V tolerant inputs, making it suitable for connection to a wide variety of logic, mpus and fpgas. As well as supporting UART interfacing, the FT232H supports interface to many synchronous IOs such as SPI, I²C, JTAG and fpga programming interfaces via its built in multi protocol synchronous serial engine. According to FTDI, the engine is capable of communication speeds of up to 30Mbits/s and can be utilised by design engineers to implement their own synchronous serial bus protocols.