4 LXC Applications

A large variety of applications can be supported with the LXC family of translators by leveraging the features below:

• Fully configurable dual-rail design allows each port to operate from 1.1 V to 5.5 V
• High drive strength (up to 32 mA at 5 V)
• Schmitt-trigger inputs allow for slow or noisy inputs

The wide operating voltage range allows for interfacing low-voltage ASICs with higher-voltage peripherals, a task commonly done with voltage translators. As illustrated in Figure 4-1however, coupled with the strong drive capabilities, the LXC translator enables the ASIC to directly control an arrary of LEDs.

It is common to see digital signals being passed between different printed circuit boards (PCB) with a connector and cable. Automotive systems provide a good example of this due to different areas of the vehicle needing a dedicated board for a specific operation. The cabling in these vehicles can get quite long which leads to large parasitic capacitance. This could potentially cause havoc for digital systems that typically favor clean square waves. Figure 4-1 highlights how the SN74LXC8T245 can be used to drive signals to an off-board connector that is expected to have a large capacitive load. This device also has some flexibility on how this is implemented due to the Schmitt-trigger inputs. If the PCB on the transmitting end of the cable is space constrained, then the translator can be placed on the receiving end PCB. Any signal degradation caused by the long transmission line would be cleaned up and shifted to the correct voltage level needed for the receiving device.