FEATURES
RS-232 Bus-Pin ESD Protection Exceeds
±15 kV Using Human-Body Model (HBM)
Meets or Exceeds the Requirements of
TIA/EIA-232-F and ITU v.28 Standards
Operates With 3-V to 5.5-V VCC Supply
Operates up to 400 kbit/s
Five Drivers and Three Receivers
Auto-Powerdown Plus Feature Enables
Flexible Power-Down Mode
Low Standby Current . . . 1 mA Typical
External Capacitors . . . 4 ´ 0.1 mF
Accepts 5-V Logic Input With 3.3-V Supply
Always-Active Noninverting Receiver Output
(ROUT1B)
Alternative High-Speed Pin-Compatible
Device (1 Mbit/s) for SNx5C3238
ESD Protection for RS-232 Interface Pins
– ±15 kV – Human-Body Model (HBM)
– ±8 kV – IEC61000-4-2, Contact Discharge
– ±15 kV – IEC61000-4-2, Air-Gap Discharge

APPLICATIONS
Battery-Powered Systems
PDAs
Notebooks
Subnotebooks
Laptops
Palmtop PCs
Hand-Held Equipment
Modems
Printers

DESCRIPTION/ORDERING INFORMATION
The MAX3238E consists of five line drivers, three line receivers, and a dual charge-pump circuit with ±15-kV
ESD (HBM) protection on the driver output (DOUT) and receiver input (RIN) terminals. The device meets the
requirements of TIA/EIA-232-F and provides the electrical interface between notebook and subnotebook
computer applications. The charge pump and four small external capacitors allow operation from a single 3-V to
5.5-V supply. In addition, the device includes an always-active noninverting output (ROUT1B), which allows
applications using the ring indicator to transmit data while the device is powered down. This device operates at
data signaling rates up to 250 kbit/s and a maximum of 30-V/ms driver output slew rate.