Intersil has introduced a new integrated circuit that offers features for portable products where internal USB high-speed ports may need to share a single USB connector. The device is also bidirectional and allows sharing of a host USB port between multiple outputs such as in desktop or laptop computers, portable mini-printers or docking stations.

The company said that the new ISL54222A is a single-supply USB 2.0 multiplexer that can operate from a single 1.8V to 3.3V supply. In addition, the ISL54222A features Human Body Model (HBM) electrostatic discharge (ESD) performance of >12kV on input-output (I/O) terminals.

This combination of low supply voltage and high ESD protection is expected to make it suited for applications such as SmartPhones, MP3 players, personal navigation devices and digital cameras.

The product also features internal charge pumps that lower switch resistance and allow the USB eye to perform at 480Mbps.

Fail-safe operation provides low switch leakage when the power is off, which prevents the device from being accidentally turned on while in the power-down state. Power-saving output-enable control allows all switches to be open when no USB interface is in use, which reduces power consumption to less than 1µA, the company noted.

Low Ron and low-capacitance switches are said to meet USB requirements while providing operating margins for noise and cable reflections. Able to tolerate over-voltages beyond the supply rails, the ISL54222A reportedly meets USB 2.0 short-circuit requirements without needing additional external components.

The company noted that the 5.5-ohm switches can swing rail-to-rail and are designed to pass USB full-speed data signals that range from 0V to 3.6V and USB high-speed data signals that range from 0V to 400mV with a single supply as low as 1.8V. They have high bandwidth and low capacitance to pass USB high speed data signals with minimal distortion.

The ISL54222A is available in 10 Ld µTQFN, TQFN and MSOP packages. It operates over a temperature range of -40 to +85 degrees C.