Low-Power, Slew-Rate-Limited
RS-485/RS-422 Transceivers
Maxim Integrated 11
MAX481/MAX483/MAX485/
MAX487–MAX491/MAX1487
Low-Power Shutdown Mode
(MAX481/MAX483/MAX487)
A low-power shutdown mode is initiated by bringing
both RE high and DE low. The devices will not shut
down unless both the driver and receiver are disabled.
In shutdown, the devices typically draw only 0.1µA of
supply current.
RE and DE may be driven simultaneously; the parts are
guaranteed not to enter shutdown if RE is high and DE
is low for less than 50ns. If the inputs are in this state
for at least 600ns, the parts are guaranteed to enter
shutdown.
For the MAX481, MAX483, and MAX487, the t
ZH
and
t
ZL
enable times assume the part was not in the low-
power shutdown state (the MAX485/MAX488–MAX491
and MAX1487 can not be shut down). The t
ZH(SHDN)
and t
ZL(SHDN)
enable times assume the parts were shut
down (see
Electrical Characteristics
).
It takes the drivers and receivers longer to become
enabled from the low-power shutdown state
(t
ZH(SHDN
), t
ZL(SHDN)
) than from the operating mode
(t
ZH
, t
ZL
). (The parts are in operating mode if the
–
R
—
E
–
,
DE inputs equal a logical 0,1 or 1,1 or 0, 0.)
Driver Output Protection
Excessive output current and power dissipation caused
by faults or by bus contention are prevented by two
mechanisms. A foldback current limit on the output
stage provides immediate protection against short cir-
cuits over the whole common-mode voltage range (see
Typical Operating Characteristics
). In addition, a ther-
mal shutdown circuit forces the driver outputs into a
high-impedance state if the die temperature rises
excessively.
Propagation Delay
Many digital encoding schemes depend on the differ-
ence between the driver and receiver propagation
delay times. Typical propagation delays are shown in
Figures 15–18 using Figure 14’s test circuit.
The difference in receiver delay times, | t
PLH
- t
PHL
|, is
typically under 13ns for the MAX481, MAX485,
MAX490, MAX491, and MAX1487 and is typically less
than 100ns for the MAX483 and MAX487–MAX489.
The driver skew times are typically 5ns (10ns max) for
the MAX481, MAX485, MAX490, MAX491, and
MAX1487, and are typically 100ns (800ns max) for the
MAX483 and MAX487–MAX489.
