Microchip outs programmable USB2 Controller Hubs

Microchip Technology Inc. has extended its USB2 Controller Hub (UCH2) portfolio with seven devices that support USB2 and USB High Speed Interchip connectivity, maximum battery life via low-power modes such as link power management (LPM), and the ability to replace wall chargers with advanced battery charging modes such as BC1.2, Apple, SE1 and China charging. According to the company, the UCH2 ICs are the world's first to provide programmability, enabling the developers of PCs and mobile devices to configure their designs without external memory.

For applications that need to communicate over multiple protocols, these UCH2s feature direct I/O bridging to I2C, SPI, UART and general-purpose I/O. They also have the flexibility to support the behaviors of multiple OS such as vendor-specific messaging and FlexConnect for simple port reversals.

Whereas competing USB2 Controller Hubs only offer limited battery charging and require external memory for configuration, Microchip's UCH2s integrate "Quad Page" configuration OTP Flash memory, which reserves space for interoperability and other customizations by the designer, including four separate configuration opportunities. Additionally, Microchip makes it easy to generate configuration settings and program the OTP memory via its ProTouch Configuration Editor software tool, the firm added.

The USB-IF Certified USB2532-1080AEN, USB2533-1080AEN and USB2534-1080AEN family of UCH2s for mainstream USB applications are available for sampling and volume production in 36-pin QFN packages, supplied in 10,000-unit quantities. The USB4624-1080HN and USB4604-1080HN family of UCH2s for HSIC connectivity and I/O bridging USB applications are available for sampling and volume production in 48-pin QFN packages, supplied in 10,000-unit quantities. The USB3813-1080XY and USB3613-1080XY family of UCH2s for mobile USB applications are available for sampling, and volume production is expected in July, in 30-pin WLCSP packages, also supplied in 10,000-unit quantities.