Diodes Incorporated has announced the release of the PI5USB212, a USB 2.0 signal conditioner that operates at a supply voltage as low as 2.3V. The IC is designed for use in various applications such as notebooks, PCs, docking stations, cable extenders, TVs, and monitors. The PI5USB212 is capable of automatically detecting a USB 2.0 high-speed connection and maintaining signal integrity over long PCB traces or cables up to 5 meters in length.

The USB signal conditioner symmetrically boosts the USB D+ and D- channels to ensure common-mode stability and applies pre-emphasis to compensate for intersymbol interference (ISI). Its wide supply voltage range simplifies system design and extends the operating window for portable and battery-powered devices.

The device can be configured using either I2C commands or pin strapping, allowing for adjustment of signal-boost and ISI-compensation levels. It features two control pins, boost/SEN, where the boost pin can be pulled down via different resistors to control the AC gain/pre-emphasis levels. The SEN pin selects high, low, or medium receiver sensitivity (DC gain) to optimize signal integrity based on channel conditions. The PI5USB212 automatically detects low-speed (LS) mode/full-speed (FS) connections to avoid applying unnecessary signal compensation.

The PI5USB212 is compatible with USB 2.0, OTG 2.0, and battery-charging (BC) 1.2 standards. It supports USB features such as device-attach and high-speed detection, and has a 5.5V tolerance. The IC can detect when no USB attachment is present and reduces its supply current to 0.7mA (typical) to save energy. When disabled via the RSTN disable pin, the device consumes only 13µA (typical).

The PI5USB212 is available in a 12-pin, 1.6mm x 1.6mm, quad flat no-lead (QFN) package. It is priced at $2.70 in quantities of 3,500 units.