FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ USB UART I.C

As with all FTDI devices the hard work has been done for you, just design in the chip and choose the royalty-free drivers which best suits your application. In simple terms the FT232Bx can be dropped into replace an RS232 line driver IC in an existing design to provide a full USB Slave interface to your product. All the processing of the USB stack, USB transceiver and signal conditioning is carried out by the FT232Bx which requires minimal external circuitry, namely; EEPROM, crystal (or ceramic resonator) and a few resistors and capacitors.

The FT232Bx can interface to other UARTS & u-Processors in simple 2-wire (Tx, Rx) or full handshake configurations (Tx, Rx, CTS, RTS, DTR, DCD, RI) so your design just connects to a highly flexible UART interface at typical throughputs of 920K-1100Kbit/sec depending on your application.

The UART will auto-baud to most standard multiples from 300 baud upward and can be configured via the driver to run at non-standard rates for specific applications (see Apps Note for more).

Specifications		Applications
Single-chip USB to asynchronous serial data Full handshaking & modem interface signals 300 Baud => 3M Baud (TTL) 300 Baud => 1M Baud (RS232) 300 Baud => 3M Baud (RS422/RS485) 384 Byte Rx buffer/128 Byte Tx buffer Adjustable Rx buffer timeout Hardware or X-On/X-Off handshaking Auto transmit buffer control for RS485 USB suspend/resume via SLEEP#,RI# pins Support for High Power mode via PWREN# Bit-Bang Mode creates in-built IO port Interfaces to 5V and 3.3V logic Integrated 3.3V regulator for USB IO Integrated Power-On-Reset circuit USB Bulk transfer mode 4.35V to 5.25V single supply operation USB 1.1 compliant, USB 2.0 compatible Compact 32 QFN package or 32 LQFP   Range of Evaluation modules RoHS variant - FT232BL or FT232BQ		ANY existing RS232/422/485 equipment Audio products Handheld & scientific equipment External cable adaptors Dataloggers Vehicle diagnostic Security & Fire Panels Point of Sale terminals Speed Camera Detectors

Resources and Documentation

FT232BL Datasheet Full datasheet for the FT232BL chip with schematic suggestions, pin-outs, footprint and power options. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V1.8 Feb 2005 25 pages - 538KB FT232BM Datasheet Full datasheet for the FT232BM chip with schematic suggestions, pin-outs, fotprint and power options. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V1.8 Feb 2005 25 pages - 574KB FT232BQ Datasheet Full datasheet for the FT232BQ chip with schematic suggestions, pin-outs, footprint and power options. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V1.8 Feb 2005 25 pages - 556KB Designers Guide - DG232 - FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ Essential - what you need to know if you are putting the 232Bx onto a PCB. Answers questions relating to EEPROM, power options, power feed, example schematics, fault finding & debug tips. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V2.0 16 pages - 432KB Apps Note AN232B-01 - Power control & Bit Bang pins Describes the power mode options & behaviour of the I/O pins in Bit-bang Mode. Relevant to FT2232C, FT2232D, FT2232L, FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ, FT245BM, FT245BL and FT245BQ devices. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V1.0 Jan 2002 8 pages - 232KB Apps Note AN232B-02 - Pin States Power Control and Pin states. FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ, FT245BM, FT245BL and FT245BQ devices. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V2 Jan 2004 8 pages - 83KB Apps Note AN232B-03 - Optimising throughput with D2XX drivers Using the FTDI devices for best throughput effeciency (streaming vs small payload). Relevant to FT232R, FT245R, FT2232C, FT2232D, FT2232L, FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ, FT245BM, FT245BL, FT245BQ, FT8U232AM and FT8U245AM devices. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V1.1 Jan 2006 10 pages - 35KB Apps Note AN232B-04 - Data Throughput, Latency & Handshaking Describes the need for handshaking and buffer control in general. Relevant for FT232R, FT245R, FT2232C, FT2232D, FT2232L, FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ, FT245BM, FT245BL, FT245BQ, FT8U232AM and FT8U245AM devices. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V1.1 Jan 2006 18 pages - 184KB Apps Note AN232B-05 - setting UART baud rates How to fix baud rates and aloocate non standard rates for the UART devices. Relevant to FT232R, FT2232C, FT2232D, FT2232L, FT232BM, FT232BL and FT232BQ devices. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V1.1 Jan 2006 14 pages - 165KB Apps Note AN232B-06 - debugging FT232Bx and FT245Bx Help with debugging FT232Bx and FT245Bx based designs. Relevant to FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ, FT245BM, FT245BL and FT245BQ devices. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V1.1 Dec 2004 29 pages - 394KB Apps Note AN232B-07 - Configuring FTDI's VCP Drivers Help with Configuring FTDI's VCP Drivers to use Location IDs. Relevant for FT232R, FT245R, FT2232C, FT2232D, FT2232L, FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ, FT245BM, FT245BL, FT245BQ, FT8U232AM, FT8U245AM and FT8U245AM devices. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V1.2 Jan 2006 12 pages - 228KB Apps Note AN232B-08 - Enumerations options for Win98SE Removing enumeration delays with Win98SE. Relevant to FT232R, FT245R, FT2232C, FT2232D, FT2232L, FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ, FT245BM, FT245BL, FT245BQ, FT8U232AM and FT8U245AM devices. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V1.0 3 pages - 125KB Apps Note AN232B-09 - Using Modem Emulation Mode Help with using the Modem Emulation Mode in FTDI's (VCP) Driver. Relevant to FT232R, FT245R, FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ, FT245BM, FT245BL, FT245BQ, FT8U232AM and FT8U245AM devices. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V2 10 pages - 150KB Apps Note AN232B-10 - Advanced Driver options All you need to know about FTDI drivers (VCP & DLL) including remumber VCP's. Relevant to FT232R, FT245R, FT2232C, FT2232D, FT2232L,  FT232BM, FT232BL, FT232BQ, FT245BM, FT245BL, FT245BQ, FT8U232AM and FT8U245AM devices. Hosted by FTDI   Revision: V2.1 Aug 2006 61 pages - 735KB FTDI VCP Drivers Latest version of Virtual COM Port drivers for Windows Win98SE, WinME, Win2K, WinXP, Linux, MacOS. Hosted by FTDI   Web Page FTDI D2XX Direct Drivers D2XX drivers allow direct access to the USB device through a DLL.  Application software can access the USB device through a series of DLL function calls. Click here to visit the FTDI website to download the latest version of DLL based drivers for Windows Win98SE, WinME, Win2K, WinXP, Linux. Hosted by FTDI   Web Page

Comprehensive Development Support

The Eval Kits represent the quickest way to get USB under your belt, with many allowing you to get up and running in less than 30 minutes. Volume pricing is available which is flexible enough to mean you could embed a module within your design for minimal time-to-market turnaround. Please speak to the Alpha Micro sales team for your area for volume pricing.

Custom PID service
For volume applications Alpha Micro can provide a Product Identifier (PID) under the FTDI "umbrella scheme" that can be used to personalise a design based on the FT232Bx so that your end user will see your product name in the Windows Install Wizard for extra brand awareness.

There is an added benefit that the driver is tagged to your hardware and cannot be used by other devices. This feature can only be used with FTDI chips, the Vendor ID (VID) must remain untouched. Please contact our sales team for more information on this facility.

Customers should use MPROG to program this feature and any other changes to the default settings within the EEPROM (which must be fitted if this feature is required). MPROG is free to use and performs the programming tasks over the USB.

Ordering Information

PART NUMBER	PACKAGE TYPE	PACK SIZE	RoHS
FT232BM	32 LQFP	250 per tray	NO
FT232BM/TR	32 LQFP	1000 per reel	NO
FT232BL	32 LQFP	250 per tray
FT232BL/TR	32 LQFP	1000 per reel
FT232BQ	32 QFN	250 per tray
FT232BQ/TR	32 QFN	1000 per reel

Can't quite find what you are looking for?
Why not contact the Alpha Micro Sales Team for your area or visit the product page at www.ftdichip.com