QuickLogic High Speed UART for Bluetooth 2.1 and EDR Operation

QuickLogic announced a new UART system block for use with QuickLogic CSSP platforms, featuring high speed data rate up to 3 Mbit/sec, required for Bluetooth 2.1 and EDR operations. Applications for the UART system block includes Bluetooth EDR voice communications between mobile handsets and hands-free headsets, streaming of multimedia files between devices, wireless communications between game controllers and game consoles, and also traditional serial links to mice, keyboards, portable storage, etc.

Howard Li, QuickLogic, said

The high-speed UART solution allows portable device OEMs and ODMs to quickly implement Bluetooth 2.1 capability - without waiting for application processor vendors to upgrade their embedded UARTs to the required performance…

…Together with the flexibility of QuickLogic's CSSP platform approach, this solution allows designers to gain a competitive advantage and create product differentiation today.

The UART has been used as a general-purpose serial communications function for decades, but are typically designed for low data-rate applications such as a PC serial port. More recently, UARTs have become the most common form of host controller interface for Bluetooth communications. With the advent of Bluetooth 2.0/2.1 and its EDR transfer mode for high-speed streaming, UARTs traditionally used in mobile application processors are proving to be too slow. The new UART system block from QuickLogic offers the level of performance that Bluetooth 2.1 + EDR requires.

The high-speed UART solution is a proven system block that occupies five Customizable Building Blocks (CBBs) within the programmable fabric in either PolarPro or ArcticLink CSSP families of solution platforms. It offers configurable flow control and FIFO access as well as a baud rate customizable for different application requirements, with speeds up to 3 Mbits/sec.

Software support for the high-speed UART system block includes drivers for Linux, Windows Mobile, and Windows CE.

QuickLogic high-speed UART solution will be available immediately

UART: universal asynchronous receiver/transmitter
EDR: Enhanced Data Rate
CSSP: Customer Specific Standard Product

More info: http://www.quicklogic.com/cssp