Holt Integrated Circuits announces first 3.3V ARINC 717/ARINC 429 transceiver

Holt Integrated Circuits announced today a new transceiver compliant with the ARINC 717 and ARINC 429 protocols. The device provides a seamless interface between the digital protocol and Harvard Bi-Phase (HBP) and / or Bi-Polar Return-to-Zero (BPRZ) encoded physical layers. ARINC 717 is the main protocol used in aircraft Digital Flight Data Recorders (“black boxes”) and Digital Flight Data Acquisition Units.

The HI-3718 includes an on-chip DC/DC converter, requiring only a single 3.3V supply to operate. All voltage levels necessary for the Harvard Bi-Phase and Bi-Polar Return-to-Zero channels are generated on-chip. A HBP or BPRZ line receiver produces correct digital signal levels for input to a decoder.

In addition HBP and BPRZ line drivers are capable of accepting HBP and BPRZ encoded digital signals from an FPGA or protocol IC such as Holt's HI-3717. The BPRZ channel is fully compliant with the ARINC 429 standard and this transceiver provides an excellent solution for loopback test from an ARINC 429 bus.

The independent HBP and BPRZ line drivers have slew rate control with rise/fall times of 1.5µs, 7.5µs and 10µs. These slew rates will support ARINC 717 bit rates corresponding to 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096 and 8192 words/sec.

“The HI-3718 provides an ideal interface between an FPGA and an ARINC 717 or ARINC 429 physical layer, providing the customer with a single IC to connect an existing digital protocol directly to the bus” said Anthony Murray, Director of Business Development at Holt. “This elegant solution provides a significant reduction in components and board space.”

Customers interested in a fully integrated ARINC 717 solution may also use Holt's existing ARINC 717 protocol IC, HI-3717, which has built-in protocol, line drivers and line receivers, and 3.3V DC/DC converter for single supply operation. In cases where galvanic isolation is required between the digital core and the HBP or BPRZ busses, the HI-3718 transceiver may be used with the digital transmit capability of the HI-3717.

The HI-3718 is available in a very small 7mm x 7mm, 32-pin, QFN package or a 32-pin PQFP. Samples are available upon request.