NXP Semiconductors SC16IS740IPW,112

Overview

SC16IS740IPW,112 from NXP Semiconductors is a single-channel UART IC with I²C-bus or SPI interface, 64-byte TX/RX FIFOs, IrDA SIR support (up to 115.2 kbit/s), and hardware/software flow control - designed for protocol bridging between microcontrollers and RS-232/RS-485 peripherals in portable industrial devices.

For engineers reviewing the SC16IS740IPW,112 datasheet, SC16IS740IPW,112 pinout, SC16IS740IPW,112 application, or SC16IS740IPW,112 equivalent, this device delivers high-speed serial conversion (up to 5 Mbit/s), low-power sleep mode (<30 μA), and 16C450 register compatibility for rapid firmware porting in battery-constrained embedded systems.

Technical Context

The SC16IS740IPW,112 implements a full-duplex UART core with programmable baud rate generator (divisor range 1–65535), independent RX/TX FIFO trigger level control via FCR/TLR registers, and auto RTS/CTS hardware flow control managed by EFR[7:6] and TCR registers. It operates in target-only I²C (400 kbit/s) or SPI (4 Mbit/s) mode, with interface selection controlled by the I2C/SPI pin.

Its register set is fully backward-compatible with the 16C450, enabling drop-in software reuse; it supports full character formatting (5–8 bit, parity, 1/1.5/2 stop bits), line break detection, internal loopback, and software reset - all without requiring external crystal load capacitors when using an external clock on XTAL1.

Key Specifications

Pinout & Package

TSSOP16 package (SOT403-1), 4.4 mm body width, 0.65 mm pitch; thermally enhanced for compact PCB layouts in space-constrained applications.

Key Features

Applications

Equivalent & Alternatives

The following parts are listed as comparable options for similar UART bridge applications.

Compared with SC16IS750IPW and MAX3107ETE+, the SC16IS740IPW,112 provides optimal balance of compact TSSOP16 footprint, 16C450 software compatibility, and IrDA SIR support - making it ideal for cost-sensitive, space-constrained designs where GPIO extension is unnecessary.

Availability

SC16IS740IPW,112 is available at Aetrix Electronics and suitable for industrial serial gateways, portable diagnostic tools, and factory automation terminals requiring stable component supply across multi-year production cycles.

Supply support for SC16IS740IPW,112 includes scheduled delivery planning, volume procurement assistance, BOM continuity management, traceable sourcing, and lifecycle availability coordination for OEM customers, industrial embedded developers, connected-device designers, and electronics production programs.

Manufacturer

NXP Semiconductors is a global semiconductor leader focused on secure connectivity solutions for automotive, industrial, and IoT markets, with broad analog, digital, and mixed-signal product portfolios.

The SC16IS740IPW,112 belongs to NXP's SC16IS7xx UART bridge family, engineered specifically for low-power, small-footprint protocol translation between modern microcontrollers and legacy serial peripherals in resource-constrained embedded systems.

FAQ

What interface protocols does the SC16IS740IPW,112 support?

The SC16IS740IPW,112 supports both I²C-bus (up to 400 kbit/s) and SPI (up to 4 Mbit/s) host interfaces, selected dynamically via the I2C/SPI pin. It does not support UART-to-UART bridging or USB; its primary role is to convert I²C/SPI commands from a host processor into UART serial frames for external peripherals. The SC16IS740IPW,112 implements target-only operation - no master-mode functionality is present.

Does the SC16IS740IPW,112 include GPIO pins?

No, the SC16IS740IPW,112 does not include programmable GPIO pins. Unlike the SC16IS750IPW and SC16IS760IPW variants, the SC16IS740IPW,112 omits the GPIO0–GPIO7 pins entirely - confirmed by its TSSOP16 pinout (Fig. 5) and explicit statement in Section 1 that "the SC16IS740 is functionally and electrically identical to the SC16IS750, with the exception of the programmable I/O pins which are only present on the SC16IS750."

What is the maximum UART baud rate supported by the SC16IS740IPW,112?

The SC16IS740IPW,112 supports UART data rates up to 5 Mbit/s in 16× sampling mode, as specified in Section 1 and Table 10 of the datasheet. This assumes a minimum input clock frequency of 80 MHz (5 Mbit/s × 16). Actual achievable baud rate depends on the stability and accuracy of the clock source applied to XTAL1 - crystal or external oscillator - and register divisor settings in DLL/DLH.

Is the SC16IS740IPW,112 compatible with the 16C450 register set?

Yes, the SC16IS740IPW,112 features full backward compatibility with the industry-standard 16C450 UART register map, as explicitly stated in Sections 1 and 2.1. This allows existing drivers, BIOS code, and OS UART abstractions written for 16C450-family parts to operate without modification - significantly accelerating firmware development and porting efforts for new designs using the SC16IS740IPW,112.

Does the SC16IS740IPW,112 support IrDA SIR communication?

Yes, the SC16IS740IPW,112 includes built-in IrDA SIR encoder/decoder supporting speeds up to 115.2 kbit/s, as confirmed in Section 1 ("IrDA SIR built-in support") and Section 2.1 ("SC16IS750 supports IrDA SIR with speeds up to 115.2 kbit/s"). Note that the SC16IS760 variant supports 1.152 Mbit/s, but the SC16IS740IPW,112 is limited to 115.2 kbit/s - matching the SC16IS750 specification.