Typical applications
MC1488
These two diodes, as shown in Figure 13, could be used to decoupled all the driver
packages in a system. (These same diodes will allow the MC1488 to withstand momentary
shorts to the ±15V limits specified in the earlier Standard RS232B). The addition of the
diodes also permits the MC1488 to withstand faults with power-supplies of less than the
9.0V stated above.
The maximum short-circuit current allowable under fault conditions is more than guaranteed
by the previously mentioned 10 mA output current limiting.
The MC1488 is an extremely versatile line driver with a mired of possible applications.
Several features of the drivers enhance this versatility:
1. Output Current Limiting - this enables the circuit designer to define the output voltage
levels independent of power-supplies and can be accomplished by diode clamping of the
output pins.
2. Power-Supply Range - as can be seen from the schematic drawing of the drivers, the
positive and negative driving elements of the device are essentially independent and do not
require matching power-supplies. In fact, the positive supply can very from a minimum
seven volts (required for driving the negative pulldown section) to the maximum specified
15V. The negative supply can vary from approximately -2.5V to the minimum specified -
15V. The MC1488 will drive the output to within 2V of the positive or negative supplies as
long as the current output limits are not exceeded. The combination of the current-limiting
and supply-voltage features allow a wide combination of possible outputs within the same
quad package.
Figure 15. Slew-rate load vs capacitance for ISC = 10mA
Figure 16. Power supply protection to meet Power-off fault conditions
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