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Universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter

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Universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter

A universal asynchronous receiver-transmitter (UART /ˈjuːɑːrt/) is a peripheral device for asynchronous serial communication in which the data format and transmission speeds are configurable. It sends data bits one by one, from the least significant to the most significant, framed by start and stop bits so that precise timing is handled by the communication channel. The electric signaling levels are handled by a driver circuit external to the UART. Common signal levels are RS-232, RS-485, and raw TTL for short debugging links. Early teletypewriters used current loops.

It was one of the earliest computer communication devices, used to attach teletypewriters for an operator console. It was also an early hardware system for the Internet.

A UART is usually implemented in an integrated circuit (IC) and used for serial communications over a computer or peripheral device serial port. One or more UART peripherals are commonly integrated in microcontroller chips. Specialised UARTs are used for automobiles, smart cards and SIMs.

A related device, the universal synchronous and asynchronous receiver-transmitter (USART), also supports synchronous operation.

In OSI model terms, UART falls under layer 2, the data link layer.[citation needed]

Some early telegraph schemes used variable-length pulses (as in Morse code) and rotating clockwork mechanisms to transmit alphabetic characters. The first serial communication devices (with fixed-length pulses) were rotating mechanical switches (commutators). Various character codes using 5, 6, 7, or 8 data bits became common in teleprinters and later as computer peripherals. The teletypewriter made an excellent general-purpose I/O device for a small computer.

Gordon Bell of DEC designed the first UART, occupying an entire circuit board called a line unit, for the PDP series of computers beginning with the PDP-1. According to Bell, the main innovation of the UART was its use of sampling to convert the signal into the digital domain, allowing more reliable timing than previous circuits that used analog timing devices with manually adjusted potentiometers. To reduce the cost of wiring, backplane and other components, these computers also pioneered flow control using XON and XOFF characters rather than hardware wires.

DEC condensed the line unit design into an early single-chip UART for their own use. Western Digital developed this into the first widely available single-chip UART, the WD1402A, around 1971. This was an early example of a medium-scale integrated circuit. Another popular chip was the SCN2651 from the Signetics 2650 family.

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