USB to PC Card Dual Channel Bridge Chip : VMB5000A
USB Interface for Compact Flash and PCMCIA Designs
The VMB5000A is a highly integrated PCMCIA / CF device that has been specially designed for chip-to-chip bridging which is ideal for interfacing to any module with USB output.
For ultimate flexibility Function 0 includes a unique 2 Port USB host controller that allows Full Speed (12Mbits/sec) USB target devices to be bridged via the VMB5000A to the PCMCIA / CF bus. This unique combination of a USB host controller on the PCMCIA/CF bus, avoids the need to target 32-bit Cardbus cards with their inherently more complex, technically risky and power hungry interfaces, and which preclude use in PDAs and also prevent the card from drawing 5V from the host.
Dual Channel for Maximum Flexibility : Also supports UART, SmartCard and Parallel Interface
The device offers two separate functions, one aimed at high speed data streaming and the other aimed at medium speed control and bridging uses.
Each function can also be configured as a 16550+ UART device with support for auto flow control and Smart Card modes (T=0/T=1), or as a flexible serial controller offering support for popular synchronous serial bus protocols such as SPI, SD™ and 1-Wire™.
High Speeds to Support 3G Applications Including EDGE, UMTS, CDMA Ev-Do and HSDPA
The VMB5000A supports both 8 and 16-bit host interface transfers, making burst data moves at up to 2.6MBytes/sec (>20Mbit/sec) possible. This opens the way for PCMCIA or CF cards that can support 3rd or 4th Generation wireless data rates and beyond, even on PDAs.
To sustain such high throughput rates, the VMB5000A offers separate 16KByte TX and RX FIFOs on Function 0 for use with the UART or USB controller.
Function 0 also supports a parallel access 16550 UART mode, suitable for use with a micro controller. Function 1 allows bridging to a child CF module to make Combi card design easy, perfect for WLAN + 3G dual role cards.
More Information
Please read the main VMB5000A webpage for full technical specifications, product datasheet and links to application notes.
High Speed USB to PC Card Interface Ideal for Wireless Modem Bridging
