infrared Encoder/Decoder Data Sheet

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© 2007 Microchip Technology Inc.

DS21618B-page 1

MCP2120

Features

• Supports with IrDA

®

 Physical Layer Specification 

(version 1.3)

• UART to IR Encoder/Decoder

- Interfaces with IrDA Compliant Transceivers
- Used with any UART, including standard 

16550 UART and microcontroller UART

• Transmit/Receive formats supported:

- 1.63 µs 

• Hardware or Software Baud rate selection

- Up to IrDA standard 115.2 kbaud operation 
- Up to 312.5 kbaud operation (at 20 MHz)
- Low power mode

• Pb-free packaging

CMOS Technology

• Low-power, high-speed CMOS technology
• Fully static design
• Low voltage operation
• Commercial and Industrial temperature ranges 
• Low power consumption

- < 1 mA @ 3.3V, 8 MHz (typical)
- 3 mA typical @ 5.0V when disabled

Pin Diagrams   

Block Diagram   

PDIP, SOIC

MC
P2120

V

DD

OSC1/CLKIN

OSC2

RESET

RXIR

TXIR

MODE

V

SS

EN
TX
RX
BAUD0
BAUD1
BAUD2

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

14
13
12

11

10

9
8

Decode

TX

TXIR

RX

RXIR

EN

MCP2120

Logic 

Baud Rate

BAUD2

Generator

BAUD1
BAUD0

MODE

Encode

Infrared Encoder/Decoder

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MCP2120

DS21618B-page 2

© 2007 Microchip Technology Inc.

NOTES:

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© 2007 Microchip Technology Inc.

DS21618B-page 3

MCP2120

1.0

DEVICE OVERVIEW

This document contains device specific information for
the following device:
• MCP2120
This device is a low-cost, high-performance, fully-static
infrared encoder/decoder. This device sits between a
UART and an infrared (IR) optical transceiver. 
The data received from a standard UART is encoded
(modulated), and output as electrical pulses to the IR
Transceiver. The IR Transceiver also receives data
which it outputs as electrical pulses. The MCP2120
decodes (demodulates) these electrical pulses and
then the data is transmitted by the MCP2120 UART.
This modulation and demodulation method is
performed in accordance with the IrDA standard.
Typically a microcontroller interfaces to the IR encoder/
decoder.
Infrared communication is a wireless two-way data
connection using infrared light generated by low-cost
transceiver signaling technology. This provides reliable
communication between two devices.
Infrared technology offers:
• Universal standard for connecting portable 

computing devices

• Easy, effortless implementation
• Economical alternative to other connectivity 

solutions

• Reliable, high speed connection
• Safe to use in any environment; can even be used 

during air travel

• Eliminates the hassle of cables
• Allows PC’s and non-PC’s to communicate to 

each other

• Enhances mobility by allowing users to easily 

connect

1.1

Applications

The MCP2120 is a stand–alone IrDA Encoder/Decoder
product. 

Figure 1-1

 shows a typical application block

diagram. 

Table 1-2

 shows the pin definitions in the user

(normal) mode of operation.

TABLE 1-1:

MCP2120 FEATURES 
OVERVIEW   

FIGURE 1-1:

System Block Diagram

Features

MCP2120

Serial Communications:

UART, IR

Baud Rate Selection:

Hardware/Software

Low Power Mode:

Yes

Resets: (and Delays)

Wake-up (DRT)

Packages:

14-pin DIP

14-pin SOIC

Encode

Decode

TX

TXIR

RX

RXIR

EN

MCP2120

Micro–

TX

RX

Optical 

UAR

T

TXD

RXD

Power

Down

Baud Rate

BAUD2

Generator

BAUD1
BAUD0

MODE

I/O

Controller

Logic

(S/W Mode)

Transceiver

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MCP2120

DS21618B-page 4

© 2007 Microchip Technology Inc.

TABLE 1-2:

PIN DESCRIPTION USER MODE

Pin Name

Pin Number

Pin

Type

Buffer

Type

PDIP

SOIC

Description

V

DD

 

1

1

P

Positive supply for logic and I/O pins

OSC1/CLKIN

2

2

I

CMOS Oscillator crystal input/external clock source input 

OSC2

3

3

O

Oscillator crystal Output

RESET 4

4

I

ST

Resets 

the 

Device

RXIR

5

5

I

ST

Asynchronous receive from infrared transceiver

TXIR

6

6

O

Asynchronous transmit to infrared transceiver

MODE

7

7

I

TTL

Selects the device mode (Data/Command) for Software Baud 
Rate operation. For more information see Section 2.4.1.2 “Soft-
ware Selection”
.

BAUD2

8

8

I

TTL

BAUD2:BAUD0 specify the Baud rate of the device, or if the 
device operates in Software Baud Rate mode. For more informa-
tion see Section 2.4.1 “Baud Rate”.

BAUD1

9

9

I

TTL

BAUD0

10

10

I

TTL

RX

11

11

O

Asynchronous transmit to controller UART 

TX

12

12

I

TTL

Asynchronous receive from controller UART 

EN

13

13

I

Device Enable. 

V

SS

 

14

14

P

Ground reference for logic and I/O pins

Legend:

TTL = TTL compatible input 

ST = Schmitt Trigger input with CMOS levels 

I = Input

O = Output 

P = Power 

CMOS = CMOS compatible input

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© 2007 Microchip Technology Inc.

DS21618B-page 5

MCP2120

2.0

DEVICE OPERATION

The MCP2120 is a low cost infrared Encoder/Decoder.
The baud rate is user selectable to standard IrDA baud
rates between 9600 baud to 115.2 kbaud. The maxi-
mum baud rate is 312.5 kbaud.

2.1

Power-up

Any time that the device is powered up, the Device
Reset Timer delay (

parameter 32

) must occur before

any communication with the device is initiated. This is
from both the infrared transceiver side as well as the
controller UART interface.

2.2

Device Reset

The MCP2120 is forced into the reset state when the
RESET pin is in the low state. After the RESET pin is
brought to a high state, the Device Reset Timer occurs.
Once the DRT times out, normal operation occurs.

2.3

Bit Clock

The device crystal is used to derive the communication
bit clock (BITCLK). There are 16 BITCLKs for each bit
time. The BITCLKs are used for the generation of the
Start bit and the eight data bits. The Stop bit uses the
BITCLK when the data is transmitted (not for recep-
tion).
This clock is a fixed frequency, and has minimal varia-
tion in frequency (specified by crystal manufacturer).

2.4

UART Interface

The UART interface communicates with the "control-
ler". This interface is a Half duplex interface, meaning
that the system is either transmitting or receiving, but
not both at the same time. 

2.4.1

BAUD RATE

The baud rate for the MCP2120 can be configured
either by the state of three hardware pins (BAUD2,
BAUD1, and BAUD0) or through software selection.

2.4.1.1

Hardware Selection

Three device pins are used to select the baud rate that
the MCP2120 will transmit and receive data. These
pins are called BAUD2, BAUD1, and BAUD0. There is
one pin state (device mode) where the application soft-
ware can specify the baud rate. 

Table 2-1

 shows the

baud rate configurations.

TABLE 2-1:

HARDWARE BAUD RATE SELECTION VS. FREQUENCY

BAUD2:BAUD0

Frequency (MHz)

Bit Rate

0.6144

(1)

2.000

3.6864

4.9152

7.3728

14.7456

(2)

20.000

(2)

000

800

2604

4800

6400

9600

19200

26042

F

OSC

 / 768

001

1600

5208

9600

12800

19200

38400

52083

F

OSC

 / 384

010

3200

10417

19200

25600

38400

78600

104167

F

OSC

 / 192

011

4800

15625

28800

38400

57600

115200

156250

F

OSC

 / 128

100

9600

31250

57600

78600

115200

230400

312500

F

OSC

 / 64

Note 1: An external clock is recommended for frequencies below 2 MHz.

2: For frequencies above 7.5 MHz, the TXIR pulse width (

parameter IR121

) will be shorter than the minimum 

pulse width of 1.6 µs in the IrDA standard specification.

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MCP2120

DS21618B-page 6

© 2007 Microchip Technology Inc.

2.4.1.2

Software Selection

When the BAUD2:BAUD0 pins are configured as ’

111

the MCP2120 defaults to a baud rate of F

OSC

 / 768.

To place the MCP2120 into Command Mode, the
MODE pin must be at a low level. When in this mode,
any data that is received by the MCP2120’s UART is
"echoed" back to the controller and no encoding/
decoding occurs. The echoed data will be skewed less
than 1 bit time (see 

parameter IR141

). When the

MODE pin goes high, the device is returned to Data
Mode where the encoder/decoder is in operation.

Table 2-2

 shows the software hex commands to config-

ure the MCP2120’s baud rate. 
The MCP2120 receives data bytes at the existing baud
rate. When the change baud rate command (0x11) is
received, the last valid baud rate value received
becomes the new baud rate. The new baud rate is
effective after the stop bit of the echoed data.

Figure 2-2

 shows this sequence.

2.4.2

TRANSMITTING

When the controller sends serial data to the MCP2120,
the baud rates are required to match. 
There will be some jitter on the detection of the high to
low edge of the start bit. This jitter will affect the place-
ment of the encoded start bit. All subsequent bits will be
16 BITCLK times later.

2.4.3

RECEIVING

When the controller receives serial data from the
MCP2120, the baud rates are required to match.
There will be some jitter on the detection of the high to
low edge of the start bit. This jitter will affect the place-
ment of the decoded Start bit. All subsequent bits will
be 16 BITCLK times later.

FIGURE 2-1:

Data/Command Mode 
Flow

TABLE 2-2:

SOFTWARE BAUD RATE SELECTION VS. FREQUENCY

MODE pin goes low

Data Mode

Command Mode

Controller sends baud

MCP2120 echoes baud

Controller sends 0x11

MCP2120 echoes 0x11

New baud rate

MODE pin goes high

Data Mode

When echoing the Data, once the first bit is 
detected, it is echoed back. This means that
the echoed data is skewed no more than 1 bit
time.
The new baud rate can occur once the echoed
stop bit completes. 

Hex 

Command

(3, 4)

 

Frequency (MHz)

Bit Rate

0.6144

(1)

 2.000

3.6864

4.9152

7.3728

14.7456

(2)

  20.000

(2)

 

0x87

800

2604

4800

6400

9600

19200

26042

F

OSC

 / 768

0x8B

1600

5208

9600

12800

19200

38400

52083

F

OSC

 / 384

0x85

3200

10417

19200

25600

38400

78600

104167

F

OSC

 / 192

0x83

4800

15625

28800

38400

57600

115200

156250

F

OSC

 / 128

0x81

9600

31250

57600

78600

115200

230400

312500

F

OSC

 / 64

Note 1: An external clock is recommended for frequencies below 2 MHz.

2: For frequencies above 7.3728 MHz, the TXIR pulse width (

parameter IR121

) will be shorter than the 1.6 µs 

IrDA standard specification.

3: Command 0x11 is used to change to the new baud rate.
4: All other command codes are reserved for possible future use.

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DS21618B-page 7

MCP2120

2.5

Modulation

When the UART receives data to be transmitted, the
data needs to be modulated. This modulated signal
drives the IR transceiver module. 

Figure 2-2

 shows the

encoding of the modulated signal. 
Each bit time is comprised of 16-bit clocks. If the value
to be transmitted (as determined by the TX pin) is a
logic low, then the TXIR pin will output a low level for
7-bit clock cycles, a logic high level for 3-bit clock
cycles, and then the remaining 6-bit clock cycles will be
low. If the value to transmit is a logic high, then the
TXIR pin will output a low level for the entire 16-bit clock
cycles.

2.6

Demodulation

The modulated signal from the IR transceiver module
needs to be demodulated to form the received data. As
demodulation occurs, the bit value is placed on the RX
pin in UART format. 

Figure 2-3

 shows the decoding of

the modulated signal.
Each bit time is comprised of 16 bit clocks. If the value
to be received is a logic low, then the RXIR pin will be
a low level for the first 3-bit clock cycles, and then the
remaining 13-bit clock cycles will be high. If the value to
be received is a logic high, then the RXIR pin will be a
high level for the entire 16-bit clock cycles. The level on
the RX pin will be in the appropriate state for the entire
16 clock cycles.

FIGURE 2-2:

Encoding  

FIGURE 2-3:

Decoding

BITCLK

TX

TXIR

0

1

0

0

0

1

16 CLK

Start Bit

Data bit 0

Data bit 1

Data bit 2

Data bit...

7 CLK

12 Tosc

BITCLK

RX

RXIR

0

1

0

0

0

1

≥ 1.6 µs

13 CLK (or 

≤ 50.5 µs typical)

16 CLK

16 CLK

16 CLK

16 CLK

16 CLK

16 CLK

16 CLK

8 CLK

Start Bit

Data bit 0

Data bit 1

Data bit 2

Data bit ...

(CLK)

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MCP2120

DS21618B-page 8

© 2007 Microchip Technology Inc.

2.7

Encoding/Decoding Jitter and 
Offset

Figure 2-4

 shows the jitter and offset that is possible on

the RX pin and the TXIR pin. 
Jitter is the possible variation of the desired edge.
Offset is the propagation delay of the input signal (RXIR
or TX) to the output signal (RX or TXIR).
The first bit on the output pin (on RX or TXIR) will show
jitter compared to the input pin (RXIR or TX), but all
remaining bits will be a constant distance. 

2.8

Minimizing Power

The device can be placed in a low power mode by
disabling the device (holding the EN pin at the low
state). The internal state machine is monitoring this pin
for a low level, and once this is detected the device is
disabled and enters into a low power state.

2.8.1

RETURNING TO OPERATION

When the device is disabled, the device is in a low
power state. When the EN pin is brought to a high level,
the device will return to the operating mode. The device
requires a delay of 1000 T

OSC

 before data may be

transmitted or received.

FIGURE 2-4:

Effects of Jitter and Offset

TX Jitter

3 CLK

BITCLK

RXIR

RX

TX

TXIR

16 CLK

16 CLK

3 CLK

16 CLK

RX Jitter

TX Offset

RX Offset

16 CLK

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DS21618B-page 9

MCP2120

3.0

DEVELOPMENT TOOLS

The MCP212X Developer’s Daughter Board is used to
evaluate and demonstrate the MCP2122 or the
MCP2120 IrDA

®

 Standard Encoder/Decoder devices. 

A header allows the MCP212X Developer’s Daughter
Board to be jumpered easily into systems for
development purposes.
The MCP212X Developer’s Daughter Board is
designed to interface to several of the “new” low cost
PIC

®

 Demo Boards. These include the PICDEM HPC

Explorer Demo board, the PICDEM FS USB Demo
board, and the PICDEM LCD Demo board. 
When the MCP212X Developer’s Daughter Board is
used in conjunction with the PICDEM HPC Explorer
Demo board, the MCP212x can be connected to either
of the PIC18F8772's two UARTs or the RX and TX sig-
nals can be "crossed" so the MCP212x device can
communicate directly out the PICDEM HPC Explorer
Demo Board's UART (DB-9).

Features:

• 8-pin socket for installation of MCP2122 

(installed) and 14-pin socket for installation of 
MCP2120 

• Three Optical Transceiver circuits (1 installed) 
• Headers to interface to low cost PICDEM Demo 

Boards, including:
- • PICDEM™ HPC Explorer Demo Board
- • PICDEM™ LCD Demo Board
- • PICDEM™ FS USB Demo Board
- • PICDEM™ 2 Plus Demo Board 

• Headers to easily connect to the user’s 

embedded system 

• Jumpers to select routing of MCP212X signals to 

the PICDEM™ Demo Board Headers 

• Jumpers to configure the operating mode of the 

board

The MCP2120/MCP2150 Developer’s Kit has been
obsoleted but if you have access to one of these kits, it
can be used to demonstrate the operation of the
MCP2120.

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MCP2120

DS21618B-page 10

© 2007 Microchip Technology Inc.

NOTES:

Maker
Microchip Technology Inc.
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