USB 2.0 Bridge Chip Links To Mass Storage Peripherals

The CY7C68300 fourth-generation mass storage bridge chip offers USB 2.0-to-ATA/ATAPI support for connecting PCs and information appliances to external storage units, such as hard-disk, CD and DVD drives. A fixed-function bridge, the device supports ATA-6, ATA IRQ, and PIO/UDMA modes, master or slave mode, and tri-state control for combination USB 2.0/1394 devices. Maximum data-transfer rate is 480 Mb/s with a burst data rate of 53 MB/s. The bridge chip comes in 56-pin SSOP and QFN packages, with prices starting at $4.50 each/100K for SSOPs. A reference design kit is available for $199. CYPRESS SEMICONDUCTOR CORP., San Jose, CA. (408) 943-2600.