Differential termination network for differential transmitters and

Abstract

A system of terminating a differential transmission line is described, where the differential transmitter and differential receiver are supplied by different power sources. The termination circuit comprises an unbalanced voltage divider pair, a connection to the receiver's voltage source, an adjustable threshold voltage, and circuitry to reduce power consumption. An unbalanced voltage divider pair provides matched termination impedances, and prevents undesired receiver output upon loss of transmitter signals. The voltage supplying the unbalanced voltage divider pair provides a voltage differential at the receiver inputs upon loss of the transmitter power source. An adjustable threshold voltage provides the minimum receiver input threshold voltage on which the transmitter signals can be superimposed. Power consumption is reduced through the use of a current limiter, which is coupled with a high pass filter to maintain the characteristic impedance of the transmission line during high frequency transmission. SEP