The MAX3362 low-power, high-speed transceiver for RS-485/RS-422 communication operates from a single +3.3V power supply. The device contains one differential transceiver consisting of a line driver and receiver. The transceiver operates at data rates up to 20Mbps, with an output skew of less than 6ns. Driver and receiver propagation delays are guaranteed below 50ns. This fast switching and low skew make the MAX3362 ideal for multidrop clock/data distribution applications. The output level is guaranteed at +1.5V with a standard 54 load, compliant with RS-485 specifications. The transceiver draws 1.7mA supply current when unloaded or fully loaded with the drivers disabled. Additionally, the MAX3362 has a low-power shutdown mode, reducing the supply current to 1A. The MAX3362 has a 1/8-unit-load receiver input impedance, allowing up to 256 transceivers on the bus. The MAX3362 is designed for half-duplex communication. The device has a hot-swap feature that eliminates false transitions on the data cable during circuit initialization. The drivers are short-circuit current limited, and a thermal shutdown circuit protects against excessive power dissipation.