The TL16PNP550A is a functional upgrade of the TL16C550C asynchronous communications element (ACE), which in turn is a functional upgrade of the TL16C450. Functionally equivalent to the TL16C450 on power up (character or TL16C450 mode), the TL16PNP550A, like the TL16C550C, can be placed in an alternate mode (FIFO mode). This relieves the CPU of excessive software overhead by buffering received and transmitted characters. The receiver and transmitter FIFOs store up to 16 bytes including three additional bits of error status Please be aware that an important notice concerning availability, standard warranty, and use in critical applications of Texas Instruments semiconductor products and disclaimers thereto appears at the end of this data sheet.