The benefits of galvanic isolation are not limited to safety and protection against hazardous voltages, but extend to error-free communications in the presence of high edge rate transients, noise, and high common-mode voltages, which is not the case with non-isolated As far as the network is concerned, the above conditions will prevent it from functioning properly.
New isolator uModule technology developed by Linear Technology creates a complete power and data isolation solution in a small 11.25mm x 15mm x 2.8mm surface mount package. The LTM2881 contains a rugged, isolated RS485 transceiver and an isolated
DC/DC converter, capable of delivering up to 1W of power to the transceiver and auxiliary circuitry. The module requires no external components – even decoupling capacitors and electrically switchable network terminating resistors are integrated into the module. If you want to implement an isolated design at each communication node of the RS485 network, the LTM2881's ease of use and small footprint will make it an even more attractive product.