I²C-bus buffer extends range, loading and flexibility

The PCA9600 from NXP Semiconductors isolates I²C-bus capacitance to allow longer buses in point-to-point or multi-point applications up to a maximum loading of 4000pF.

The PCA9600 extends the performance of NXP’s P82B96DP, creating a non-latching, bidirectional logic interface between a normal I²C bus and other bus standards meeting different specifications for voltage or capacitance.

The bus buffer operates at speeds above 1MHz, and its high-drive side is compatible with the I²C Fast-mode Plus (Fm+) specifications. Furthermore, the PCA9600 features temperature-stabilised logic-voltage levels at its Sx/Sy interface. This allows interfacing with buses that have non I²C-compliant logic levels such as SMBus and PMBus, or microprocessors that use TTL logic levels.

By separating the bidirectional I²C-bus signals into unidirectional Tx and Rx signals, the PCA9600 can transmit SDA and SCL signals via balanced transmission lines (twisted pairs) or with galvanic isolation using optical or magnetic coupling.

The Tx and Rx signals may be connected together to provide a normal bidirectional signal.

 

FEATURES Maximum bus capacitance: 400pF (Sx/Sy side); 4000pF (Tx/Rx side) 60mA sink capability on Tx/Rx outputs 1MHz operation over 20m of wire ESD protection exceeds JESD22 specifications >100mA latch-up immunity exceeds JESD78 SO-8 and TSSOP-8 (MSOP-8) packages

APPLICATIONS Interface between I²C buses at different logic levels Interface between dissimilar bus standards Long distance point-to-point or multi-point architectures

 

 

NXP Semiconductors / PCA9600