24 Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C)

The Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C) module is a serial interface useful for communicating with other peripheral or microcontroller (MCU) devices. The external peripheral devices may be serial EEPROMs, display drivers, ADC and so on.

The I2C module can operate as any one of the following in the I2C system:

  • Client Device
  • Host Device in a Single Host System (Client May Be Active)
  • Host or Client Device in a Multi-Host System (Bus Collision Detection and Arbitration are Available)

Key features of the I2C module include the following:

  • Independent Host and Client Logic
  • Supports 100 kHz, 400 kHz and 1MHz Bus Specifications
  • 7-bit and 10-bit Device Addresses.
  • Client Mode can be Configured for:
    • Two unique addresses
    • Range of addresses
    • General call address
    • Address bit masking
  • Automatic Clock Stretching Provides Delays for the Processor to Respond to a Client Data Request
  • Multi-Host Support Which Prevents Message Losses in Arbitration
  • Smart Mode for Minimal User Interaction and Simpler Application Code
  • Supports Data Hold Time for SMBus (300 nS or 150 nS) in Client Mode
  • Supports SMBus v2.0 and v3.0 Input Voltage Levels.
  • Supports the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) Standard
  • System Management Bus (SMBus) and Power Management Bus (PMBus) Support:
    • Packet Error Checking (PEC) using CRC-8 calculator
    • Clock low time-out, Bus idle time-out and cumulative time-out
    • Frame error detection