News & Events
Intersil Introduces New SMBus Accelerator Designed to Improve Data Transmission Speed and Reliability
-- ISL88694 helps system devices meet SMBus and I2C bus timing specifications and is pin compatible with LTC1694
MILPITAS, CA, January 24, 2005 Intersil Corporation (NASDAQ: ISIL), a world leader in the design and manufacture of high performance analog solutions, today introduced the ISL88694 SMBus accelerator. A dual active pull-up bus terminator, the ISL88694 is designed to improve data transmission speed and reliability on SMBus or similar 2-wire serial bus interfaces such as I2C. It permits operation of the bus at frequencies of up to 100 kHz despite the capacitive loads of multiple devices and/or long PC board traces.
Pull-up resistors are typically used to connect each bus line to a positive supply voltage such that both clock and data lines are high when the bus is free. However, using simple pull-up resistors on the clock and data lines becomes problematic if there are long signal lines or many devices connected to the bus. In such cases, the combined capacitance of the bus then increases the rise time on the signal to such an extent that bus communication becomes unreliable or fails to meet the bus timing specifications.
To improve the operation of a 2-wire bus where larger bus capacitance exists, the ISL88694 provides active pull-up using switched current sources. When the bus line is released, it is pulled high by the ISL88694 active current until the voltage exceeds a given threshold for a period of time. This voltage-time combination filters out noise on the signal line. If both inputs are high, the pull-up current drops to the standby level of 100 uA to minimize power consumption.
In addition to improving bus transmission speed and reliability, the ISL88694 also provides active termination for bus lines. A noise filter on each channel prevents the device from responding to input transitions below a voltage-time threshold, and enhanced ESD protection on the input pins guarantees that the ISL88694 can withstand 8 kV ESD (HBM) events.
ISL88694 Key Features
- Pin-for-pin compatible with the LTC1694 with 8 kV ESD protection
- Provides active termination for bus lines
- Enhances system bus signal rise time
- Improves data transmission reliability
- Increases bus capacity while guaranteeing data integrity
- 2-wire SMBus and I2C compatible
- Automatic power-saving standby mode
- Small 5-lead SOT23 package
- Servers
- Data acquisition
- Routers
- Battery chargers
- Portable instrumentation
- Desktop and notebook computers
- Facilities Tracking System
The ISL88694 is now available in 5-lead SOT23 packaging for a price of $1.80 in 1,000 unit quantities.
To learn more about Intersils power management products, visit the Intersil web site at www.intersil.com/power. About Intersil
Intersil Corporation, a NASDAQ 100 Index company, is a leader in the design and manufacture of high performance analog semiconductors. The company’s products address three of the industry’s fastest growing markets: flat panel displays, optical storage (CD and DVD recordable) and power management. Intersil products include power management devices for battery management, hot-swap and hot-plug controllers, linear regulators, supervisory ICs, switching DC-DC regulators and power MOSFET drivers; optical storage laser diode drivers; DSL line drivers; video and high performance operational amplifiers; data converters; interface ICs; analog switches and multiplexers; crosspoint switches; voice-over-IP devices; and ICs for military, space and rad-hard applications. For more information about Intersil or to find out how to become a member of our winning team, visit the company’s web site and career page at: www.intersil.com
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