ADuM2250/ADuM2251 Data Sheet
Rev. D | Page 10 of 16
APPLICATIONS INFORMATION
FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION
The ADuM2250/ADuM2251 interface on each side to I
2
C sig-
nals. Internally, the bidirectional I
2
C signals are split into two
unidirectional channels communicating in opposite directions
via dedicated iCoupler isolation channels. One channel of each
pair (the Side 1 input of each input/output pin in Figure 6)
implements a special input buffer and output driver that can
differentiate between externally generated inputs and its own
output signals. It transfers only externally generated input
signals to the corresponding Side 2 data or clock pin.
Both the Side 1 and Side 2 I
2
C pins are designed to interface to
an I
2
C bus operating in the 3.0 V to 5.5 V range. A logic low on
either side causes the corresponding input/output pin across the
coupler to be pulled low enough to comply with the logic low
threshold requirements of other I
2
C devices on the bus. Bus
contention and latch-up are avoided by guaranteeing that the
input low threshold at SDA
1
or SCL
1
is at least 50 mV less than
the output low signal at the same pin. This prevents an output
logic low at Side 1 from being transmitted back to Side 2 and
pulling down the I
2
C bus by latching the state.
Because the Side 2 logic levels/thresholds and drive capabilities
comply fully with standard I
2
C values, multiple ADuM2250/
ADuM2251 devices connected to a bus by their Side 2 pins can
communicate with each other and with other I
2
C-compatible
devices, as shown in Figure 7. Note the distinction between I
2
C
compatibility and I
2
C compliance. I
2
C compatibility refers to situ-
ations in which the logic levels or drive capability of a component
do not necessarily meet the requirements of the I
2
C specification
but still allow the component to communicate with an I
2
C-com-
pliant device. I
2
C compliance refers to situations in which the
logic levels and drive capability of a component fully meet the
requirements of the I
2
C specification.
Because the Side 1 pin has a modified output level/input threshold,
Side 1 of the ADuM2250/ADuM2251 can communicate only with
devices that are fully compliant with the I
2
C standard. In other
words, Side 2 of the ADuM2250/ADuM2251 is I
2
C-compliant,
whereas Side 1 is only I
2
C-compatible.
The Side 1 input/output pins must not be connected to other
I
2
C buffers that implement a similar scheme of dual input/output
threshold detection. This latch-up prevention scheme is
implemented in several popular I
2
C level shifting and bus
extension products currently available from Analog Devices
and other manufacturers. Care should be taken to review the
data sheet of potential I
2
C bus buffering products to ensure that
only one buffer on a bus segment implements a dual threshold
scheme.
A bus segment is a portion of the I
2
C bus that is isolated from
other portions of the bus by galvanic isolation, bus extenders, or
level shifting buffers. Table 11 shows how multiple ADuM2250/
ADuM2251 components can coexist on a bus as long as two
Side 1 buffers are not connected to the same bus segment.
Table 11. ADuM2250/ADuM2251 Buffer Compatibility
Side 1 Side 2
Side 1
No Yes
Side 2
Yes Yes
The output logic low levels are independent of the V
DD1
and
V
DD2
voltages. The input logic low threshold at Side 1 is also
independent of V
DD1
. However, the input logic low threshold at
Side 2 is designed to be at 0.3 V
DD2
, consistent with I
2
C require-
ments. The Side 1 and Side 2 input/output pins have open-
collector outputs whose high levels are set via pull-up resistors
to their respective supply voltages.
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GND
1
NC
V
DD1
NC
SDA
1
SCL
1
NC
GND
1
GND
2
NC
V
DD2
NC
SDA
2
SCL
2
NC
GND
2
06670-006
8
7
5
6
4
3
2
1
12
11
13
14
15
16
10
ADuM2250
SYMBOL INDICATES A DUAL THRESHOLD INPUT BUFFER.
NC = NO CONNECT
9
Figure 6. ADuM2250 Block Diagram
Figure 7 shows a typical application circuit, including the pull-up
resistors required for both Side 1 and Side 2 buses. Bypass capac-
itors with values from 0.01 μF to 0.1 μF are required between
V
DD1
and GND
1
and between V
DD2
and GND
2
. The 200 Ω resistor
shown in Figure 7 is required for latch-up immunity if the ambient
temperature can be between 105°C and 125°C.
V
DD1
OPTIONAL
200Ω
SDA
1
SCL
1
GND
1
V
DD2
SDA
2
SCL
2
GND
2
8
7
5
6
4
3
2
1
9
12
11
13
14
15
16
10
ADuM2250
06670-007
MICRO-
PROCESSOR
OR
SECONDARY
BUS
SEGMENT
I
2
C BUS
Figure 7. Typical Isolated I
2
C Interface Using the ADuM2250