AbstractPhilips Semiconductors (now NXP Semiconductors) developed a simple
bidirectional 2-wire bus for efficient inter-IC control. This bus is called the
Inter-IC or I
(SDA) and a serial clock line (SCL). Serial, 8-bit oriented, bidirectional
data transfers can be made at up to 100 kbit/s in the Standard-mode, up to
400 kbit/s in the Fast-mode, up to 1 Mbit/s in the Fast-mode Plus (Fm+), or
up to 3.4 Mbit/s in the High-speed mode . The Ultra Fast-mode is a
uni-directional mode with data transfers of up to 5 Mbit/s.
2
C-bus. Only two bus lines are required: a serial data line
NXP Semiconductors
UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
Revision history
RevDateDescription
v.420120213Update user manual.
Modifications:• The format of this document has been redesigned to comply with the new identity guidelines of
NXP Semiconductors.
• Legal texts have been adapted to the new company name where appropriate.
• Section 7.1 “Pull-up resistor sizing”, third paragraph changed from “... is a function of the rise time
minimum (tr) ...” to “... is a function of the rise time maximum (tr) ...”
v.320070619Many of today’s applications require longer buses and/or faster speeds. Fast-mod e Plus was
introduced to meet this need by increasing drive strength by as much as 10× and increasing the data
rate to 1 Mbit/s while maintaining downward compatibility to Fast-mode and Standard-mode speeds
and software commands.
2
v2.12000Version 2.1 of the I
2
v2.01998The I
v1.01992Version 1.0 of the I
Original 1982first release
C-bus has become a de facto world standard that is now implemented in over 1000 different ICs
and licensed to more than 50 companies. Many of today’s applications, however, require higher bus
speeds and lower supply voltages. This updated version of the I
requirements.
C-bus specification
2
C-bus specification
2
C-bus specification meets those
Contact information
For more information, please visit: http://www.nxp.com
For sales office addresses, please send an email to: salesaddresses@nxp.com
The I2C-bus is a de facto world standard that is now implemented in over 1000 different
ICs manufactured by more than 50 companies. Additionally, the versatile I
in various control architectures such as System Management Bus (SMBus), Power
Management Bus (PMBus), Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI), Display
Data Channel (DDC) and Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture (ATCA).
This document assists device and system designers to underst and how the I
and implement a working application. Various operating modes are described. It contains
a comprehensive introduction to the I
arbitration schemes. Detailed sections cover the timing and electrica l specifications for the
2
I
C-bus in each of its operating modes.
Designers of I
that new devices meet all limits specified in this document. Designers of systems that
include I
data sheets.
2. I2C-bus features
In consumer electronics, telecommunications and industrial electronics, there are often
many similarities between seemingly unrelated designs. For example, nearly every
system includes:
• Some intelligent control, usually a single-chip microcontroller
• General-purpose circuits like LCD and LED drivers, remote I/O ports, RAM,
EEPROM, real-time clocks or A/D and D/A converters
• Application-oriented circuits such as digital tuning and signal processing circuits for
radio and video systems, temperature sensors, and smart cards
2
C-bus is used
2
C-bus works
2
C-bus data transfer, handshaking and bus
2
C-compatible chips should use this document as a refe rence and ensure
2
C devices should review this document and also refer to individual component
To exploit these similarities to the benefit of both systems designers and equipment
manufacturers, as well as to maximize hardware efficiency and circuit simplicity, Philips
Semiconductors (now NXP Semiconductors) developed a simple bidirectional 2-wire bus
for efficient inter-IC control. This bus is called the Inter IC or I
compatible devices incorporate an on-chip interface which allows them to communicate
directly with each other via the I
problems encountered when designing digital control circuits.
Here are some of the features of the I
2
C-bus. This design concept solves the many interfacing
2
C-bus:
2
C-bus. All I2C-bus
• Only two bus lines are required; a serial data line (SDA) and a serial clock line (SCL).
• Each device connected to the bus is software addressable by a unique address and
simple master/slave relationships exist at all times; masters can operate as
master-transmitters or as master-receivers.
• It is a true multi-master bus including collision detection and arbitration to prevent data
corruption if two or more masters simultaneously initiate data transfer.
• Serial, 8-bit oriented, bidirectional data transfers can be made at up to 100 kbit/s in
the Standard-mode, up to 400 kbit/s in the Fast-mode, up to 1 Mbit/s in Fast-mode
Plus, or up to 3.4 Mbit/s in the High-speed mode.
• Serial, 8-bit oriented, unidirectional data transfers up to 5 Mbit/s in Ultra Fast-mode
• On-chip filtering rejects spikes on the bus data line to preserve data integrity.
• The number of ICs that can be connected to the same bus is limited only by a
UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
maximum bus capacitance. More capacitance may be allowed under some
conditions. Refer to Section 7.2
.
Figure 1
shows an example of I2C-bus applications.
Fig 1.Example of I2C-bus applications
2.1 Designer benefits
I2C-bus compatible ICs allow a system design to progress rapidly directly from a
functional block diagram to a prototype. Moreover, since they ‘clip’ directly onto the
2
I
modified or upgraded simply by ‘clipping’ or ‘unclipping’ ICs to or from the bus.
Here are some of the features of I
C-bus without any additional external interfacing, they allow a prototype system to be
2
C-bus compatible ICs that are particularly attractive to
designers:
• Functional blocks on the block diagram correspond with the actual ICs; designs
proceed rapidly from block diagram to final schematic.
• Integrated addressing and data-transfer protocol allow systems to be completely
• The same IC types can often be used in many different applications.
• Design-time reduces as designers quickly become familiar with the frequently used
• ICs can be added to or removed from a system without affecting any other circuits on
• Fault diagnosis and debugging are simple; malfunctions can be immediately traced.
• Software development time can be reduced by assembling a library of reusable
In addition to these advantages, the CMOS ICs in the I
designers special features which are particularly attractive for portab le equipment and
battery-backed systems.
They all have:
• Extremely low current consumption
• High noise immunity
• Wide supply voltage range
• Wide operating temperature range.
software-defined.
functional blocks represented by I
the bus.
software modules.
I2C-bus specification and user manual
2
C-bus compatible ICs.
2
C-bus compatible range offer
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2.2 Manufacturer benefits
I2C-bus compatible ICs not only assist designers, they also give a wide range of benefits
to equipment manufacturers because:
• The simple 2-wire serial I
and there are not so many PCB tracks; result — smaller and less expensive PCBs.
• The completely integrated I
and other ‘glue logic’.
• The multi-master capability of the I
end-user equipment via external connections to an assembly line.
• The availability of I
space requirements even more.
These are just some of the benefits. In addition, I
design flexibility by allowing simple construction of equipment variants and easy
upgrading to keep designs up-to-date. In this way, an entire family of equipment can be
developed around a basic model. Upgrades for new equipment, or enhanced-feature
models (that is, extended memory, remote control, etc.) can then be produced simply by
clipping the appropriate ICs onto the bus. If a larger ROM is needed, it is simply a matter
of selecting a microcontroller with a larger ROM from our comprehensive range. As new
ICs supersede older ones, it is easy to add new features to equipment or to increase its
performance by simply unclipping the outdated IC from the bus and clipping on its
successor.
2
C-bus minimizes interconnections so ICs have fewer pins
2
C-bus protocol eliminates the need for address decoder s
2
C-bus allows rapid testing and alignment of
2
C-bus compatible ICs in various leadless packages reduces
Designers of microcontrollers are frequently under pressure to conserve output pins. The
2
I
C protocol allows connection of a wide variety of peripherals without the need for
separate addressing or chip enable signals. Additionally, a microcontroller that includes an
2
I
C interface is more successful in the marketplace due to the wide variety of existing
peripheral devices available.
3. The I2C-bus protocol
3.1 Standard-mode, Fast-mode and Fast-mode Plus I2C-bus protocols
Two wires, serial da ta (SDA) and serial clock (SCL), carry information between the
devices connected to the bus. Each device is recognized by a unique address (whether
it is a microcontroller, LCD driver, memory or keyboard interface) and can operate as
either a transmitter or receiver, depending on the function of the device. An LCD driver
may be only a receiver , whereas a memory can b oth receive and transmit data. In ad dition
to transmitters and receivers, devices can also be considered as masters or slaves when
performing data transfers (see Table 1
transfer on the bus and generates the clock signals to permit that transfer. At that time,
any device addressed is considered a slave.
T able 1.Definition of I2C-bus terminology
TermDescription
Transmitterthe device which sends data to the bus
Receiverthe device which receives data from the bus
Masterthe device which initiates a transfer, generates clock signals and
Slavethe device addressed by a master
Multi-mastermore than one master can attempt to control the bus at the same time
Arbitrationprocedure to ensure that, if more than one master simultaneously tries to
Synchronizationprocedure to synchronize the clock signals of two or more devices
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I2C-bus specification and user manual
). A master is the device which initiates a data
terminates a transfer
without corrupting the message
control the bus, only one is allowed to do so and the winning message is
not corrupted
The I2C-bus is a multi-master bus. This means that more than one device capable of
controlling the bus can be connected to it. As masters are usually microcontrollers, let us
consider the case of a data transfer between two microcontrollers connected to the
Fig 2.Example of an I2C-bus configuration using two microcontrol le rs
This example highlights the master-slave and receiver-transmitter relationships found on
the I
direction of data transfer at that time. The transfer of data would proceed as follows:
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I2C-bus specification and user manual
2
C-bus. Note that these relationships are not permanent, but only depend on the
1. Suppose microcontroller A wants to send information to microcontroller B:
– microcontroller A (master), addresses microcontroller B (slave)
– microcontroller A (master-transmitter), sends data to microcontroller B
(slave-receiver)
– microcontroller A terminates the transfer.
2. If microcontroller A wants to receive information from microcontroller B:
– microcontroller A (master) addresses microcontroller B (slave)
– microcontroller A (master-receiver) receives data from microcontroller B
(slave-transmitter)
– microcontroller A terminates the transfer.
Even in this case, the master (microcontroller A) generates the timing and terminates the
transfer.
2
The possibility of connecting more than one microcontroller to the I
C-bus means that
more than one master could try to initiate a data transfer at the same time. To avoid the
chaos that might ensue from such an event, an arbitration pro cedure has been developed.
This procedure relies on the wired-AND connection of all I
2
C interfaces to the I2C-bus.
If two or more masters try to put information onto the bus, the first to pr oduce a ‘one’ when
the other produces a ‘zero’ loses the arbitration. The clock sign als dur ing ar bitr ation are a
synchronized combination of the clocks generated by the masters using the wired-AND
connection to the SCL line (for more detailed information concerning arbitration see
Section 3.1.8
).
Generation of clock signals on the I
each master generates its own clock signals when transferrin g dat a on the bus. Bus clock
2
C-bus is always the responsibility of master devices;
signals from a master can only be altered when they are stretched by a slow slave device
holding down the clock line or by another master when arbitration occurs.
Table 2
summarizes the use of mandatory and optional portions of the I2C-bus
specification and which system configurations use them.
[1] Also refers to a master acting as a slave.
[2] Clock stretching is a feature of some slaves. If no slaves in a system can stretch the clock (hold SCL LOW),
the master need not be designed to handle this procedure.
[3] ‘Bit banging’ (software emulation) multi-master systems should consider a START byte. See
Section 3.1.15
.
3.1.1SDA and SCL signals
Both SDA and SCL are bidirectional lines, connected to a positive supply voltage via a
current-source or pull-up resistor (see Figure 3
HIGH. The output stages of devices connected to the bus must have an open-drain or
open-collector to perform the wired-AND function. Data on th e I
at rates of up to 100 kbit/s in the Standard-mode, up to 400 kbit/s in the Fast-mode, up to
1 Mbit/s in Fast-mode Plus, or up to 3.4 Mbit/s in the High-speed mode. The bus
capacitance limits the number of interfaces connected to the bus.
For a single master application, the master’s SCL output can be a push-pull driver design
if there are no devices on the bus which would stretch the clock.
Fig 3.Devices with various supply voltages sharing the same bus
are device-dependent (for example, 12 V).
DD3
NXP Semiconductors
mba607
data line
stable;
data valid
change
of data
allowed
SDA
SCL
mba608
SDA
SCL
P
STOP condition
S
START condition
3.1.2SDA and SCL logic levels
UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
Due to the variety of different technology devices (CMOS, NMOS, bipolar) that can be
connected to the I
and depend on the associated level of V
70 % of V
; VIL is 0.3VDD and VIH is 0.7VDD. See Figure 38, timing diagram. Some
DD
legacy device input levels were fixed at V
require this 30 %/70 % specification. See Section 6
3.1.3Data validity
The data on the SDA line must be stable during the HIGH period of the clock. The HIGH
or LOW state of the data line can only change when the clock signal on the SCL line is
LOW (see Figure 4
Fig 4.Bit transfer on the I2C-bus
2
C-bus, the levels of the logical ‘0’ (LOW) and ‘1’ (HIGH) are not fixed
. Input reference levels are set as 30 % and
DD
= 1.5 V and VIH= 3.0 V, but all new devices
IL
for electrical specifications.
). One clock pulse is generated for each data bit transferred.
3.1.4START and STOP conditions
All transactions begin with a START (S) and are terminated by a STOP (P) (see Figure 5).
A HIGH to LOW transition on the SDA line while SCL is HIGH defines a START condition.
A LOW to HIGH transition on the SDA line while SCL is HIGH defines a STOP condition.
Fig 5.START and STOP conditions
START and STOP conditions ar e a lwa ys ge ne ra te d by the m aster. The bus is considered
to be busy after the START condition. The bus is considered to be free again a cert ain
time after the STOP condition. This bus free situation is specified in Section 6
The bus stays busy if a repeated START (Sr) is generated instead of a STOP condition. In
this respect, the ST ART (S) and repeated START (Sr) conditions are functionally identical.
For the remainder of this document, therefore, the S symbol is used as a generic ter m to
represent both the START and repeated START conditions, unless Sr is particularly
relevant.
Detection of START and STOP conditions by devices connected to the bus is easy if they
incorporate the necessary interfacing hardwar e. However, microcontroller s with no such
interface have to sample the SDA line at least twice per clock period to sense the
transition.
3.1.5Byte format
Every byte put on the SDA line must be eight bits long. The number of bytes that can be
transmitted per transfer is unrestricted. Each byte must be followed by an Acknowledge
bit. Data is transferred with the Most Significant Bit (MSB) first (see Figure 6
cannot receive or transmit another complete byte of dat a until it has performed some other
function, for example servicing an internal interrupt, it can hold the clock line SCL LOW to
force the master into a wait state. Data tr ansfer then continue s when th e slave is ready for
another byte of data and releases clock line SCL.
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I2C-bus specification and user manual
). If a slave
Fig 6.Data transfer on the I2C-bus
3.1.6Acknowledge (ACK) and Not Acknowledge (NACK)
The acknowledge takes place after e very byte. The acknowledge bit allows the receiver to
signal the transmitter that the byte was successfully received and another byte may be
sent. The master generates all clock pulses, including the acknowledge ninth clock pulse.
The Acknowledge signal is defined as follows: the transmitter releases the SDA line
during the acknowledge clock pulse so the receiver can pull the SDA line LOW and it
remains stable LOW during the HIGH period of th is clock pulse (see Figure 4
hold times (specified in Section 6
When SDA remains HIGH during this ninth clock pulse, this is defined as the Not
Acknowledge signal. The master can then generate either a STOP condition to abort the
transfer, or a repeated START condition to start a new transfer. There are five conditions
that lead to the generation of a NACK:
1. No receiver is present on the bus with the transmitted address so there is no device to
respond with an acknowledge.
2. The receiver is unable to receive or transmit because it is performing some real-time
function and is not ready to start communication with the master.
3. During the transfer, the receiver gets data or commands that it does not understand.
4. During the transfer, the receiver cannot receive any more data bytes.
5. A master-receiver must signal the end of the transfer to the slave transmitter.
Two masters can begin transmitting on an idle bus at the same time and there must be a
method for deciding which takes control of the bus and complete its transmission. This is
done by clock synchronization and arbitration. In single master systems, clock
synchronization and arbitration are not needed.
Clock synchronization is performed using the wired-AND connection of I
the SCL line. This means that a HIGH to LOW transition on the SCL line causes the
masters concerned to start counting off their LOW period and, once a master clock has
gone LOW, it holds the SCL line in that state until the clock HIGH state is reached (see
Figure 7
transition of this clock may not change the sta te of the SCL line. Th e SCL line is therefore
held LOW by the master with the longest LOW period. Masters with shorter LOW periods
enter a HIGH wait-state during this time.
UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
2
C interfaces to
). However, if another clock is still within its LOW period, the LOW to HIGH
Fig 7.Clock synchronization during the arbitration procedure
When all masters concerned have counted off their LOW period, the clock line is released
and goes HIGH. There is then no difference between the master clocks and the state of
the SCL line, and all the masters start counting their HIGH periods. The first master to
complete its HIGH period pulls the SCL line LOW again.
In this way , a synchronized SCL clock is gene rated with its LOW period determined by the
master with the longest clock LOW period, and its HIGH period determined by the one
with the shortest clock HIGH period.
3.1.8Arbitration
Arbitration, like synchronization, refe rs to a portio n of th e pr ot oco l req u ire d on ly if mo re
than one master is used in the system. Slaves are not involved in the arbitration
procedure. A master may start a transfer only if the bus is free. Two masters may
generate a START condition within the minimum hold tim e (t
condition which results in a valid START condition on the bus. Arbitration is then required
to determine which master will complete its transmission.
Arbitration proceeds bit by bit. During every bit, while SCL is HIGH, each master checks to
see if the SDA level matches what it has sent. This process may take many bits. Two
masters can actually complete an entire transaction without error, as long as the
transmissions are identical. The first time a master tries to send a HIGH, but detects that
the SDA level is LOW, the master knows that it has lost the arbitration and turns off its
SDA output driver. The othe r master goes on to complete its transaction.
No information is lost during the arbitration process. A master that loses the arbitration
can generate clock pulses until the end of the byte in which it loses the arbitration and
must restart its transaction when the bus is idle.
If a master also incorporates a slave function and it loses arbitration during the addressing
stage, it is possible that the winning master is trying to address it. The losing maste r must
therefore switch over immediately to its slave mode.
UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
Figure 8
shows the arbitration procedure for two masters. More may be involved
depending on how many masters are connected to the bus. The moment there is a
difference between the internal data level of the master generating DATA1 and the actual
level on the SDA line, the DATA1 output is switched off. This does not affect the data
transfer initiated by the winning master.
Fig 8.Arbitration procedure of two masters
Since control of the I2C-bus is decided solely on the address and data sen t by competing
masters, there is no central master, nor any order of priority on the bus.
There is an undefined condition if the arbitration procedure is still in progress at the
moment when one master sends a repeated START or a STOP condition while the other
master is still sending data. In other words, the following combinations result in an
undefined condition:
• Master 1 sends a repeated START condition and master 2 sends a data bit.
• Master 1 sends a STOP condition and master 2 sends a data bit.
• Master 1 sends a repeated START condition and master 2 sends a STOP condition.
Clock stretching pauses a transaction by holding the SCL line LOW. The transaction
cannot continue until the line is released HIGH again. Clock stretching is optional and in
fact, most slave devices do not include an SCL driver so they are unable to stretch the
clock.
On the byte level, a device may be able to receive bytes of data at a fast rate, but needs
more time to store a received byte or prepare another byte to be transmitted. Slaves can
then hold the SCL line LOW after reception and acknowledgment of a byte to force the
master into a wait state until the slave is ready for the next byte transfer in a type of
handshake procedure (see Figure 7
On the bit level, a device such as a microcontroller with or without limited har dware for the
2
C-bus, can slow down the bus clock by extending each clock LOW period. The speed of
I
any master is adapted to the internal operating rate of this device.
UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
).
In Hs-mode, this handshake feature can only be used on byte level (see Section 5.3.2
3.1.10The slave address and R/W bit
Data transfers follow the format shown in Figure 9. After the START condition (S), a slave
address is sent. This address is seven bits long followed by an eighth bit which is a data
direction bit (R/W
request for data (READ) (refer to Figure 10
STOP condition (P) generated by the master. However, if a master still wishes to
communicate on the bus, it can generate a repeated START condition (Sr) and address
another slave without first generating a STOP condition. Various combinations of
read/write formats are then possible within such a transfer.
) — a ‘zero’ indicates a transmission (WRITE), a ‘one’ indicates a
• Master-transmitter transmits to slave-receiver. The transfer direction is not changed
• Master reads slave immediately after first byte (see Figure 12). At the moment of the
• Combined format (see Figure 13). During a change of direction within a transfer, the
Notes:
1. Combined formats can be used, for example, to control a serial memory. The internal
2. All decisions on auto-increment or decrement of previously accessed memory
3. Each byte is followed by an acknowledgment bit as indicated by the A or A
4. I
5. A START condition immediately followed by a STOP condition (void message) is an
6. Each device connected to the bus is addressable by a unique address. Normally a
UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
(see Figure 11
first acknowledge, the master-transmitter becomes a master-receiver and the
slave-receiver becomes a slave-transmitter. This first acknowledge is still generated
by the slave. The master generates subsequent acknowledges. The STOP condition
is generated by the master , which sends a not-acknowledge ( A
condition.
START condition and the slave address are both repeated, but with the R/W
reversed. If a master-receiver sends a repeated START condition, it sends a
not-acknowledge (A
memory location must be written during the first data byte. After the START condition
and slave address is repeated, data can be transferred.
locations, etc., are taken by the designer of the device.
the sequence.
2
C-bus compatible devices must reset their bus logic on receipt of a START or
repeated START condition such that they all anticipate the sending of a slave
address, even if these START conditions are not positioned according to the proper
format.
illegal format. Many devices however are designed to operate properly under this
condition.
simple master/slave relationship exists, but it is possible to have multiple identical
slaves that can receive and respond simultaneously, for example in a group
broadcast. This technique works best when using bus switching devices like the
PCA9546A where all four channels are on and identical devices are con figured a t the
same time, understanding that it is impossible to determine that each slave
acknowledges, and then turn on one channel at a time to read back each individual
device’s configuration to confirm the programming. Refer to individual component
data sheets.
A = acknowledge (SDA LOW)
A = not acknowledge (SDA HIGH)
S = START condition
P = STOP condition
R/W
from master to slave
from slave to master
DATADATAASLAVE ADDRESSSP
mbc606
A
(read)
data transferred
(n bytes + acknowledge)
R/WA1PDATADATASLAVE ADDRESSSA
mbc607
DATAAR/W
read or write
A/A
DATAAR/W
(n bytes
+ ack.)
*
direction of transfer
may change at this
point.
read or write
(n bytes
+ ack.)
*
Sr = repeated START condition
A/A
*
not shaded because
transfer direction of
data and acknowledge bits
depends on R/W bits.
SLAVE ADDRESSSSrPSLAVE ADDRESS
Fig 11. A maste r-tran smitter addressing a slave receiver with a 7-bit address
UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
(the transfer direction is not changed)
Fig 12. A master reads a slave immediately after the first byte
Fig 13. Combined format
3.1.11 10-bit addressing
10-bit addressing expands the number of possible addresses. Devices with 7-bit and
10-bit addresses can be connected to the same I
addressing can be used in all bus speed modes. Currently, 10-bit addressing is not being
widely used.
The 10-bit slave address is formed from the first two bytes following a START condition
(S) or a repeated START condition (Sr).
2
C-bus, and both 7-bit and 10-bit
The first seven bits of the first byte are the combination 11 11 0XX of which the last two bits
(XX) are the two Most-Significant Bits (MSB) of the 10-bit address; the eighth bit of the
first byte is the R/W
Although there are eight possible combina tions of the reserved address bits 1111 XXX,
only the four combinations 1111 0XX are used for 10-bit addressing. The remaining four
combinations 1111 1XX are reserved for future I
bit that determines the direction of the messag e.
2
C-bus enhancements.
NXP Semiconductors
mbc613
R/W
A1
(write)
A2
A
A/A
1 1 1 1 0 X X0
SLAVE ADDRESS
1st 7 BITS
SDATAPDATA
SLAVE ADDRESS
2nd BYTE
mbc614
R/W A1
(write)
A3 DATADATAA2R/W
(read)
1 1 1 1 0 X X01 1 1 1 0 X X1
A
APSr
SLAVE ADDRESS
1st 7 BITS
SLAVE ADDRESS
2nd BYTE
SLAVE ADDRESS
1st 7 BITS
S
All combinations of read/write formats prev iously described for 7-bit addressing are
possible with 10-bit addressing. Two are detailed here:
• Master-transmitter transmits to slave-receiver with a 10-bit slave address.
• Master-receiver reads slave-transmitter with a 10-bit slave address.
UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
The transfer direction is not changed (see Figure 14
a START condition, each slave compares the first seven bits of the first byte of the
slave address (1111 0XX) with its own address and tests if the eighth bit (R/W
direction bit) is 0. It is possible that more than one device finds a match and generate
an acknowledge (A1). All slaves that found a match compare the eight bits of the
second byte of the slave address (XXXX XXXX) with their own addresse s, but only
one slave finds a match and generates an acknowledge (A2). The matching slave
remains addressed by the master until it receive s a ST OP co nditio n (P) o r a repe ated
START condition (Sr) followed by a different slave address.
The transfer direction is changed after the second R/W
including acknowledge bit A2, the procedure is the same as that described for a
master-transmitter addressing a slave-receiver. After the repeated START condition
(Sr), a matching slave remembers that it was addressed before. This slave then
checks if the first seven bits of the first byte of the slave address following Sr are the
same as they were after the START condition (S), and tests if the eighth (R/W
If there is a match, the slave considers that it has been addressed as a transmitter
and generates acknowledge A3. The slave-transmitter remains addressed until it
receives a STOP condition (P) or until it receives another repeated START condition
(Sr) followed by a different slave address. After a repeated START condition (Sr), all
the other slave devices will also compare the first seven bits of the first byte of the
slave address (1111 0XX) with their own addresses and test the eighth (R/W
However, none of them will be addressed because R/W
1111 0XX slave address (for 7-bit devices) does not match.
). When a 10-bit address follows
bit (Figure 15). Up to and
) bit is 1.
) bit.
= 1 (for 10-bit devices), or the
Fig 14. A master-transmitter addresses a slave-receiver with a 10-bit address
Fig 15. A master-receiver addresses a slave-transmitter with a 10-bit address
Slave devices with 10-bit addressing react to a ‘general call’ in the same way as slave
devices with 7-bit addressing. Hardware masters can transmit their 10-bit address after a
‘general call’. In this case, the ‘general call’ address byte is followed by two successive
bytes containing the 10-bit address of the master-transmitter. The format is as shown in
Figure 15
where the first DATA byte contains the eight least-significant bits of the master
The START byte 0000 0001 (01h) can precede the 10-bit addressing in the same way as
for 7-bit addressing (see Section 3.1.15
3.1.12Reserved addresses
Two groups of eight addresses (0000 XXX and 1111 XXX) are reserved for the purposes
shown in Table 3
Table 3.Reserved addresses
X = don’t care; 1 = HIGH; 0 = LOW.
Slave addressR/W bitDescription
0000 0000general call address
0000 0001START byte
0000 001XCBUS address
0000 010Xreserved for different bus format
0000 011Xreserved for future purposes
0000 1XXXHs-mode master code
11111XXXreserved for future purposes
1111 0XXX10-bit slave addressing
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I2C-bus specification and user manual
).
.
[1]
[2]
[3]
[4]
[1] The general call address is used for several functions including software reset.
[2] No device is allowed to acknowledge at the reception of the START byte.
[3] The CBUS address has been reserved to enable the inter-mixing of CBUS compatible and I
compatible devices in the same system. I
reception of this address.
[4] The address reserved for a different bus format is included to enable I
2
C-bus compatible devices that can work with such formats and protocols are allowed to respond to
Only I
this address.
Assignment of addresses within a local system is up to the system architect who must
take into account the devices being used on the bus and any future interaction with other
conventional I
2
C-buses. For example, a device with seven user-assignable address pins
allows all 128 addresses to be assigned. If it is known that the reserved address is never
going to be used for its intended purpose, a reserved addre ss can be used for a slave
address.
2
C-bus committee coordinates allocation of I2C addresses. Further information can
The I
be obtained from the NXP web site www.nxp.com/i2c
3.1.13General call address
The general call address is for addressing every device connected to the I2C-bus at the
same time. However, if a device does not need any of the data supplied within the general
call structure, it can ignore this address by not issuing an acknowledgment. If a device
does require data from a general call address, it acknowledges this address and behave
as a slave-receiver. The master does not actually know how many devices acknowledged
if one or more devices respond. The second and following bytes are acknowledged by
every slave-receiver capable of handling this data. A slave who cannot process one of
these bytes must ignore it by not-acknowledging. Again, if one or more slaves
acknowledge, the not-acknowledge will not be seen by the master. The meaning of the
general call address is always specified in the second byte (see Figure 16
2
2
C-bus compatible devices are not allowed to respond on
When bit B is a ‘zero’, the second byte has the following definition:
• 0000 0110 (06h): Reset and write programmable part of slave address by
• 0000 0100 (04h): Write programmable part of slave address by hardware.
• 0000 0000 (00h): This code is not allowed to be used as the second byte.
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I2C-bus specification and user manual
hardware. On receiving this 2-byte sequence, all devices designed to respond to the
general call address reset and take in the programmable p art of their address.
Precautions must be taken to ensure that a device is not pulling down the SDA or SCL
line after applying the supply voltage, since these low levels would block the bus.
Behaves as above, but the device does not reset.
Sequences of programming procedur e are pu blished in the appropriate device data
sheets. The remaining codes have not been fixed and devices must ignore them.
When bit B is a ‘one’, the 2-byte sequence is a ‘hardware general call’. This means that
the sequence is transmitted by a hardware master device, such as a keyboard scanner,
which can be programmed to transmit a desired slave address. Since a hardware master
does not know in advance to which device the message has to be transferred, it can only
generate this hardware general call and its own addre ss — ide ntifying itself to the system
(see Figure 17
Fig 17. Data transfer from a hardware master-transmitter
).
The seven bits remaining in the second byte contain the address of the hardware ma ste r.
This address is recognized by an intelligent device (for example, a microcontroller)
connected to the bus which then accepts the information fr om the hardware master. If the
hardware master can also act as a slave, the slave address is identical to the master
address.
AR/WSPSLAVE ADDR. H/W MASTERDUMP ADDR. FOR H/W MASTER X
002aac886
R/W
write
A
A
(n bytes + ack.)
A/A
SPDUMP ADDR. FROM H/W MASTERDATADATA
In some systems, an alternative could be that the hardware master transmitter is set in the
slave-receiver mode after the system reset. In this way, a system configuring master can
tell the hardware master-transmitter (which is now in slave-receiver mo de) to which
address data must be sent (see Figure 18
hardware master remains in the master-transmitter mode.
Fig 18. Data transfer by a hardware-transmitter capable of dumping data directly to slave
UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
). After this programming procedure, the
a. Configuring master sends dump address to hardware master
b. Hardware master dumps data to selected slave
devices
3.1.14Software reset
Following a General Call, (0000 0000), sending 0000 0110 (06h) as the second byte
causes a software reset. This feature is optional and not all devices respond to this
command. On receiving this 2-byte sequence, all devices designed to respond to the
general call address reset and take in the programmable part of their address.
Precautions must be taken to ensure that a device is not pulling down the SDA or SCL line
after applying the supply voltage, since these low levels would block the bus.
3.1.15START byte
Microcontrollers can be connected to the I2C-bus in two ways. A microcontroller with an
on-chip hardware I
from the bus. When the device does not have such an interface, it must constantly monitor
the bus via software. Obviously, the more times the microcontroller monitors, or polls the
bus, the less time it can spend carrying out its intended function.
There is therefore a speed dif ference between fast hardware devices and a relatively slow
microcontroller which relies on software polling.
In this case, data transfer can be preceded by a start procedure wh ich is much longer than
normal (see Figure 19
• A START condition (S)
• A START byte (0000 0001)
• An acknowledge clock pulse (ACK)
• A repeated START condition (Sr).
2
C-bus interface can be programmed to be only interrupted by r equests
After the ST AR T condition S has been transmitted by a master which requires bus access,
the ST AR T byte (0 000 0001) is transmitted. Another microcontroller can therefor e sample
the SDA line at a low sampling rate until one of the seven zeros in the START byte is
detected. After detection of this LOW level on the SDA line, the microcontroller can switch
to a higher sampling rate to find the repeated START condition Sr which is then used for
synchronization.
A hardware receiver resets upon receipt of the repeated START condition Sr and
therefore ignores the START byte.
An acknowledge-related clock pulse is generated after the START byte. This is present
only to conform with the byte handling format used on the bus. No device is allowed to
acknowledge the START byte.
3.1.16Bus clear
SDA
SCL
dummy
acknowledge
(HIGH)
7
S
START byte 0000 0001
9821
NACK
Sr
002aac997
In the unlikely event where the clock (SCL) is stuck LOW, the preferential procedure is to
reset the bus using the HW reset signal if your I
2
I
C devices do not have HW reset inputs, cycle power to the devices to activate the
mandatory internal Power-On Reset (POR) circuit.
If the data line (SDA) is stuck LOW , the master should send nine cloc k pulses. The device
that held the bus LOW should release it sometime within those nine clocks. If not, then
use the HW reset or cycle power to clear the bus.
3.1.17Device ID
The Device ID field (see Figure 20) is an optional 3-byte read-only (24 bits) word giving
the following information:
• Twelve bit s with the manufacturer na me, unique per m anu factu rer ( for exam ple, NXP)
• Nine bits with the part identification, assigned by manufacturer (for example,
PCA9698)
• Three bits with the die revision, assigned by manufacturer (for example, RevX)