Silicon Laboratories Si8600ISO, Si8605ISO, Si8655ISO, Si8621ISO, Si8663ISO User Manual

Si86xxISO-EVB UG

Si86XXISO EVALUATION BOARD USER’S GUIDE

1. Introduction

The Si86xxISO evaluation board allows designers to evaluate Silicon Lab's family of CMOS ultra-low-power
isolators. These isolators are CMOS devices employing RF coupler technology to transmit digital information
across an isolation barrier. Very high speed operation at low power levels is achieved. These products are based
on Silicon Laboratories’ proprietary RF isolation technology and offer shorter propagation delays, lower power
consumption, improved noise immunity, smaller installed size, and more stable operation with temperature and age
versus opto couplers. The Si861x/2x/3x/4x/5x/6x include up to six unidirectional isolated channels, permitting data
transmission up to 150 Mbps. The Si860x isolator series consists of single-package galvanic isolation solutions for

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C, SMBus, and PMBus serial port applications. For more information, refer to the respective family data sheets.

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A summary of the benefits provided by the Silicon Laboratories Si86xx CMOS Digital Isolator family includes:

 Si86xx Digital Isolators

5.0 kV, 3.75 kV, and 1.0 kV isolation ratings
UL, CSA, and VDE certifications
DC to 150 Mbps
2.5 to 5.5 V VDD supply range
Fail-safe operating mode(s)
–40 to 125 °C temperature range
10 ns max propagation delay
<1.5 mA/channel @ 1 Mbps
<1.5 ns pulse width distortion
Very low EMI
Up to 50 V/m electric field immunity
>1000 A/m magnetic field immunity
>30 kV/µs CMTI
4 kV HBM ESD immunity

 Si860x I

Bidirectional SDA and SCL
1.7 Mbps
35 mA open drain I/O
3 to 5.5 V VDD supply range

 Packaging and Isolation Rating Options

WB SOIC-16 (5 kV)
NB SOIC-16 (3.75 kV)
NB SOIC-8 (3.75 kV)
QSOP-16 (1 kV)
RoHS compliant

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C-Compatible Bidirectional Isolators

Rev. 0.2 2/11 Copyright © 2011 by Silicon Laboratories Si86xxISO-EVB UG

Si86xxISO-EVB UG

2. Kit Contents

The Si86xxISO Evaluation Kit contains the following items:

 Si86xxISO based evaluation board (Si86xxISO-EVB) shown in Figure 1.
 Si8600, Si8605, Si8621, Si8655, and Si8663 CMOS digital isolators installed on the evaluation board

Figure 1. Si86xxISO Evaluation Board Overview

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Si86xxISO-EVB UG

3. Hardware Overview and Setup

The Si86xxISO evaluation board is populated with the following isolators:

 Si8600 (2-channel I

 Si8605 (2-channel digital isolator, 2-channel I
 Si8621 (2-channel digital isolator, one forward, one reverse)
 Si8455 (5-channel digital isolator, five forward)
 Si8663 (6-channel digital isolator, three forward, three reverse)

The board is designed to be powered from two separate supplies (2.5–5.5 V, 500 mA) that power all the isolators
on the board. VDD1,GND1 and VDD2,GND2 power the 5 kV isolators. VDD3,GND3 and VDD4,GND4 power the 1
and 2.5 kV isolators. Supplies as low as 2.5 V can be used. If a user wants to evaluate an isolator other than the
ones populated, this can be accomplished by removing the footprint-compatible device installed on the evaluation
board and replacing it with the desired isolator device. Figure 2 provides a silkscreen overview of the board.

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C isolator)

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C isolator)

Figure 2. Si86xxISO Evaluation Board Silkscreen

Rev. 0.2 3

Si86xxISO-EVB UG

3.1. Digital Isolator Considerations

The Si86xxISO evaluation board (see Figure 1) provides a means of evaluating the Si861x,2x,3x,4x,5x,6x digital
isolator families as well as the Si8600 isolated I
connect a digital input signal (5 Vpeak max, with desired clock frequency up to 150 Mbps) to the desired input
channel. To view the isolated channel’s data transmission, connect a scope probe to the output channel of interest.
There are various inputs and outputs on either side of the board depending on the device one chooses to evaluate,
as indicated by the silk screen. The board can be used to measure propagation delay, pulse-width distortion,
channel-channel matching, pulse-width skew, and various other parameters.

The nominal output impedance of an isolator driver channel is approximately 50 , ±40%, which is a combination
of the values of the on-chip series termination resistor and the channel resistance of the output driver FET. When
driving loads where transmission line effects are a factor, output pins should be terminated with 50  controlled
impedance PCB traces.

Figure 3 illustrates the Si8621 transmitting a 500 kHz (3 Vpeak) signal through the Si8621. VDD1 and VDD2 were
powered from 3 V. Channel 1 illustrates the input, and Channel 2 illustrates the output.

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C family. After power (2.5–5 V) has been supplied to the board,

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Figure 3. 500 kHz (5 V Peak) Signal