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2006 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS22003B-page 21
MCP3421
6.0
BASIC APPLICATION
CONFIGURATION
The MCP3421 device can be used for various precision
analog-to-digital converter applications. The device
operates with very simple connections to the
application circuit. The following sections discuss the
examples of the device connections and applications.
6.1
Connecting to the Application
Circuits
6.1.1
INPUT VOLTAGE RANGE
The fully differential input signals can be connected to
the VIN+ and VIN- input pins. The input range should be
within absolute common mode input voltage range:
VSS - 0.3V to VDD + 0.3V. Outside this limit, the ESD
protection diode at the input pin begins to conduct and
the error due to input leakage current increases rapidly.
Within this limit, the differential input VIN (= VIN+-VIN-)
is boosted by the PGA before a conversion takes place.
The MCP3421 can not accept negative input voltages
on the input pins. Figur
es 6-1 an
d 6-2 show typical con-
nection examples for differential inputs and a single-
ended input, respectively. For the single-ended input,
the input signal is applied to one of the input pins
(typically connected to the VIN+ pin) while the other
input pin (typically VIN- pin) is grounded. The input
signal range of the single-ended configuration is from
0V to 2.048V. All device characteristics hold for the
single-ended configuration, but this configuration loses
one bit resolution because the input can only stand in
6.1.2
BYPASS CAPACITORS ON VDD PIN
For accurate measurement, the application circuit
needs a clean supply voltage and must block any noise
example of using two bypass capacitors (a 10 F
tantalum capacitor and a 0.1 F ceramic capacitor) in
parallel on the VDD line. These capacitors are helpful to
filter out any high frequency noises on the VDD line and
also provide the momentary bursts of extra currents
when the device needs from the supply. These
capacitors should be placed as close to the VDD pin as
possible (within one inch). If the application circuit has
separate digital and analog power supplies, the VDD
and VSS of the MCP3421 should reside on the analog
plane.
6.1.3
CONNECTING TO I2C BUS USING
PULL-UP RESISTORS
The SCL and SDA pins of the MCP3421 are open-drain
configurations. These pins require a pull-up resistor as
shown in
Figure 6-1. The value of these pull-up resis-
tors depends on the operating speed (standard, fast,
and high speed) and loading capacitance of the I2C bus
line. Higher value of pull-up resistor consumes less
power, but increases the signal transition time (higher
RC time constant) on the bus. Therefore, it can limit the
bus operating speed. The lower value of resistor, on the
other hand, consumes higher power, but allows higher
operating speed. If the bus line has higher capacitance
due to long bus line or high number of devices
connected to the bus, a smaller pull-up resistor is
needed to compensate the long RC time constant. The
pull-up resistor is typically chosen between 1 k
Ω and
10 k
Ω ranges for standard and fast modes, and less
than 1 k
Ω for high speed mode in high loading
capacitance environments.
FIGURE 6-1:
Typical Connection Example
for Differential Inputs.
FIGURE 6-2:
Typical Connection Example
for Single-Ended Input.
The number of devices connected to the bus is limited
only by the maximum bus capacitance of 400 pF. The
bus loading capacitance affects on the bus operating
speed. For example, the highest bus operating speed
for the 400 pF bus capacitance is 1.7 MHz, and
3.4 MHz for 100 pF.
Figure 6-3 shows an example of
multiple device connections.
MCP3421
VIN+
VIN-
VDD
VSS
1
2
3
4
5
6
SCL
SDL
10 F
0.1 F
R
Input Signals
VDD
TO MCU
(MASTER)
Note: R is the pull-up resistor.
MCP3421
VIN+
VIN-
VDD
VSS
1
2
3
4
5
6
SCL
SDL
10 F
0.1 F
R
Input Signals
VDD
TO MCU
(MASTER)
Note: R is the pull-up resistor.