Z8 Microcontrollers
I/O Ports
ZiLOG
5-32
UM001600-Z8X0599
Auto Latch Model:
The Auto Latch’s equivalent circuit is shown in Figure 5-39.
When the input is high, the circuit consists of a resistance
Rp from V
DD
(the P-channel transistor in its ON state) and
a much greater resistance Rh to G
ND
. Current Iao flows
from V
DD
to the output. When the input is low, the circuit
may be modeled as a resistance Rp from G
ND
(the N-chan-
nel transistor in the ON state) and a much greater resis-
tance Rh to V
DD
. Current Iao now flows from the input to
ground. The Auto Latch is characterized with respect to
Iao, so the equivalent resistance Rp is calculated accord-
ing to R
P
= (V
DD
-VIN)/I
AO
. The worst case equivalent resis-
tance Rp (min) may be calculated at the worst case input
voltage, V
I
= V
IH
(min).
Design Considerations:
For circuits in which the Auto Latch is active, consideration
should be given to the loading constraints of the Auto
Latches. For example, with weak values of V
IN
, close to
Vih (min) or Vil
(max), pullup or pull-down resistances must
be calculated using Ref = R/Rp. For best case STOP
mode operation, the inputs should be within 200 mV of the
supply rails.
In output mode, if a port bit is forced into a tri-state condi-
tion, the Auto Latches will force the pad to V
DD
. If there is
an external pulldown resistor on the pin, the voltage at the
pin may not switch to GND due to the Auto Latch. As
shown in Figure 5-40, the equivalent resistance of the Auto
Latch and the external pulldown form a voltage divider,
and if the external resistor is large, the voltage developed
across it will exceed Vil(max). For worst case:
V
(max > V
DD
[Rext/(Rext+Rp)]
Rext(max) = [(Vil(max)/V
DD
)Rp]/[1-(Vil(max)/V
DD
)]
For V
DD
= 5.0V and Iao = 5 uA we have Vih(max) =0.8V:
R
EXT
(max) = (0.16/1M)/(1–0.16) = 190 K ohms.
Rp increases rapidly with V
DD
, so increased V
DD
will relax
the requirement on Rext.
In summary, the CMOS Z8 Auto Latch inhibits excessive
current drain in Z8 devices by latching an open input to ei-
ther V
DD
or GND. The effect of the Auto Latch on the I/O
characteristics of the device may be modeled by a current
Iao and a resistor Rp, whose value is V
DD
/Iao.
Figure 5-39. Auto Latch Equivalent Circuit
V
DD
Data in
PIN
Logic 1
A0
PIN
V
DD
R
P
R
H
R
H
R
P
Data in
Logic 0
A0
Figure 5-40. Effect of Pulldown Resistors on
Auto Latches
V
LO
V
IH
(min.)
R
P
R
EXT