i3c

I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) is one of the most commonly used serial bus for interfacing sensors and other chips, and use two signals (Clock and Data) to control up to 128 chips thanks to its 7-bi address scheme [Update: That’s the theory, as in practice it’s limited to a dozen devices max. due to capacitive load, see comments]. After announcing it was working of a new I3C standard in 2014, the MIPI Alliance has now formally introduced the MIPI I3C (Improved Inter Integrated Circuit) Standardized Sensor Interface, a backward compatible update to I2C with lower power consumption, and higher bitrate allowing it to be used for applications typically relying on SPI too. I3C offers four data transfer modes that, on maximum base clock of 12.5MHz, provide a raw bitrate of 12.5 Mbps in the baseline SDR default mode, and 25, 27.5 and 39.5 Mbps, respectively in the HDR modes. After excluding […]