I2C Isolators First To Go Bidirectional Route

Heralded as the industry's first bidirectional I2C isolators, the ADuM125x family isolates I2C buses in industrial, networking and power supply applications. Based on the company's iCoupler chip-scale micro-transformer technology, the devices reduce board space by as much as 80% by eliminating the optocouplers and support circuitry usually required in isolated I2C interfaces. The ADuM1250 and ADuM1251 provide 2.5 kV of isolation across bidirectional I2C lines in single, narrow-body 8-lead SOIC packages. Both incorporate a hot-swap interface to prevent data corruption when an un-powered card finds its way onto an active bus. The ADuM-1250 provides two bidirectional channels for a complete interface, while the ADuM1251 offers one bidirectional channel and one unidirectional channel. Both devices operate at speeds up to 400 Kb/s and are compatible with SMBus and PMBus protocols. Sampling now with production marked for October, prices for the ADuM1250 and ADuM1251 are $3.38 and $3.05 each/1,000, respectively. ANALOG DEVICES, INC., Norwood, MA. (800) 426-2564.