Eyeing potentially lucrative applications in hybrid-electric vehicle (HEV) designs, Analog Devices has unveiled automotive-grade I² C isolators to attack traditional bidirectional isolation issues on the popular bus.

The ADuM1250W hot swappable, dual I² C digital isolator eliminates optocouplers and support circuitry previously required in isolated I² C interfaces.

HEV and automotive applications require that controllers or peripherals be isolated from the bus to avoid interference or harmful voltage levels. Designers do this using optocouplers, but the approach increases the cost and complexity of the I² C interface. The unidirectional optocouplers must be accommodated by separating each of the two bidirectional I² C channels into two unidirectional channels.

The ADuM1250W uses ADI’s iCoupler technology, which employs chip-scale transformers, rather than on the LEDs and photodiodes found in optocouplers.

Key features :

• AEC-Q100 qualified, 125°C operation, supports the quality and reliability requirements of automotive applications
• Small surface mount 8-lead SOIC package saves up to 80% board space
• True bi-directional isolated data paths eliminate the need for buffers and other external components
• 1MHz operation provides ample bandwidth to operate with high performance peripherals and devices
• 3.0- to 5.5-V supply/logic levels enables flexible operation and level shifting •
  

Datasheet : http://www.analog.com/static/imported-files/data_sheets/ADUM1250_1251.pdf

Pricing and availability :