Believed to be the industry’s first, automotive-compliant, dual power rail I2C bus GPIO expanders, the 16-bit PI4IOE5V6416Q and 34-bit PI4IOE5V6534Q bi-directional voltage-level translation expanders are AEC-Q100 Grade 2 qualified. They provide enhanced programmable I/O for low voltage microprocessors and microcontrollers via the I2C interface.

They are for use when additional I/O is needed with minimum interconnection, for example, in ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems), telematics, and infotainment. Removing the need for an external voltage-level translator simplifies the design of these systems, and reduces BoM cost.

Both devices operate from 1.65 to 5.5V on the GPIO port side. On the I2C interface (SCL/SDA side), the PI4IOE5V6416Q operates from 1.65 to 5.5V and the PI4IOE5V6534Q from 0.8 to 3.6V. The dual power rail allows the devices to interface with next-generation low-power microchips on the clock and data lines.

Standby current consumption is low - 1.5µA at 5V and 1µA at 3.3V for the PI4IOE5V6416Q and 2µA at 3.3V for the PI4IOE5V6434Q.

GPIO is configurable, and each port features a programmable pull-up or -down resistor and a programmable output current. Diodes says that, unlike many I/O expanders, the PI4IOE5V6416Q and PI4IOE5V6534Q provide programmable open-drain outputs as part of the enhanced I/O features. Both expanders have an interrupt masking feature, enabling the designer to mask the interrupt from an individual GPIO port and initiate a system-level action.

The 16-bit PI4IOE5V6416Q is packaged in a 24-pin TSSOP, and 34-bit PI4IOE5V6534Q is available in the W-QFN4565-46 package. Both devices support PPAP documentation and are manufactured in IATF 16949 certified facilities.