The I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) Bus is a two-wire, low to medium speed, communication bus (a path for electronic signals) developed by Philips Semiconductors in the early 1980s. I2C was created to reduce the manufacturing costs of electronic products.
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I2C Specification and Devices
The I2C (Inter-Integrated Circuit) Bus is a two-wire, low to medium speed, communication bus (a path for
electronic signals) developed by Philips Semiconductors in the early 1980s. I2C was created to reduce the
manufacturing costs of electronic products. It provides a low-cost, but powerful, chip-to-chip
communication link within these products. Initial applications for I2C included volume and contrast control
in radios and televisions. Over the past decade, I2C has expanded its communications role to include a wide
range of applications. Today, I2C can be found in a wide variety of computer, industrial, entertainment,
medical, and military systems, with almost unlimited growth potential.
2. UM10204
I2C-bus specification and user manual
Rev. 03 — 19 June 2007 User manual
Document information
Info Content
Keywords I2C, I2C-bus, Standard-mode, Fast-mode, Fast-mode Plus, Fm+, High Speed,
Hs, inter-IC, SDA, SCL
Abstract Philips Semiconductors (now NXP Semiconductors) developed a simple
bidirectional 2-wire bus for efficient inter-IC control. This bus is called the
Inter-IC or I2C-bus. Only two bus lines are required: a serial data line (SDA)
and a serial clock line (SCL). Serial, 8-bit oriented, bidirectional data transfers
can be made at up to 100 kbit/s in the Standard-mode, up to 400 kbit/s in the
Fast-mode, up to 1 Mbit/s in the Fast-mode Plus (Fm+), or up to 3.4 Mbit/s in
the High-speed mode.