SN74TVC16222A Datasheet, PDF (5/15 Pages) Texas Instruments – 22-BIT VOLTAGE CLAMP

SN74TVC16222A
22ĆBIT VOLTAGE CLAMP
SCDS087G − APRIL 1999 − REVISED APRIL 2005
APPLICATION INFORMATION
TVC background information
In personal computer (PC) architecture, there are industry-accepted bus standards. These standards define,
among other things, the I/O voltage levels at which the bus communicates. Examples include the GTL+ host
bus, the AGP graphics port, and the PCI local bus. In new designs, the system components must communicate
with existing bus infrastructure. Providing an evolutionary upgrade path is important in the design of PC
architecture, but the existing bus standards must be preserved.
To achieve the ever-present need for smaller, faster, lighter devices that draw less power, yet have faster
performance, most new high-performance digital integrated circuits are designed and produced with advanced
submicron semiconductor process technologies. These devices have thin gate-oxide or short channel lengths
and very low absolute-maximum voltages that can be tolerated at the inputs/outputs (I/Os) without causing
damage. In many cases, the I/Os of these devices are not tolerant of the high-state voltage levels on the
preexisting buses with which they must communicate. Therefore, it became necessary to protect the I/Os of
devices by limiting the I/O voltages.
The Texas Instruments (TI) translation voltage-clamp (TVC) family is designed specifically for protecting
sensitive I/Os (see Figure 2). The information in this data sheet describes the I/O-protection application of the
TVC family and should enable the design engineer to successfully implement an I/O-protection circuit utilizing
the TI TVC solution.
Low-Voltage
I/O Device
TVC Family
Voltage-Clamp
Device
Standard-Voltage
I/O Bus
Figure 2. Thin Gate-Oxide Protection Application
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