NXP Semiconductors SC18IS601IPW,112

Overview

SC18IS601IPW,112 from NXP Semiconductors is an SPI-to-I²C bridge IC that enables a microcontroller's SPI interface to control I²C-bus slave devices. It operates as a single-master I²C controller with 400 kbit/s I²C speed, 1.2 Mbit/s SPI (Mode 3), and integrated 96-byte TX/RX buffers. Used in embedded systems where legacy SPI hosts must interface with I²C sensors or EEPROMs.

For engineers reviewing the SC18IS601IPW,112 datasheet, SC18IS601IPW,112 pinout, SC18IS601IPW,112 application, or SC18IS601IPW,112 equivalent, key selection criteria include its TSSOP16 package, 2.4–3.6 V supply, 5 V-tolerant I/O pins, power-down mode with WAKEUP/IO4, and interrupt-driven transaction completion via active-low INT.

Technical Context

The SC18IS601IPW,112 implements a dedicated hardware I²C-bus controller with full protocol handling-including arbitration, START/STOP generation, ACK/NACK management, and clock stretching-offloading timing-critical tasks from the host MCU. Its internal RC oscillator runs at 7.3728 MHz (±1% at 25 °C) and feeds both SPI and I²C timing logic.

It supports four programmable GPIOs (GPIO0–GPIO3), two fixed quasi-bidirectional I/Os (IO4/WAKEUP and IO5), and provides register-level control over I/O configuration (quasi-bidirectional, push-pull, open-drain, input-only), I²C clock rate (via I2CClk register), and time-out behavior (I2CTO register with 57.6 kHz time-out oscillator).

Key Specifications

Pinout & Package

TSSOP16 package (SOT403-1), 4.4 mm body width, 0.65 mm pitch, surface-mount. Pinout validated per NXP SC18IS600 datasheet Rev. 8 (2019).

Key Features

Applications

Equivalent & Alternatives

The following parts are listed as comparable options for similar SPI-to-I²C bridge applications.

Compared with PCA9306DC,118 and MAX7357ATL+, the SC18IS601IPW,112 uniquely delivers full hardware-accelerated SPI-to-I²C protocol translation with autonomous bus control, making it irreplaceable in resource-constrained or timing-critical SPI-only host designs.

Availability

SC18IS601IPW,112 is available at Aetrix Electronics and suitable for industrial sensor hubs, smart meter communication modules, and medical diagnostic device interfaces requiring stable component supply and long-term lifecycle support.

Supply support for SC18IS601IPW,112 includes scheduled delivery planning, volume procurement assistance, BOM continuity management, traceable sourcing, and lifecycle availability coordination for OEM customers, industrial embedded developers, connected-device designers, and electronics production programs.

Manufacturer

NXP Semiconductors is a global semiconductor company specializing in secure connectivity solutions for automotive, industrial, and IoT applications.

The SC18IS601IPW,112 belongs to NXP's interface bridge product line, designed specifically to simplify connectivity between legacy or resource-limited SPI hosts and standard I²C peripherals in space- and power-constrained embedded systems.

FAQ

What is the primary function of the SC18IS601IPW,112?

The SC18IS601IPW,112 is a dedicated SPI-to-I²C bridge IC that enables an SPI master (e.g., microcontroller) to communicate with I²C slave devices without requiring I²C hardware on the host. It handles all I²C protocol details-including arbitration, clock stretching, and START/STOP generation-while operating as a slave on the SPI bus. The SC18IS601IPW,112 relieves the host MCU from bit-banging I²C timing and ensures robust, deterministic communication.

Does the SC18IS601IPW,112 support multiple I²C slave addresses?

Yes, the SC18IS601IPW,112 supports dynamic I²C slave addressing via its I2CAdr register (address 0x05), which stores the device's own 7-bit I²C address. This allows the SC18IS601IPW,112 to be assigned a unique address on the I²C bus-critical when multiple bridge ICs share the same bus. The register's least significant bit is unused but must be written as '0'; the SC18IS601IPW,112 ignores the R/W bit sent by the host during address transmission.

How does the SC18IS601IPW,112 handle I²C bus errors such as NACK or timeout?

The SC18IS601IPW,112 reports I²C transaction status-including NACK (slave address or data byte not acknowledged) and timeout-in its I2CStat register (address 0x04). Upon error detection, it asserts the active-low INT pin and sets corresponding status bits (e.g., 0xF1 for address NACK, 0xF8 for timeout). The host reads I2CStat to determine the exact condition and take corrective action. The SC18IS601IPW,112 does not auto-retry; error recovery is managed by host firmware.

Can the GPIO pins on the SC18IS601IPW,112 be used during I²C transactions?

Yes, all four programmable GPIOs (GPIO0–GPIO3) and the two quasi-bidirectional I/Os (IO4/WAKEUP and IO5) operate independently of ongoing I²C or SPI activity. Their states are controlled via the IOConfig and IOState registers and remain stable during I²C transfers. This allows simultaneous use-for example, driving an LED indicator or reading a button-while the SC18IS601IPW,112 manages background I²C sensor polling without host intervention.

What is the role of the internal RC oscillator in the SC18IS601IPW,112?

The internal RC oscillator in the SC18IS601IPW,112 runs at 7.3728 MHz (±1% at 25 °C) and serves as the timing reference for both the SPI slave interface and the I²C-bus controller. It eliminates the need for an external crystal or clock source, reducing component count and board space. The oscillator also drives the 57.6 kHz time-out counter, ensuring consistent timeout behavior across temperature and voltage variations. The SC18IS601IPW,112 does not accept external clock input on CLKIN (n.c. pin).