Bi-directional voltage level translator meets network and server requirements

Diodes Incorporated announced a new addition to its family of low voltage level translators, offering simple and autonomous bidirectional operation. The PI4GTL2002 is a 2-bit level shifter designed to translate signals conditioned for one voltage level to signals at a higher or lower voltage, such as gunner transceiver logic (GTL) or GTL+ to LVTTL/TTL. As leading processor manufacturers continue to include GTL+ interfaces in their products, the need for high performance level translators is increasing in applications such as server/data centers and networking. The PI4GTL2002 meets that demand with the added benefit of not imposing the need for directional control.

The open-drain design of the PI4GTL2002 means the device can translate voltage levels in either direction without incurring the design complexity or performance penalty of a dedicated direction control signal. The device operates in either direction, shifting between 0.8V and 5V (CMOS), with less than 1.5ns propagation delay between inputs and outputs. As such, the PI4GTL2002 can support a number of use cases, including standard and fast mode I2C.

The NMOS-based pass transistors in the design use a common gate to enable bidirectional operation, with reference voltages for each of the two signals. This enables the design team to apply a different voltage to either side of the device, allowing voltage translation between signals ranging from 0.8V to 5V.

The pin-out of the PI4GTL2002 follows a convenient flow-through design, making PCB layout simpler. A low input and output capacitance keeps the propagation delay low, while the device also features an on-resistance of just 3.5Ω to minimize signal distortion.

The PI4GTL2002UEX is available in the U-QFN package and priced at $0.41 each in 3000 piece quantities. The PI4GTL2002 is also available in the W-QFN package (PI4GTL2002WEX) and the XT-QFN (PI4GTL2002XTEX) package.