MCP3461/2/4
Two/Four/Eight-Channel, 153.6 ksps, Low Noise,
16-Bit Delta-Sigma ADC
Features
General Description
• One/Two/Four Differential or Two/Four/Eight
Single-Ended Input Channels
• 16-Bit Resolution
• Programmable Data Rate: Up to 153.6 ksps
• Programmable Gain: 0.33x to 64x
• 97.2 dB SINAD, -116 dBc THD, 120 dBc SFDR
(Gain = 1x, 4800 SPS)
• Low-Temperature Drift:
- Offset error drift: 4/Gain nV/°C (AZ_MUX = 1)
- Gain error drift: 0.5 ppm/°C (Gain = 1x)
• Low Noise: 3.2 µVRMS (Gain = 16x, 9600 SPS)
• RMS Effective Resolution: 15.5 Bits Minimum (All
gains, all OSR combinations)
• Wide Input Voltage Range: 0V to AVDD
• Differential Voltage Reference Inputs
• Internal Oscillator or External Clock Selection
• Ultra-Low Full Shutdown Current Consumption
(< 5 µA)
• Internal Temperature Sensor
• Burnout Current Sources for Sensor Open/Short
Detection
• 16-Bit Digital Offset and Gain Error Calibration
Registers
• Internal Conversions Sequencer (SCAN Mode)
for Automatic Multiplexing
• Dedicated IRQ Pin for Easy Synchronization
• Advanced Security Features:
- 16-bit CRC for secure SPI communications
- 16-bit CRC and IRQ for securing
configuration
- Register map lock with 8-bit secure key
- Monitor controls for system diagnostics
• 20 MHz SPI-Compatible Interface with Mode 0,0
and 1,1
• AVDD: 2.7V-3.6V
• DVDD: 1.8V-3.6V
• Extended Temperature Range: -40°C to +125°C
• Package: 3 mm x 3 mm 20-Lead UQFN and
6.5 mm x 4.4 mm x 1 mm 20-Lead TSSOP
The MCP3461/2/4 devices are 1/2/4-channel, 16-bit
Delta-Sigma Analog-to-Digital Converters (ADCs) with
programmable data rate of up to 153.6 ksps. They offer
integrated features, such as internal oscillator,
temperature sensor and burnout sensor detection, in
order to reduce system component count and total
solution cost.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
The MCP3461/2/4 ADCs are fully configurable with
Oversampling Ratio (OSR) from 32 to 98304 and gain
from 1/3x to 64x. These devices include an internal
sequencer (SCAN mode) with multiple monitor
channels and a 24-bit timer to be able to automatically
create conversion loop sequences without needing
MCU communications. Advanced security features,
such as CRC and register map lock, can ensure configuration locking and integrity, as well as communication
data integrity for secure environments.
These devices come with a 20 MHz SPI-compatible
serial interface. Communication is largely simplified
with 8-bit commands, including various continuous
Read/Write modes and 16/32-bit multiple data formats
that can be accessed by the Direct Memory Access
(DMA) of an 8-bit, 16-bit or 32-bit MCU.
The MCP3461/2/4 devices are available in a leaded
20-lead TSSOP package, as well as in an ultra-small
3 mm x 3 mm 20-lead UQFN package and are
specified over an extended temperature range, from
-40°C to +125°C.
Applications
• Precision Sensor Transducers and Transmitters:
Pressure, Strain, Flow and Force Measurement
• Factory Automation and Process Controls
• Portable Instrumentation
• Temperature Measurements
DS20006180D-page 1
MCP3461/2/4
Package Types
Package Type for All Devices: 20-Lead UQFN (3 mm x 3 mm)*
MCLK
DGND
DVDD
AVDD
AGND
A. MCP3461: Single Channel Device
20 19 18 17 16
REFIN- 1
15 IRQ/MDAT
REFIN+ 2
14 SDO
EP
21
CH0 3
CH1 4
13 SDI
12 SCK
NC 5
11 CS
NC
NC
NC
NC
DVDD
DGND
MCLK
9 10
NC
8
AVDD
7
AGND
6
B. MCP3462: Dual Channel Device
20 19 18 17 16
REFIN- 1
15 IRQ/MDAT
REFIN+ 2
14 SDO
EP
21
CH0 3
CH1 4
13 SDI
12 SCK
CH2 5
6
7
8
CH3
NC
NC
NC
NC
AGND
AVDD
DVDD
DGND
MCLK
11 CS
9 10
C. MCP3464: Quad Channel Device
20 19 18 17 16
REFIN- 1
15 IRQ/MDAT
REFIN+ 2
14 SDO
EP
21
CH0 3
CH1 4
13 SDI
12 SCK
CH2 5
8
9 10
CH6
CH7
7
CH5
CH3
6
CH4
11 CS
*Includes Exposed Thermal Pad (EP); see Table 3-1.
DS20006180D-page 2
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
Package Types
Package Types for All Devices: 20-Lead TSSOP (6.5 mm x 4.4 mm x 1 mm)
A. MCP3461: Single Channel Device
AVDD
1
20
DVDD
AGND
2
19
DGND
REFIN-
3
18
MCLKIN
REFIN+
4
17
IRQ/MDAT
CH0
5
16
SDO
CH1
6
15
SDI
NC
7
14
SCK
NC
8
13
CS
NC
9
12
NC
NC
10
11
NC
AVDD
1
20
DVDD
AGND
2
19
DGND
B. MCP3462: Dual Channel Device
REFIN-
3
18
MCLKIN
REFIN+
4
17
IRQ/MDAT
CH0
5
16
SDO
CH1
6
15
SDI
CH2
7
14
SCK
CH3
8
13
CS
NC
9
12
NC
NC
10
11
NC
AVDD
1
20
DVDD
AGND
2
19
DGND
C. MCP3464: Quad Channel Device
Note:
REFIN-
3
18
MCLKIN
REFIN+
4
17
IRQ/MDAT
CH0
5
16
SDO
CH1
6
15
SDI
CH2
7
14
SCK
CH3
8
13
CS
CH4
9
12
CH7
CH5
10
11
CH6
NC is a Not Connected pin. The NC pin is recommended to be tied to AGND for a better susceptibility
to electromagnetic fields.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 3
MCP3461/2/4
Block Diagram of MCP3461/2/4 Devices
AVDD
REFIN+
DVDD
AMCLK
MCLK
DMCLK/DRCLK
REFIN-
Clock
Generation
(RC Oscillator)
IRQ/MDAT
VREF- VREF+
DMCLK
CH0
VIN+
+
CH1
VIN-
CH2
MCP3462/3464
Only
CH3
Analog
Differential
Multiplexer
CH4
CH5
MCP3464 Only
¨—Ȉ 2nd Order
Modulator
with Analog Gain
OSR[3:0]
PRE[1:0]
+
x
SINC3 Filter with
Digital Gain
SINC1
Filter
Offset/Gain
Calibration
SDO
Digital SPI
Interface
and Control
SDI
SCK
CS
¨—Ȉ A/D Converter
CH6
CH7
Burnout
Current
Sources
TEMP
Diodes
DS20006180D-page 4
AGND
AVDD
POR
AVDD
Monitoring
AGND
ANALOG
POR
DVDD
Monitoring
DIGITAL
DGND
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
1.0
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS
1.1
Electrical Specifications
Absolute Maximum Ratings(†)
DVDD, AVDD ......................................................................................................................................................-0.3 to 4.0V
Digital Inputs and Outputs w.r.t. DGND ............................................................................................ -0.3V to DVDD + 0.3V
Analog Inputs w.r.t. AGND .................................................................................................................-0.3V to AVDD + 0.3V
Current at Input Pins ..............................................................................................................................................±5 mA
Current at Output and Supply Pins ...................................................................................................................... ±20 mA
Storage Temperature .............................................................................................................................. -65°C to +150°C
Ambient Temperature with Power Applied .............................................................................................. -65°C to +125°C
Soldering Temperature of Leads (10 seconds) ..................................................................................................... +300°C
Maximum Junction Temperature (TJ) ........................................................................................... .........................+150°C
ESD on the Analog Inputs (HBM) 6.0 kV
ESD on All Other Pins (HBM) 6.0 kV
† Notice: Stresses above those listed under “Absolute Maximum Ratings” may cause permanent damage to the
device. This is a stress rating only and functional operation of the device at those or any other conditions, above
those indicated in the operational listings of this specification, is not implied. Exposure to maximum rating conditions
for extended periods may affect device reliability.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 5
MCP3461/2/4
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Electrical Specifications: Unless otherwise indicated, all parameters apply at AVDD = 2.7V to 3.6V,
DVDD = 1.8V to AVDD + 0.1V, MCLK = 4.9152 MHz, VREF = AVDD, ADC_MODE[1:0] = 11. All other register map bits to their
default conditions. TA = -40°C to +125°C, VIN = -0.5 dBFS at 50 Hz.
Parameter
Sym.
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Units
Operating Voltage, Analog
AVDD
2.7
Operating Voltage, Digital
DVDD
1.8
Operating Current, Analog
AIDD
Test Conditions
—
3.6
V
—
AVDD + 0.1
V
—
0.56
0.81
mA
BOOST[1:0] = 00, 0.5x
—
0.69
0.96
mA
BOOST[1:0] = 01, 0.66x
—
0.93
1.3
mA
BOOST[1:0] = 10, 1x
Supply Requirements
DVDD ≤ 3.6V
—
1.65
2.2
mA
BOOST[1:0] = 11, 2x
Operating Current, Digital
DIDD
—
0.25
0.37
mA
Note 8
Analog Partial Shutdown
Current
AIDDS_PS
—
—
22
µA
Digital Partial Shutdown
Current
DIDDS_PS
—
—
158
µA
Analog Full Shutdown
Current
AIDDS_FS
—
—
0.83
µA
CONFIG0 = 0x00,
TA = +105°C,
MCLK input in Idle mode
(Note 2)
Analog Full Shutdown
Current
AIDDS_FS
—
—
1.1
µA
CONFIG0 = 0x00,
TA = +125°C,
MCLK input in Idle mode
Digital Full Shutdown
Current
DIDDS_FS
—
—
2.4
µA
CONFIG0 = 0x00,
TA = +105°C,
MCLK input in Idle mode
(Note 2)
Digital Full Shutdown
Current
DIDDS_FS
—
—
5
µA
CONFIG0 = 0x00,
TA = +125°C,
MCLK input in Idle mode
VPOR_A
—
1.75
—
V
For analog circuits
For digital circuits
Power-on Reset Threshold
Voltage
VPOR_D
—
1.2
—
V
POR Hysteresis
VPOR_HYS
—
150
—
mV
POR Reset Time
tPOR
—
1
—
µs
Note 1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
This parameter is ensured by design and not 100% tested.
This parameter is ensured by characterization and not 100% tested.
REFIN- should be connected to ground for single-ended measurements.
Full Scale Range (FSR) = 2 * VREF/GAIN.
This input impedance is due to the internal input sampling capacitor and frequency. This impedance is measured
between the two input pins of the channel selected with the input multiplexer.
Applies to all analog gains. Offset and gain errors depend on gain settings. See Section 2.0 “Typical
Performance Curves”.
INL is the difference between the endpoints line and the measured code at the center of the quantization band.
DIDD is measured while no transfer is present on the SPI bus.
DS20006180D-page 6
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS (CONTINUED)
Electrical Specifications: Unless otherwise indicated, all parameters apply at AVDD = 2.7V to 3.6V,
DVDD = 1.8V to AVDD + 0.1V, MCLK = 4.9152 MHz, VREF = AVDD, ADC_MODE[1:0] = 11. All other register map bits to their
default conditions. TA = -40°C to +125°C, VIN = -0.5 dBFS at 50 Hz.
Parameter
Sym.
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Units
Test Conditions
Input Voltage at Input Pin
CHN
AGND – 0.1
—
AVDD + 0.1
V
Analog inputs are measured
with respect to AGND
Differential Input Range
VIN
-VREF/GAIN
—
+VREF/GAIN
V
Differential Input
Impedance (Note 5)
ZIN
—
510
—
k
GAIN = 0.33x, proportional
to 1/AMCLK
—
260
—
k
GAIN = 1x, proportional to
1/AMCLK
—
150
—
k
GAIN = 2x, proportional to
1/AMCLK
—
80
—
k
GAIN = 4x, proportional to
1/AMCLK
—
40
—
k
GAIN = 8x, proportional to
1/AMCLK
—
20
—
k
GAIN ≥ 16x, proportional to
1/AMCLK
—
±10
—
nA
Analog Inputs
Analog Input Leakage
Current During ADC
Shutdown
ILI_A
External Voltage Reference Input
Reference Voltage Range
(VREF+ – VREF-)
VREF
0.6
—
AVDD
V
External Noninverting Input
Voltage Reference
VREF+
VREF- + 0.6
—
AVDD
V
External Inverting Input
Voltage Reference
VREF-
AGND
—
VREF+ – 0.6
V
Resolution
16
—
—
Bits
Note 1
µV
AZ_MUX = 0 (Note 6)
DC Performance
No Missing Code
Resolution
Offset Error
VOS
Offset Error Temperature
Coefficient
Gain Error
Gain Error
Temperature Coefficient
Note 1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
VOS_DRIFT
-900/GAIN
—
900/GAIN
-(0.05 + 0.8/
GAIN)
—
(0.05 + 0.8/
GAIN)
—
70/GAIN
300/GAIN
nV/°C
AZ_MUX = 0 (Notes 2, 6)
—
4/GAIN
16/GAIN
—
AZ_MUX = 1 (Notes 2, 6)
%
Note 6
AZ_MUX = 1 (Notes 2, 6)
GE
-3
—
+3
GE_DRIFT
—
0.5
2
1
4
GAIN: 8x (Note 2)
2
8
GAIN: 0.33x, 16x (Note 2)
ppm/oC GAIN: 1x, 2x, 4x (Note 2)
This parameter is ensured by design and not 100% tested.
This parameter is ensured by characterization and not 100% tested.
REFIN- should be connected to ground for single-ended measurements.
Full Scale Range (FSR) = 2 * VREF/GAIN.
This input impedance is due to the internal input sampling capacitor and frequency. This impedance is measured
between the two input pins of the channel selected with the input multiplexer.
Applies to all analog gains. Offset and gain errors depend on gain settings. See Section 2.0 “Typical
Performance Curves”.
INL is the difference between the endpoints line and the measured code at the center of the quantization band.
DIDD is measured while no transfer is present on the SPI bus.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 7
MCP3461/2/4
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS (CONTINUED)
Electrical Specifications: Unless otherwise indicated, all parameters apply at AVDD = 2.7V to 3.6V,
DVDD = 1.8V to AVDD + 0.1V, MCLK = 4.9152 MHz, VREF = AVDD, ADC_MODE[1:0] = 11. All other register map bits to their
default conditions. TA = -40°C to +125°C, VIN = -0.5 dBFS at 50 Hz.
Parameter
Integral Nonlinearity
(Note 7)
Sym.
Min.
Typ.
Max.
INL
-10
—
+10
Units
Test Conditions
ppm FSR GAIN = 0.33 (Note 2)
-7
—
+7
GAIN = 1 (Note 2)
-7
—
+7
GAIN = 2 (Note 2)
10
—
+10
GAIN = 4 (Note 2)
-20
—
+20
GAIN = 8 (Note 2)
-32
—
+32
GAIN = 16 (Note 2)
—
-76 – 20 * LOG
(GAIN)
—
dB
AVDD varies from 2.7V to
3.6V, VIN = 0V
—
-110
—
dB
DVDD varies from 1.8V to
3.6V, VIN = 0V
DC CMRR
—
-126
—
dB
VINCOM varies from 0V to
AVDD, VIN = 0V
SINAD
96.9
97.2
—
dB
AVDD = DVDD = VREF = 3.3V
and TA = +25°C (Note 2)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio
SNR
97
97.3
—
dBc
AVDD = DVDD = VREF = 3.3V
and TA = +25°C (Note 2)
Total Harmonic Distortion
THD
—
-116
-110
dB
AVDD = DVDD = VREF = 3.3V
and TA = +25°C. Includes the
first 10 harmonics (Note 2)
Spurious-Free Dynamic
Range
SFDR
110
120
—
dBc
AVDD = DVDD = VREF = 3.3V
and TA = +25°C (Note 2)
Input Channel Crosstalk
CTALK
—
-130
—
dB
VIN = 0V, perturbation = 0 dB
at 50 Hz, applies for all
perturbation channels and
all input channels
AC Power Supply
Rejection Ratio
AC PSRR
—
-75 – 20 * LOG
(GAIN)
—
dB
VIN = 0V, DVDD = 3.3V,
AVDD = 3.3V + 0.3 VP at
50 Hz
AC Common-Mode
Rejection Ratio
AC CMRR
—
-122
—
dB
VINCOM = 0 dB at 50 Hz,
VIN = 0V
AVDD Power Supply
Rejection Ratio
DC PSRR
DVDD Power Supply
Rejection Ratio
DC Common-Mode
Rejection
AC Performance
Signal-to-Noise and
Distortion Ratio
ADC Timing Parameters
Sampling Frequency
DMCLK
See Table 5-6
MHz
See Figure 4-1
Output Data Rate
DRCLK
See Table 5-6
ksps
See Figure 4-1
Data Conversion Time
TCONV
See Table 5-6
ms
See Figure 4-1
Note 1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
This parameter is ensured by design and not 100% tested.
This parameter is ensured by characterization and not 100% tested.
REFIN- should be connected to ground for single-ended measurements.
Full Scale Range (FSR) = 2 * VREF/GAIN.
This input impedance is due to the internal input sampling capacitor and frequency. This impedance is measured
between the two input pins of the channel selected with the input multiplexer.
Applies to all analog gains. Offset and gain errors depend on gain settings. See Section 2.0 “Typical
Performance Curves”.
INL is the difference between the endpoints line and the measured code at the center of the quantization band.
DIDD is measured while no transfer is present on the SPI bus.
DS20006180D-page 8
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS (CONTINUED)
Electrical Specifications: Unless otherwise indicated, all parameters apply at AVDD = 2.7V to 3.6V,
DVDD = 1.8V to AVDD + 0.1V, MCLK = 4.9152 MHz, VREF = AVDD, ADC_MODE[1:0] = 11. All other register map bits to their
default conditions. TA = -40°C to +125°C, VIN = -0.5 dBFS at 50 Hz.
Parameter
Sym.
Min.
Typ.
Max.
TADC_SETUP
—
256
—
DMCLK ADC_MODE[1:0] = change
periods from ‘0x’ to ‘1x’
—
0
—
DMCLK ADC_MODE[1:0] = change
periods from ‘10’ to ‘11’
TSTP
—
1
—
DMCLK
periods
TDLY_SCAN
0
—
512
TTIMER_SCAN
0
—
16777215
Data Ready Pulse Low
Time
TDRL
—
—
OSR-16
DMCLK See Figure 5-15
periods
Data Ready Pulse High
Time
TDRH
16
—
—
DMCLK See Figure 5-15
periods
Data Transfer Time to DR
(Data Ready)
tDODR
—
—
50
ns
tDOMDAT
—
—
100
ns
2.7V ≤ DVDD ≤ 3.6V
200
ns
1.8V ≤ DVDD ≤ 2.7V
ADC Start-up Delay
Conversion Start Pulse
Low Time
Scan Mode Time Delays
Modulator Output Valid from
AMCLK High
Units
Test Conditions
DMCLK Time delay between
periods sampling channels
DMCLK Time interval between
periods scan cycles
External Master Clock Input (CLK_SEL[1] = 0)
Master Clock,
Input Frequency Range
fMCLK_EXT
Master Clock Input Duty
Cycle
1
—
20
MHz
DVDD ≥ 2.7V
1
—
10
MHz
DVDD < 2.7V
fMCLK_DUTY
45
—
55
%
fMCLK_INT
3.3
—
6.6
MHz
tOSC_STARTUP
—
10
—
µs
CLK_SEL[1] changes from
‘0’ to ‘1’, time to stabilize the
clock frequency to ±1 kHz of
the final value
IDDOSC
—
30
—
µA
Should be added to DIDD
when CLK_SEL[1:0] = 1x
TACC
—
±5
—
°C
See Section 5.1.2
Internal Clock Oscillator
Internal Master Clock
Frequency
Internal Oscillator
Start-up Time
Internal Oscillator Current
Consumption
CLK_SEL[1] = 1
Internal Temperature Sensor
Temperature Measurement
Accuracy
“Internal Temperature
Sensor” for accuracy
calculation
Note 1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
8:
This parameter is ensured by design and not 100% tested.
This parameter is ensured by characterization and not 100% tested.
REFIN- should be connected to ground for single-ended measurements.
Full Scale Range (FSR) = 2 * VREF/GAIN.
This input impedance is due to the internal input sampling capacitor and frequency. This impedance is measured
between the two input pins of the channel selected with the input multiplexer.
Applies to all analog gains. Offset and gain errors depend on gain settings. See Section 2.0 “Typical
Performance Curves”.
INL is the difference between the endpoints line and the measured code at the center of the quantization band.
DIDD is measured while no transfer is present on the SPI bus.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 9
MCP3461/2/4
TEMPERATURE CHARACTERISTICS(1)
Electrical Specifications: Unless otherwise specified, all parameters apply for TA = -40°C to +125°C,
AVDD = 2.7V to 3.6V, DVDD = 1.8V to AVDD + 0.1V, DGND = AGND = 0V.
Parameters
Sym.
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Units
Specified Temperature
Range
TA
-40
—
+125
°C
Operating Temperature
Range
TA
-40
—
+125
°C
Storage Temperature Range
TA
-65
—
+150
°C
Thermal Resistance,
20-Lead TSSOP
JA
—
44
—
°C/W
Thermal Resistance,
20-Lead UQFN
JA
—
50
—
°C/W
Conditions
Temperature Ranges
Thermal Package Resistance
Note 1:
The internal Junction Temperature (TJ) must not exceed the absolute maximum specification of +150°C.
TABLE 1-1:
SPI SERIAL INTERFACE TIMING SPECIFICATIONS FOR DVDD = 2.7V TO 3.6V
Electrical Specifications: DVDD = 2.7V to 3.6V, TA = -40°C to +125°C, CLOAD = 30 pF. See Figure 1-1.
Parameters
Symbol
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Units
Serial Clock Frequency
fSCK
—
—
20
MHz
CS Setup Time
tCSS
25
—
—
ns
CS Hold Time
tCSH
50
—
—
ns
CS Disable Time
tCSD
50
—
—
ns
Data Setup Time
tSU
5
—
—
ns
Data Hold Time
tHD
10
—
—
ns
Serial Clock High Time
tHI
20
—
—
ns
Serial Clock Low Time
tLO
20
—
—
ns
Serial Clock Delay Time
tCLD
50
—
—
ns
Serial Clock Enable Time
tCLE
50
—
—
ns
Output Valid from SCK Low
tDO
—
—
25
ns
Conditions
Output Hold Time
tHO
0
—
—
ns
Output Disable Time
tDIS
—
—
25
ns
Measured with 1.5 mA pull-up
current source on SDO pin
POR IRQ Disable Time
tCSIRQ
—
—
52
ns
Measured with 1.5 mA pull-up
current source on IRQ pin
Output Valid from CS Low
tCSSDO
—
—
25
ns
SDO toggles to logic low at
each communication start (CS
falling edge)
DS20006180D-page 10
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
TABLE 1-2:
SPI SERIAL INTERFACE TIMING SPECIFICATIONS FOR DVDD = 1.8V TO 2.7V
(10 MHz MAXIMUM SCK FREQUENCY)
Electrical Specifications: DVDD = 1.8V to 2.7V, TA = -40°C to +125°C, CLOAD = 30 pF. See Figure 1-1.
Parameters
Serial Clock Frequency
Sym.
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Units
fSCK
—
—
10
MHz
Conditions
CS Setup Time
tCSS
50
—
—
ns
CS Hold Time
tCSH
100
—
—
ns
CS Disable Time
tCSD
100
—
—
ns
Data Setup Time
tSU
10
—
—
ns
Data Hold Time
tHD
20
—
—
ns
Serial Clock High Time
tHI
40
—
—
ns
Serial Clock Low Time
tLO
40
—
—
ns
Serial Clock Delay Time
tCLD
100
—
—
ns
Serial Clock Enable Time
tCLE
100
—
—
ns
Output Valid from SCK Low
tDO
—
—
50
ns
Output Hold Time
tHO
0
—
—
ns
Output Disable Time
tDIS
—
—
50
ns
Measured with 1.5 mA pull-up
current source on SDO pin
POR IRQ Disable Time
tCSIRQ
—
—
60
ns
Measured with 1.5 mA pull-up
current source on IRQ pin
Output Valid From CS Low
tCSSDO
—
—
50
ns
SDO toggles to logic low at
each communication start (CS
falling edge)
TABLE 1-3:
DIGITAL I/O DC SPECIFICATIONS
Electrical Specifications: Unless otherwise indicated, all parameters apply at DVDD = 1.8V to 3.6V, TA = -40°C to +125°C.
Parameters
Sym.
Min.
Typ.
Max.
Units
Schmitt Trigger High-Level
Input Voltage
VIH
0.7 * DVDD
—
—
V
Schmitt Trigger Low-Level
Input Voltage
VIL
—
—
0.3 * DVDD
V
VHYS
—
200
—
mV
0.2 * DVDD
Hysteresis of Schmitt
Trigger Inputs
Low-Level Output Voltage
VOL
—
—
High-Level Output Voltage
VOH
0.8 * DVDD
—
Input Leakage Current
ILI_D
—
—
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
1
Conditions
V
IOL = +1.5 mA
V
IOH = -1.5 mA
µA
Pins configured as inputs or
high-impedance outputs
DS20006180D-page 11
MCP3461/2/4
FIGURE 1-1:
DS20006180D-page 12
Serial Output Timing Diagram.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
2.0
TYPICAL PERFORMANCE CURVES
Note:
The graphs and tables provided following this note are a statistical summary based on a limited number of
samples and are provided for informational purposes only. The performance characteristics listed herein
are not tested or guaranteed. In some graphs or tables, the data presented may be outside the specified
operating range (e.g., outside specified power supply range) and therefore outside the warranted range.
Note: Unless otherwise indicated, AVDD = 3.3V, DVDD = 3.3V, TA = +25°C, MCLK = 4.9152 MHz, VIN = -0.5 dBFS at
50 Hz, VREF = AVDD, ADC_MODE = 11. All other registers are set to default value. Histogram ticks are centered at their
bin center.
6
VIN = -0.5 dBFS @ 50 Hz
FFT 16384 samples
-20
Integral Non-Linearity (ppm of 2*VREF)
Output Amplitude (dBFS)
0
-40
-60
-80
-100
-120
-140
-160
-180
0
500
FIGURE 2-1:
Input).
1000
1500
Frequency (Hz)
2000
0
-2
-4
-6
-100
Intrinsic Noise (ppm of 2*VREF)
VIN = -0.5 dBFS @ 1 kHz
FFT 16384 samples
-50
0
50
Differential Input Voltage (% of VREF)
-40
5
AVDD=VREF=2.7V, -40°C
AVDD=VREF=2.7V, +125°C
AVDD=VREF=3.6V, -40°C
AVDD=VREF=3.6V, +125°C
Gain = 1x
Intrinsic noise means before
16-bit Rounding/quantization
4
3.5
-60
-80
3
2.5
-100
-120
100
INL vs. Input Voltage.
4.5
2
1.5
-140
1
0.5
-160
-180
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
0
-100
Frequency (Hz)
FIGURE 2-2:
Input).
50000
40000
30000
20000
100
Output Noise vs. Input
20
Maximum INL (ppm of 2*VREF)
60000
-50
0
50
Differential Input Voltage (% of VREF)
FIGURE 2-5:
Voltage.
Output Spectrum (1 kHz
70000
Occurrence (Counts)
AVDD=VREF=2.7V, -40°C
AVDD=VREF=2.7V, +125°C
AVDD=VREF=3.6V, -40°C
AVDD=VREF=3.6V, +125°C
Gain = 1x
FIGURE 2-4:
0
Output Amplitude (dBFS)
2
2500
Output Spectrum (50 Hz
-20
4
VIN = 0V
CONV_MODE[1:0] = 11
64000 samples
Bin size = 1 LSE
Histograms may show up
to 2 bins equally
distributed if offset is close
to a round LSE value
(Intrinsic noise 512), the thermal noise is largely dominant and
increases proportionally to the square root of the absolute
temperature. The performance on the following tables
has been measured with AVDD = DVDD = VREF = 3.3V
and with the device placed in Continuous Conversion
mode, with the differential input voltage equal to
VIN = 0V, default conditions for the register map and
MCLK = 4.9152 MHz.
The noise performance is also a function of the
measurement duration. For short duration measurements (low number of consecutive samples), the
peak-to-peak noise is usually reduced because the
crest factor (ratio between the RMS noise and
peak-to-peak noise) is reduced. This is only a
consequence of the noise distribution being Gaussian
by nature (see Figure 2-3 for noise histogram example
and fitting with an ideal Gaussian distribution). The
noise specifications have been measured with a
sample size of 16384 samples for low OSR values and
have been capped to approximately 80 seconds for the
16384 samples, leading to a larger duration. The noise
specifications are expressed in two different values
which lead to the same quantity. It may be more
practical to choose one of these representations
depending on the desired application.
In Table 2-1, the RMS (Root Mean Square) noise is the
variance of the ADC output code, expressed in µVRMS
and input referred with Equation 5-5. The peak-to-peak
noise values are under parentheses. The peak-to-peak
noise is the difference between the maximum and minimum code observed during the complete time of the
measurement (see Equation 5-5).
In Table 2-2, the noise is expressed in Effective
Resolution (ER). The Effective Resolution is a ratio of
the full-scale range of the ADC (that depends on VREF
and GAIN) and the noise performance of the device.
The Effective Resolution can be determined from the
RMS or peak-to-peak noise with the following
equations.
DS20006180D-page 20
EQUATION 2-1:
2 V REF
In ------------------------------------------------------
GAIN RMS Noise ER RMS = ---------------------------------------------------------------In 2
EQUATION 2-2:
2 V REF
In ---------------------------------------------------------------------
GAIN Peak-to-Peak Noise ER pk – pk = ------------------------------------------------------------------------------In 2
Due to the nature of the noise, the performance
detailed in the noise tables can vary significantly from
one measurement to another. They present an
averaging of the performance over a large distribution
of parts over multiple lots. They give the typical expectation of the noise performance, but performance can
be better or worse if a limited number of measurements
is performed. For large GAIN and OSR combinations,
if the noise performance is comparable to the quantization step (1 LSb), the performance is limited to 0.5 LSb
for the RMS noise and 1 LSb for the peak-to-peak
noise (same limits for Effective Resolution values).
These figures correspond to the resolution limit of the
device as peak-to-peak noise cannot be better than
1 LSb.
Similarly, if the intrinsic RMS noise of the device is
much smaller than 0.5 LSb, it may lead to histogram
with either one or two bins depending on the relative
position of the input voltage versus the possible
quantized outputs of the ADC. If the position is exactly
in between two quantization steps, the histogram of
output noise will have two bins with exactly 50%
occurrence on each. This case gives an RMS noise of
a 0.5 LSb value, which is therefore used as a cap of the
performance for the sake of clarity and a better
representation on the noise tables.
The noise specifications are improved by a ratio of
approximately √2 (or 0.5-bit Effective Resolution) when
the AZ_MUX setting is enabled. However, the output
data rate is significantly reduced (see Figure 5-5 and
Table 5-6).
The digital gain added for GAIN = 32x and 64x settings
is not significant for the noise performance. Therefore,
the noise values can be extracted from the GAIN = 16x
columns. Effective Resolution performance is
degraded by 1 bit for GAIN = 32x and 2 bits for GAIN =
64x compared to the GAIN = 16x performance.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
TABLE 2-1:
NOISE RMS LEVEL VS. GAIN VS. OSR (AVDD = DVDD = VREF = 3.3V, TA = +25°C)
RMS (Peak-to-Peak) Noise (µV)
Total
OSR
GAIN = 0.33
GAIN = 1
GAIN = 2
GAIN = 4
GAIN = 8
GAIN = 16
32
388.9 (2829.9)
130.2 (950)
65.7 (481.7)
33.2 (240.9)
17 (125.5)
8.9 (66.9)
64
151.1 (564)
50.4 (184.6)
25.2 (102.4)
12.6 (56.2)
6.3 (34.8)
3.4 (22.5)
128
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (107.4)
25.2 (57.1)
12.6 (33.6)
6.3 (21.4)
3.2 (14.3)
256
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (15.9)
3.2 (10.5)
512
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.9)
1024
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
2048
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
4096
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
8192
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
16384
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
20480
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
24576
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
40960
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
49152
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
81920
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
98304
151.1 (302.1)
50.4 (100.7)
25.2 (50.4)
12.6 (25.2)
6.3 (12.6)
3.2 (6.3)
TABLE 2-2:
Total
OSR
EFFECTIVE RESOLUTION VS. GAIN VS. OSR (AVDD = DVDD = VREF = 3.3V,
TA = +25°C)
Effective Resolution RMS (Peak-to-Peak) (bits)
GAIN = 0.33
GAIN = 1
GAIN = 2
GAIN = 4
GAIN = 8
GAIN = 16
32
15.6 (12.8)
15.6 (12.8)
15.6 (12.7)
15.6 (12.7)
15.6 (12.7)
15.5 (12.6)
64
17 (15.2)
17 (15.2)
17 (15)
17 (14.9)
17 (14.5)
16.9 (14.2)
128
17 (16)
17 (15.9)
17 (15.9)
17 (15.6)
17 (15.3)
17 (14.9)
256
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (15.7)
17 (15.4)
512
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (15.9)
1024
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
2048
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
4096
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
8192
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
16384
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
20480
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
24576
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
40960
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
49152
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
81920
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
98304
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
17 (16)
Note:
To calculate noise RMS level and Effective Resolution (Bits) for a given GAIN and data rate, please refer
to the OSR setting and associated data rate relationship shown in Table 5-6.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 21
MCP3461/2/4
NOTES:
DS20006180D-page 22
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
3.0
PIN DESCRIPTION
TABLE 3-1:
MCP3461/2/4 PIN FUNCTION TABLE
MCP3461 MCP3462 MCP3464 MCP3461 MCP3462 MCP3464
Symbol
20-Lead UQFN
20-Lead TSSOP
1
3
REFIN-
2
4
REFIN+
3
5
CH0
4
—
6
Noninverting Reference Input Pin
Analog Input 0 Pin
CH1
Analog Input 1 Pin
7
CH2
Analog Input 2 Pin
—
8
8
CH3
Analog Input 3 Pin
—
—
9
CH4
Analog Input 4 Pin
8
—
—
10
CH5
Analog Input 5 Pin
—
9
—
—
11
CH6
Analog Input 6 Pin
—
10
—
—
12
CH7
Analog Input 7 Pin
5
—
—
6
6
—
—
7
—
—
—
5, 6, 7, 8,
9, 10
Inverting Reference Input Pin
7
5
—
Description
Serial Interface Chip Select Digital Input Pin
11
13
CS
12
14
SCK
13
15
SDI
Serial Interface Digital Data Input Pin
14
16
SDO
Serial Interface Digital Data Output Pin
15
17
IRQ/MDAT
Interrupt Output Pin or Modulator Output Pin
16
18
MCLK
Master Clock Input or Analog Master Clock
Output Pin
17
19
DGND
Digital Ground Pin
18
20
DVDD
Digital Supply Voltage Pin
19
1
AVDD
Analog Supply Voltage Pin
20
2
AGND
7, 8, 9, 10
—
7, 8, 9,
9, 10, 11,
10, 11, 12
12
21
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
—
—
Serial Interface Digital Clock Input Pin
Analog Ground Pin
—
NC
Not Connected
—
EP
Exposed Thermal Pad, internally connected
to AGND
DS20006180D-page 23
MCP3461/2/4
3.1
Differential Reference Voltage
Inputs: REFIN+, REFIN-
REFIN+ pin is the noninverting differential reference
input (VREF+).
REFIN- pin is the inverting differential reference input
(VREF-).
For single-ended reference applications, the REFINpin should be directly connected to AGND.
The differential reference voltage pins must respect
this condition at all times: 0.6V ≤ VREF ≤ AVDD. The
differential reference voltage input is given by
Equation 3-1:
EQUATION 3-1:
V REF = V REF+ – V REFFor optimal ADC accuracy, appropriate bypass
capacitors should always be placed between REFIN+
and AGND. Using 0.1 µF and 10 µF ceramic capacitors
helps with decoupling the reference voltage around the
sampling frequency (which would lead to aliasing noise
in the base band). These bypass capacitors are not
mandatory for correct ADC operation, but removing
these capacitors may degrade accuracy of the ADC.
3.2
Analog Inputs (CHn): Differential
or Single-Ended
The CHn pins are the analog input signal pins for the
ADC. Two analog multiplexers are used to connect the
CHn pins to the VIN+/VIN- analog inputs of the ADC.
Each multiplexer independently selects one input to be
connected to an ADC input (VIN+ or VIN-). Each CHn
pin can either be connected to the VIN+ or VIN- inputs
of the ADC. This multiplexer selection is controlled by
either the MUX register in MUX mode or the SCAN
register in SCAN mode. See Figure 5-1 for more details
on the multiplexer structure.
When the input is selected by the multiplexer, the
differential (VIN) and Common-Mode Voltage (VINCOM)
at the ADC inputs are defined by Equation 3-2.
EQUATION 3-2:
V IN = V IN+ – V INV IN+ + V INV INCOM = --------------------------------2
The input signal level is multiplied by the internal
programmable analog gain at the front end of the
modulator. For single-ended input measurements, the
user can select VIN- to be internally connected to AGND.
The differential input voltage should not exceed an
absolute of ±VREF/GAIN for accurate measurement. If
the input is out of range, the converter output code will
be saturated or overloaded depending on how the
DS20006180D-page 24
output data format (DATA_FORMAT[1:0]) is selected.
See Section 5.6 “ADC Output Data Format” for
further information on the ADC output coding.
The absolute voltage range on each of the analog
signal input pins is from AGND – 0.1V to VDD + 0.1V.
Any voltage above or below this range will cause leakage currents through the Electrostatic Discharge (ESD)
diodes at the input pins. This ESD current can cause
unexpected performance of the device. The
Common-mode of the analog inputs should be chosen
such that both the differential analog input range and
the absolute voltage range on each pin are within the
specified operating range defined in the Electrical
Characteristics table.
3.3
SPI Serial Interface
Communication pins
The SPI interface is compatible with both SPI Mode 0,0
and 1,1.
3.3.1
CHIP SELECT (CS)
This is the SPI chip select pin that enables/disables the
SPI serial communication. The CS falling edge initiates
the serial communication and the rising edge
terminates the communication. No communication can
take place when this pin is in Logic High state. This
input is Schmitt Triggered.
3.3.2
SERIAL DATA CLOCK (SCK)
This is the serial clock input pin for SPI communication.
This input has Schmitt Trigger structure. The maximum
SPI clock speed is 20 MHz. Data are clocked into the
device on the rising edge of SCK. Data are clocked out
of the device on the falling edge of SCK. The device
interface is compatible with both SPI Mode 0,0 and 1,1.
SPI modes can be changed when CS is in Logic High
state.
SCK and MCLK are two different and asynchronous
clocks; SCK is only required when a communication
happens, while MCLK is continuously required when
the part is converting analog inputs.
3.3.3
SERIAL DATA OUTPUT PIN (SDO)
This pin is used for the SPI Data Output (SDO). The
SDO data are clocked out on the falling edge of SCK.
This pin stays high-impedance under the following
conditions:
• When CS pin is logic high.
• During the whole SPI write or Fast command
communication period, after the SPI COMMAND
byte has been transmitted.
• After the two device address bits in the command
have been transmitted if the device address in the
command is not matching an internal chip device
address.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
3.3.4
SERIAL DATA INPUT PIN (SDI)
This is the SPI data input pin and it uses Schmitt
Trigger structure. When CS is logic low, this pin is used
to send a COMMAND byte just after the CS falling
edge, which can be followed by data words of various
lengths. Data are clocked into the device on the rising
edge of SCK. Toggling SDI while reading a register has
no effect.
3.4
IRQ/MDAT
This is the digital output pin. This pin can be configured
for Interrupt (IRQ) or Modulator Data (MDAT) output
using the IRQ_MODE[1] bit setting. When
IRQ_MODE[1] = 0 (default), this pin can output all four
possible interrupts (see Section 6.8 “Interrupts
Description”). The inactive state of the pin is
selectable through the IRQ_MODE[0] bit setting
(high-Z or logic high).
When IRQ_MODE[1] = 1, this pin outputs the modulator output synchronously with AMCLK (that can be
selected as an output on the MCLK pin). In this mode,
the POR and CRC interrupts can still be generated as
they are high-level interrupts and will lock the
IRQ/MDAT pin to logic low until they are cleared.
When the IRQ pin is in High-Z mode, an external
pull-up resistor must be connected between DVDD and
the IRQ pin. The device needs to be able to detect a
Logic High state when no interrupt occurs in order to
function properly (the pad has a Schmitt Trigger input
to detect the state of the IRQ pin just like the user is
seeing it). The pull-up value can be equal to
100-200 k for a weak pull-up using the typical clock
frequency. The pull-up resistor value needs to be
chosen in relation with the load capacitance of the IRQ
output, the MCLK frequency and the DVDD supply
voltage, so that all interrupts can be detected correctly
by the SPI host device.
3.5
MCLK
This pin is either the MCLK digital input pin for the ADC
or the AMCLK digital output pin, depending on the
CLK_SEL[1:0] bits setting in the CONFIG0 register.
The typical clock frequency specified is 4.9152 MHz. To
optimize the ADC for accuracy and ensure proper operation, AMCLK should be limited to a certain range
depending on BOOST and GAIN settings. The higher
GAIN settings require higher BOOST settings to
maintain high bandwidth, as the input sampling
capacitors have a larger value. Figure 2-20 to
Figure 2-24 represent the typical accuracy (SINAD)
expected with the different combinations of BOOST
and GAIN settings, and can be used to determine an
optimal set for the application depending on the
sampling speed (AMCLK) chosen. MCLK can take
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
larger values as long as the prescaler settings
(PRE[1:0]) limit AMCLK = MCLK/PRESCALE in the
defined range in typical performance curves.
3.6
Digital Ground (DGND)
DGND is the ground connection to internal digital
circuitry. To ensure accuracy and noise cancellation,
DGND must be connected to the same ground as AGND,
preferably with a star connection. If a digital ground
plane is available, it is recommended for this pin to be
tied to this plane of the PCB. This plane should also
reference all other digital circuitry in the system. DGND
is not connected internally to AGND and must be
connected externally.
3.7
Digital Power Supply (DVDD)
DVDD is the power supply pin for the digital circuitry
within the device. The voltage on this pin must be
maintained in the range specified by the Electrical
Characteristics table. For optimal performance, it is
recommended to connect appropriate bypass
capacitors (typically a 10 µF ceramic in parallel with a
0.1 µF ceramic). DVDD is monitored by the DVDD POR
monitoring circuit for the digital section.
3.8
Analog Power Supply (AVDD)
AVDD is the power supply pin for the analog circuitry
within the device. The voltage on this pin must be
maintained in the range specified by the Electrical
Characteristics table. For optimal performance, it is
recommended to connect appropriate bypass
capacitors (typically a 10 µF ceramic in parallel with a
0.1 µF ceramic). AVDD is monitored by the AVDD POR
monitoring circuit for the analog section.
3.9
Analog Ground (AGND)
AGND is the ground connection to internal analog
circuitry. To ensure accuracy and noise cancellation,
this pin must be connected to the same ground as
DGND, preferably with a star connection. If an analog
ground plane is available, it is recommended that this
pin be tied to this plane of the PCB. This plane should
also reference all other analog circuitry in the system.
AGND is the biasing voltage for the substrate of the die
and is not connected internally to DGND.
3.10
Exposed Pad (EP)
This pad is internally connected to AGND. It must be
connected to the analog ground of the PCB for optimal
accuracy and thermal performance. This pad can also
be left floating if necessary.
DS20006180D-page 25
MCP3461/2/4
NOTES:
DS20006180D-page 26
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
4.0
TERMINOLOGY AND
FORMULAS
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
This section defines the terms and formulas used
throughout this document. The following terminology is
defined:
•
•
•
•
•
MCLK – Master Clock
AMCLK – Analog Master Clock
DMCLK – Digital Master Clock
DRCLK – Data Rate Clock
OSR – Oversampling Ratio
Offset Error
Gain Error
Integral Nonlinearity Error (INL)
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
Signal-to-Noise and Distortion Ratio (SINAD)
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)
Spurious-Free Dynamic Range (SFDR)
MCP3461/2/4 Delta-Sigma Architecture
Power Supply Rejection Ratio (PSRR)
Common-Mode Rejection Ratio (CMRR)
Digital Pins’ Output Current Consumption
PRE[1:0]
CLK_SEL[1]
OSR[3:0]
CLK_SEL[1] = 0
MCLK
Pad
0
OU T
MCLK
1/
PRESCALE
AMCLK
1/4
DMCLK
1/OSR
DRCLK
1
Intern al Oscillator
Multiplexer
Clock Divider
Clock Divider
Clock Divider
CLK_SEL[1:0] = 11
AMCLKOUT
FIGURE 4-1:
4.1
System Clock Details.
MCLK – Master Clock
This is either the master clock frequency at the MCLK
input pin when an external clock source is selected or
the internal clock frequency when an internal clock is
selected.
4.2
AMCLK – Analog Master Clock
EQUATION 4-2:
DIGITAL MASTER CLOCK
MCLK
DMCLK = AMCLK
--------------------- = -------------------------------4
4 Prescale
4.4
DRCLK – Data Rate Clock
This is the clock frequency that is present on the analog
portion of the device after prescaling has occurred via
the PRE[1:0] bits.
This is the output data rate in Continuous mode, which
is the rate at which the ADC outputs new data. Each
new data are signaled by a data ready pulse on the IRQ
pin. This data rate depends on the OSR and the
prescaler, as shown in Equation 4-3.
EQUATION 4-1:
EQUATION 4-3:
ANALOG MASTER CLOCK
MCLK AMCLK = ---------------------Prescale
4.3
DMCLK – Digital Master Clock
This is the clock frequency that is present on the digital
portion of the device. This is also the sampling frequency or the rate at which the modulator outputs are
refreshed. Each period of this clock corresponds to one
sample and one modulator output. See Equation 4-2.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DATA RATE
AMCLK = -------------------------------------------------MCLK
DRCLK = DMCLK
---------------------- = --------------------OSR
4 OSR
4 OSR Prescale
Since this is the output data rate, and since the
decimation filter is a sinc (or notch) filter, there is a
notch in the filter transfer function at each integer
multiple of this rate.
DS20006180D-page 27
MCP3461/2/4
4.5
OSR – Oversampling Ratio
The ratio of the sampling frequency to the output data
rate. OSR = DMCLK/(DRCLK) in Continuous mode.
See Table 5-6 for the OSR setting effect on sinc filter
parameters.
4.6
Offset Error
This is the error induced by the ADC when the inputs
are shorted together (VIN = 0V). This error varies based
on gain settings, OSR settings and from chip to chip. It
can easily be calibrated out by a MCU with a
subtraction.
4.7
Gain Error
4.10
Signal-to-Noise and Distortion
Ratio (SINAD)
Signal-to-Noise and Distortion Ratio is similar to
Signal-to-Noise Ratio, with the exception that you must
include the harmonics power in the noise power
calculation. The SINAD specification depends mainly
on the OSR and GAIN settings.
EQUATION 4-5:
SINAD EQUATION
SignalPower
SINAD dB = 10 log ---------------------------------------------------------------------
Noise + HarmonicsPower
The calculated combination of SNR and THD per
Equation 4-6 also yields SINAD:
This is the error induced by the ADC on the slope of the
transfer function. It is the deviation expressed in
percentage compared to the ideal transfer function
defined by Equation 5-5. The specification incorporates
ADC gain error contributions, but not the VREF
contribution. This error varies with GAIN and OSR
settings.
EQUATION 4-6:
The gain error of this device has a low-temperature
coefficient.
4.11
4.8
The Total Harmonic Distortion is the ratio of the output
harmonics’ power to the fundamental signal power for
a sine wave input and is defined by Equation 4-7.
Integral Nonlinearity Error (INL)
Integral nonlinearity error is the maximum deviation of
an ADC transition point from the corresponding point of
an ideal transfer function, with the offset and gain
errors removed, or with the end points equal to zero. It
is the maximum remaining static error after calibration
of offset and gain errors for a DC input signal.
4.9
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR)
For this device family, the Signal-to-Noise ratio is a ratio
of the output fundamental signal power to the noise
power (not including the harmonics of the signal) when
the input is a sine wave at a predetermined frequency.
It is measured in dB. Usually, only the maximum
Signal-to-Noise Ratio is specified. The SNR figure
depends mainly on the OSR and GAIN settings of the
device as well as temperature (due to thermal noise
being dominant for high OSR).
EQUATION 4-4:
SIGNAL-TO-NOISE RATIO
SignalPower
SNR dB = 10 log ----------------------------------
NoisePower
SINAD, THD AND SNR
RELATIONSHIP
SINAD dB = 10 log 10
SNR
-----------
10
+ 10
THD
------------
10
Total Harmonic Distortion (THD)
EQUATION 4-7:
HarmonicsPower
THD dB = 10 log -----------------------------------------------------
FundamentalPower
The THD is usually only measured with respect to the
ten first harmonics. THD is sometimes expressed in
percentage (%). For converting the THD from “dB” to
“%”, apply the formula in Equation 4-8.
EQUATION 4-8:
THD % = 100 10
4.12
THD
dB
-----------------------20
Spurious-Free Dynamic Range
(SFDR)
The ratio between the output power of the fundamental
and the highest spur in the frequency spectrum. The
spur frequency is not necessarily a harmonic of the
fundamental, even though it is usually the case. This
figure represents the dynamic range of the ADC when
a full-scale signal is used at the input. This specification
depends mainly on the OSR and GAIN setting.
EQUATION 4-9:
FundamentalPower
SFDR dB = 10 log -----------------------------------------------------
HighestSpurPower
DS20006180D-page 28
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
4.13
MCP3461/2/4 Delta-Sigma
Architecture
A Delta-Sigma ADC is an oversampling converter that
incorporates a built-in modulator, which digitizes the
quantity of charge integrated by the modulator loop.
The quantizer is the block that performs the Analogto-Digital conversion. The quantizer is typically 1-bit or
a simple comparator that helps to maintain the linearity
performance of the ADC (the DAC structure, is in this
case, inherently linear).
Multibit quantizers help to lower the quantization error
(the error fed back in the loop can be very large with 1-bit
quantizers) without changing the order of the modulator
or the OSR that leads to better SNR figures. However,
typically, the linearity of such architectures is more
difficult to achieve since the DAC is no more simple to
realize and its linearity limits the THD of such ADC.
The modulator 5-level quantizer is a Flash ADC
composed of four comparators arranged with equally
spaced thresholds and a thermometer coding. The
device also includes proprietary 5-level DAC architecture
that is inherently linear for improved THD figures.
4.14
Power Supply Rejection Ratio
(PSRR)
This is the ratio between a change in the power supply
voltage and the ADC output codes. It measures the
influence of the power supply voltage on the ADC outputs.
The PSRR specification can be DC (the power supply
is taking multiple DC values) or AC (the power supply
is a sine wave at a certain frequency with a certain
Common-mode). In AC, the amplitude of the sine wave
represents the change in the power supply.
EQUATION 4-10:
V OUT
PSRR dB = 20 log -------------------
AV DD
Where VOUT is the equivalent input voltage that the
output code translates to with the ADC transfer function.
4.15
Common-Mode Rejection Ratio
(CMRR)
This is the ratio between a change in the
Common-mode input voltage and the change in ADC
output codes. It measures the influence of the
Common-mode input voltage on the ADC outputs.
The CMRR specification can be DC (Common-mode
input voltage is taking multiple DC values) or AC (the
Common-mode input voltage is a sine wave at a certain
frequency with a certain Common-mode). In AC, the
amplitude of the sine wave represents the change in
the input Common-mode voltage. CMRR is defined in
Equation 4-11.
EQUATION 4-11:
V OUT
CMRR dB = 20 log ------------------------
V INCOM
Where VINCOM = (VIN+ + VIN-)/2 is the Common-mode
input voltage and VOUT is the equivalent input voltage
that the output code translates to with the ADC transfer
function.
4.16
Digital Pins’ Output Current
Consumption
The digital current consumption, shown in the Electrical
Characteristics table, does not take into account the
current consumption generated by the digital output
pins and the charge of their capacitive loading. The
specification is intended with all output pins left floating
and no communication.
In order to estimate the additional current consumption
due to the output pins, refer to Equation 4-2. This equation specifies the amount of additional current due to
each pin when its output is connected to a Cload capacitance, with respect to DGND and submitted to an output
signal toggling at an fout frequency.
If a typical 10 MHz SPI frequency is used, with a 30 pF
load and DVDD = 3.3V, the SDO output generates an
additional maximum current consumption of 500 µA
(the maximum toggling frequency of SDO is 5 MHz
here, since fSCK = 10 MHz and this maximum happens
when the ADC output code is a succession of ‘1’s and
‘0’s). The Cload value includes internal digital output
driver capacitance, but this one can generally be
neglected with respect to the external loading
capacitance.
EQUATION 4-12:
DIDD SPI = C load DV DD f out
Where:
Cload = Capacitance on the Output Pin
DVDD = Digital Supply Voltage
fout = Output Frequency on the Output Pin
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 29
MCP3461/2/4
NOTES:
DS20006180D-page 30
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
5.0
DEVICE OVERVIEW
5.1
Analog Input Multiplexer
input selection, so that any required combination of
input voltages can be converted by the ADC. The analog multiplexer is composed of parallel low-resistance
input switches, turned on or off, depending on the input
channel selection. Their resistance is negligible compared to the input impedance of the ADC (caused by
the charge and discharge of the input sampling
capacitors on the VIN+/VIN- ADC inputs). The block
diagram of the analog multiplexer is shown in
Figure 5-1.
The device includes a fully configurable analog input
dual multiplexer that can select which input is connected to each of the two differential input pins
(VIN+/VIN-) of the Delta-Sigma ADC.
The dual multiplexer is divided into two single-ended
multiplexers that are completely independent. Each of
these multiplexers include the same possibilities for the
MUX[7:4]
CH0
CH1
CH2
CH3
CH4
CH5
CH6
CH7
AGND
AVDD
AVDD
REFIN+
REFIN-
CS_SEL[1:0]
TEMP Diode P
AVDD
ISOURCE
AVDD
ITEMP+
ITEMP-
TEMP Diode M
MUX[7:4]
= 1101
VCM
MUX[3:0]
= 1101
VIN+ Analog Multiplexer
MUX[3:0]
=1110
VIN+
AGND
MUX[3:0]
VIN-
CH0
CS_SEL[1:0]
CH1
MUX[7:4]
= 1110
ISINK
Delta-Sigma ADC
CH2
CH3
CH4
AGND
CH5
CH6
CH7
AGND
AVDD
REFIN+
REFINTEMP Diode P
TEMP Diode M
VCM
VIN- Analog Multiplexer
AGND
Analog Input Dual Multiplexer
FIGURE 5-1:
Simplified Analog Input Multiplexer Schematic.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 31
MCP3461/2/4
The possible selections are described in Table 5-1 and
can be set with the MUX[7:0] register during the MUX
mode. The MUX[7:4] bits define the selection for the
VIN+ (noninverting analog input of the ADC). The
MUX[3:0] bits define the selection for the VIN- (inverting
analog input of the ADC).
TABLE 5-1:
ANALOG INPUT MUX DECODING TABLE
MUX[7:4] (VIN+) or
MUX[3:0] (VIN-) Code
Selected
Channel
0000
CH0
0001
CH1
0010
CH2
Not Connected (NC) for MCP3461
0011
CH3
Not Connected (NC) for MCP3461
0100
CH4
Not Connected (NC) for MCP3461, MCP3462
0101
CH5
Not Connected (NC) for MCP3461, MCP3462
0110
CH6
Not Connected (NC) for MCP3461, MCP3462
0111
CH7
Not Connected (NC) for MCP3461, MCP3462
1000
AGND
1001
AVDD
1010
Reserved
1011
REFIN+
1100
REFIN-
1101
TEMP Diode P
1110
TEMP Diode M
1111
Internal VCM
Comment
Do not use
Internal Common-mode voltage for modulator biasing
During SCAN mode, the two single-ended input
multiplexers are automatically set to a certain position
depending on the SCAN sequence and on which channel
has been selected by the user. The SCAN sequence
channels’ configuration corresponds to a certain code in
the MUX[7:0] register, as defined in Table 5-14.
In order to monitor the digital power supply (DVDD), it is
necessary to externally connect DVDD to one of the
CHn analog inputs, since DVDD is not one of the possible selections of the analog multiplexer. A similar
setup can be implemented to monitor DGND if DGND is
not connected externally to AGND.
For MCP3461 and MCP3462, some codes are not
available in the selection since the pins are not bonded
out on these devices. These codes should then be
avoided in the application, as the input they connect to
is effectively a high-impedance node.
The TEMP Diodes P and M are two internal diodes that
are biased by a current source and that can be used to
perform a temperature measurement. If TEMP Diode P
is connected to VIN+ and TEMP Diode M to VIN-, then
the ADC output code is a function of the temperature
using Equation 5-1 (see Section 5.1.2 “Internal
Temperature Sensor” for more details).
DS20006180D-page 32
The “VCM” selection measures the internal
Common-mode voltage source that biases the
Sigma-Delta modulator (this voltage is not provided at
any output of the part).
The possible inputs of the analog multiplexer include
not only the analog input channels, but also the
REFIN+/- inputs, AVDD and AGND, as well as temperature sensor outputs and VCM internal Common-mode.
This large selection offers many possibilities for
measuring internal or external data resources of the
system and can serve as diagnostic purposes to
increase the security of the applications. Some monitor
channels are already predefined in SCAN mode to
further help users to integrate diagnostics to their applications (for example, the analog power supply or the
temperature can be constantly monitored in SCAN
mode; see Section 5.14.3 “SCAN Mode Internal
Resource Channels” for more details of the different
resources that can be monitored in SCAN mode).
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
5.1.1
BURNOUT CURRENT SOURCES
FOR SENSOR OPEN/SHORT
DETECTION
The ADC inputs, VIN-/VIN+, feature a selectable burnout current source that enables open or short-circuit
detection, as well as biasing very low current external
sensors. The bias current is sourced on the VIN+ pin of
the ADC (noninverting output of the analog multiplexer)
and sunk on the VIN- pin of the ADC (inverting output of
the analog multiplexer). Since the same current flows
at the VIN-/VIN+ pins of the ADC, it can sense the
impedance of an externally connected sensor that
would be connected between the selected inputs of the
multiplexer. When the sensor is in short circuit, the
ADC will convert signals that are close to 0V. When the
sensor is an open circuit, the ADC will convert signals
that are close to the AVDD voltage.
The current source is an independent peripheral of the
ADC. It does not need the ADC to be in Conversion
mode to be present. Once enabled, the current source
provides current even when the ADC is in Reset or
ADC Shutdown modes. The current source can be
configured at any time by programming the
CS_SEL[1:0] bits in the CONFIG0 register (see
Table 5-2).
Since the amount of current selected can be very small,
it may be necessary to diminish the MCLK master clock
frequency to be able to reach full desired accuracy
during conversions (the settling time of the input
structure, including the sensor, can be large if the sensor is very resistive, which will limit the bandwidth of the
Sample-and-Hold input circuit).
The accuracy of the current sources is around ±20%
and it is not controlled well internally. However, the
mismatch between sink and source is typically around
±1%. This relatively low accuracy on the current is
generally sufficient for open/short detection applications.
5.1.2
INTERNAL TEMPERATURE
SENSOR
The device includes an on-board temperature sensor
that is made of two typical P-N junction diodes biased
by fixed current sources (TEMP Diodes P and M). The
TEMP Diode P has a current density of 4x of the TEMP
Diode M.
The difference in the current densities of the diodes
yields a voltage, which is a function of the absolute
temperature.
Once the ADC inputs (VIN+/VIN-) are connected to the
temperature sensor diodes (MUX[7:0] = 0xDE), the
ADC will see a VIN differential input that is the function
of the temperature. The transfer function of the
temperature sensor can be approximated by a linear
equation or a third-order equation for more accuracy.
When the internal temperature sensor is selected for
the MUX or SCAN input, the input sink/source current
source controlled by the CS_SEL[1:0] bits (see
Section 5.1 “Analog Input Multiplexer”) is disabled
internally (even though the CS_SEL[1:0] bits are not
modified by the temperature sensor selection). In this
case, the input current source is replaced by a specific
internal current source that will only be sourced to the
diode temperature sensor (see Figure 5-1).
The bias current of the diodes is not calibrated
internally and can lead to a relatively large gain and
offset error in the transfer function of the temperature
sensor. Typical graphs showing the typical error in the
temperature measurement are provided in Section 2.0
“Typical Performance Curves” (see Figure 2-32
first-order and Figure 2-33 for third-order fitting).
The accuracy can also be optimized by using proper
digital gain and offset error calibration schemes.
Figure 2-35 shows how the ADC output code is varying
when the burnout current sources are enabled (with
GAIN = 1x) and the input sensor impedance is swept
with a large dynamic range. This permits the users to
use the ADC as an open/short detection circuit that is
practical when manufacturing complex remote sensor
systems.
TABLE 5-2:
BURNOUT CURRENT
SOURCE SETTINGS
CS_SEL[1:0]
(Source/Sink)
Burnout Current
Amplitude
00
0 µA
01
0.9 µA
10
3.7 µA
11
15 µA
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 33
MCP3461/2/4
EQUATION 5-1:
TEMPERATURE SENSOR TRANSFER FUNCTION
First-order (linear) fitting: GAIN = 1, VREF = 3.3V
TEMP ( C) = 0.00133 ADCDATA (LSb) – 267.146
V IN mV = 0.2964 TEMP ( C) + 79.32
Third-order fitting: GAIN = 1, VREF = 3.3V
TEMP ( C = – 3.904 10
– 15
V IN (mV) = 4.727 10
5.1.3
3
ADCDATA (LSb) + 3.814 10
–7
3
–9
TEMP ( C – 2.51288 10
–4
ADC OFFSET CANCELLATION
ALGORITHM
The input multiplexer and the ADC include an offset cancellation algorithm that cancels the offset contribution of
the ADC. This offset cancellation algorithm is controlled
by the AZ_MUX bit in the CONFIG2 register. When
AZ_MUX = 0 (default), the offset cancellation algorithm
is disabled and the conversions are not affected by this
EQUATION 5-2:
2
ADCDATA (LSb) + 0.0002 ADCDATA (LSb) – 163.978
2
T EMP ( C + 0.31294 TEMP ( C + 79.547
setting. When AZ_MUX = 1, the algorithm is enabled.
When the offset cancellation algorithm is enabled, ADC
takes two conversions, one with the differential input as
VIN+/VIN-, one with VIN+/VIN- inverted. Equation 5-2
calculates the ADC output code. When AZ_MUX = 1,
the Conversion Time, TCONV, is multiplied by two,
compared to the default case, where AZ_MUX = 0.
AZ_MUX CONVERSION RESULT
ADC Output at +V IN – ADC Output at -V IN
ADC Output Code (AZ_MUX=1) = ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------2
This technique allows the cancellation of the ADC
offset error and the achievement of ultra-low offset
without any digital calibration. The resulting offset is the
residue of the difference of the two conversions, which
is on the same order of magnitude as the noise floor.
This offset is effectively canceled at every conversion,
so the residual offset error temperature drift is
extremely low.
DS20006180D-page 34
For One-Shot mode, the conversion time is simply
multiplied by two. Enabling the AZ_MUX bit is not
compatible with the Continuous Conversion mode
(because it effectively multiplexes the inputs in
between each conversion). If AZ_MUX = 1 and
CONV_MODE = 11 (Continuous Conversion mode),
the device will reset the digital filter in between each
conversion and will therefore have an output data rate
of 1/(2 * TCONV). The Continuous mode is replaced by
a series of One-Shot mode conversions with no delay
in between each conversion (see Section 5.13
“Conversion Modes” and Figure 5-5 for more details
about the Conversion modes).
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
5.2
Input Impedance
This anti-aliasing filter can be a simple first-order RC
network with low time constant that will provide a high
rejection at DMCLK frequency (see Figure 5.6 for more
details). The RC network usually uses small R and
large C to avoid additional offset due to IR drop in the
signal path. This anti-aliasing filter will induce a small
systematic gain error on the AC input signals that can
be compensated in the digital section with the Digital
Gain Error Calibration register (GAINCAL).
The ADC inputs (VIN-/VIN+) are directly tied to the
analog multiplexer outputs and are not routed to
external pins. The multiplexer input stage contribution
to the input impedance is negligible.
The conversion accuracy can be affected by the input
signal source impedance when any external circuit is
connected to the input pins. The source impedance
adds to the internal impedance and directly affects the
time required to charge the internal sampling capacitor.
Therefore, a large input source impedance connected
to the input pins can increase the system performance
errors, such as offset, gain and Integral Nonlinearity
(INL). Ideally, the input source impedance should be
near zero. This can be achievable by using an operational amplifier with a closed-loop output impedance of
tens of ohms.
5.3
The gain of the converter is programmable and
controlled by the GAIN[2:0] bits in the CONFIG2
register. The ADC programmable gain is divided in two
gain stages: one in the analog domain, one in the digital
domain as per Table 5-3.
After the multiplexer, the analog input signals are
routed to the Delta-Sigma ADC inputs and are
amplified by the analog gain stage (see Section 5.3.1
“Analog Gain” for more details). The digital gain stage
is placed inside the digital decimation filter (see
Section 5.3.2 “Digital Gain” for more details).
A proper anti-aliasing filter must be placed at the ADC
inputs. This will attenuate the frequency contents
around DMCLK and keep the desired accuracy over
the baseband (DRCLK) of the converter.
TABLE 5-3:
ADC Programmable Gain
SIGMA-DELTA ADC GAIN SETTINGS
GAIN[2:0]
Total Gain
(V/V)
Analog Gain
(V/V)
Digital Gain
(V/V)
Total Gain
(dB)
0
0
0
0.333
0.333
1
-9.5
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
VIN Range (V)
±Min (AVDD,
3 * VREF)
±VREF
0
1
0
2
2
1
6
±VREF/2
0
1
1
4
4
1
12
±VREF/4
1
0
0
8
8
1
18
±VREF/8
1
0
1
16
16
1
24
±VREF/16
1
1
0
32
16
2
30
±VREF/32
1
1
1
64
16
4
36
±VREF/64
5.3.1
ANALOG GAIN
The gain settings, from 0.33x to 16x, are done in the
analog domain. This analog gain is placed on each
ADC differential input. Each doubling of the gain
improves the thermal noise due to sampling by
approximately 3 dB, which means the lowest noise
configuration is obtained when using the highest analog
gain. The SNR, however, is degraded since doubling the
gain factor reduces the maximum allowable input signal
amplitude by approximately 6 dB.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
If the gain is set to 0.33x, the differential input range
becomes theoretically ±3 * VREF; however, the device
does not support input voltages outside of the power
supply voltage range. If large reference voltages are
used with this gain, the input voltage range will be
clipped between AGND and AVDD, and therefore, the
output code span will be limited. This gain is useful
when the reference voltage is small and when the input
signal voltage is large.
The analog gain stage can be used to amplify very low
signals, but the differential input range of the
Delta-Sigma modulator must not be exceeded.
DS20006180D-page 35
MCP3461/2/4
5.3.2
5.4.2
DIGITAL GAIN
When the gain setting is chosen from 16x to 64x, the
analog gain stays constant at 16x and the additional
gain is done in the digital domain by a simple shift and
round of the output code. The digital gain range is 1x to
4x. The output noise is approximately unchanged (outside from the quantization noise that is slightly
decreased). The SNR is thus degraded by 6 dB per
octave from the 16x to 64x setting.
This digital gain is useful to scale-up the signals without
using the host device (MCU) operations, but they
degrade SNR and resolution (1 bit per octave) and do
not significantly improve the noise performance, except
for very large OSR settings.
5.4
Delta-Sigma Modulator
5.4.1
ARCHITECTURE
The Sigma-Delta ADC includes a second-order
modulator with a multibit DAC architecture. Its 5-level
quantizer is a Flash ADC composed of four comparators with equally spaced thresholds and a thermometer
output coding. The proprietary 5-level architecture
ensures minimum quantization noise at the outputs of
the modulators without disturbing linearity or inducing
additional distortion.
Unlike most multibit DAC architectures, the 5-level
DAC used in this architecture is inherently linear, and
therefore, does not degrade the ADC linearity and THD
performance.
The sampling frequency is DMCLK; therefore, the
modulator outputs are refreshed at a DMCLK rate.
Figure 5-2 represents a simplified block diagram of the
Delta-Sigma modulator.
Delta-Sigma 2nd Order 5-Level Modulator
Quantizer
Differential Input
Voltage
(from Analog Mux)
Analog
2nd Order
Loop
Filter
4
5-Level Flash
ADC
Output
Bitstream
Thermometer Coding
(to Digital Filter)
5-Level DAC
Analog
FIGURE 5-2:
Block Diagram.
DS20006180D-page 36
Digital
Simplified Delta-Sigma ADC
MODULATOR OUTPUT BLOCK
The modulator output option allows users to apply their
own digital filtering on the output bit stream. By setting
IRQ_MODE[1] = 1 in the IRQ register, the modulator
output is available at the IRQ/MDAT pin, at the AMCLK
rate and through the ADCDATA register (0x0) with
DMCLK rate. With this configuration, the digital decimation filter is disabled in order to reduce the current
consumption and no data ready interrupt is generated
on any of the IRQ mechanisms. The IRQ/MDAT pin is
never placed in high-impedance during the Modulator
Output mode.
Since the Delta-Sigma modulator has a 5-level output
given by the state of four comparators with thermometer
coding, the output is represented using four bits, each bit
represents the state of the corresponding comparator
(see Table 5-4).
The comparator output bits are arranged serially at the
AMCLK rate on the IRQ/MDAT output pin (see
Figure 5-3).
This 1-bit serial bit stream is considered to be the same
one as it is produced by a 1-bit DAC modulator with a
sampling frequency of AMCLK. The modulator can
either be considered as a 5 level-output at DMCLK rate
or as 1-bit output at AMCLK rate. These two representations are interchangeable. The MDAT outputs can
therefore be used in any application that requires 1-bit
modulator outputs. This application can be integrated
with an external sinc filter or more advanced decimation filters that are computed in the MCU or DSP
device.
When CLK_SEL[1:0] = 11 (internal oscillator with
external clock output), the AMCLK clock is present on
the MCLK pin. This configuration permits correctly
synchronizing the bit stream when the internal
oscillator is used as the master clock source.
When CLK_SEL[1:0] = 00, the modulator outputs are
also synchronized with the MCLK input, but the ratio
between MCLK and AMCLK needs to be taken into
account in the user applications to correctly retrieve the
desired bit stream.
The default value of the bit stream after a Reset or a
power-up is ‘0011’. It is equivalent to a 0V input for the
ADC. After each ADC Reset and restart (see
Section 5.15 “A/D Conversions Automatic Reset
and Restart Feature”), the bit stream output is also
reset and restarted and the IRQ/MDAT is kept equal to
logic high during the two MCLK clock periods needed
for the synchronization. After these two clock periods,
the bit stream will be provided on the IRQ/MDAT pin
and the first value will be the default value.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
TABLE 5-4:
DELTA-SIGMA MODULATOR
OUTPUT BIT STREAM CODING
COMP[3:0]
Code
Modulator
Output Code
(Decimal)
MDAT
Serial
Stream
Equivalent
VREF
Voltage
1111
+2
1111
+VREF
0111
+1
0111
+VREF/2
0011
0
0011
0
0001
-1
0001
-VREF/2
0000
-2
0000
-VREF
tD OMD AT tD OMD AT tD OMD AT tD OMD AT tD OMD AT
AMCLK
5.4.3
BOOST MODES
The Delta-Sigma modulator includes a programmable
biasing circuit in order to further adjust the power
consumption to the sampling speed applied through
the MCLK. This can be programmed through the
BOOST[1:0] bits in the CONFIG2 register. The
different BOOST settings are applied to the whole
modulator circuit, including the voltage reference
buffers. The settings of the BOOST[1:0] bits are
described in Table 5-5.
TABLE 5-5:
BOOST SETTINGS
DESCRIPTION
BOOST[1:0]
Bias Current
00
x0.5
01
x0.66
10
x1 (default)
11
x2
The maximum achievable Analog Master Clock (AMCLK)
speed, the maximum sampling frequency (DMCLK)
and the maximum achievable data rate (DRCLK) are
highly dependent on the BOOST[1:0] and GAIN[2:0]
settings. A higher BOOST setting will allow the circuits’
bandwidth to be increased and will allow a higher
analog master clock rate that will then increase the
baseband of the input signals to be converted. The
digital gain (that is enabled at 32x and 64x gains) has
no influence on the achievable bandwidth.
MDAT
(code = +2)
MDAT
(code = +1)
MDAT
(code = 0)
A typical dependency of the bandwidth in relation to the
GAIN for each BOOST setting combination is shown in
Figure 2-20 to Figure 2-23. Typically, a larger GAIN
setting requires a higher BOOST setting in order to
achieve the same bandwidth performance.
MDAT
(code = -1)
Figure 2-24 shows the behavior of the achievable
bandwidth at BOOST = 1x with AVDD corner cases.
Since the BOOST settings vary, the internal slew rate
of the modulator components using a lower VREF value
will improve the bandwidth if low BOOST settings are
used and are showing a limited bandwidth behavior.
MDAT
(code = -2)
C OMP[3]
C OMP[2]
C OMP[1]
C OMP[0]
FIGURE 5-3:
MDAT Serial Outputs in
Function of the Modulator Output Code.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 37
MCP3461/2/4
5.5
Digital Decimation Filter
The decimation filter decimates the output bit stream of
the modulator to produce 16-bit ADC output data. The
decimation filter present in the device is a cascade of
two filters: a third-order sinc filter with a decimation
ratio of OSR3 (third-order moving an average of
3 x OSR3 values), followed by a first-order sinc filter
with a decimation ratio of OSR1 (moving an average of
OSR values (third-order moving an average of
3 x OSR3 values).
Figure 5-6 represents the decimation filter architecture.
OSR 1 = 1
Modulator
Output
(Thermometer
Coding)
SINC 3
SINC 1
4
OSR 3
OSR 1
Decimation
Filter
Output
ADC
Resolution
Decimation Filter
FIGURE 5-4:
Diagram.
Decimation Filter Block
The following equation is the transfer function of the
decimation filter:
EQUATION 5-3:
FILTER TRANSFER
FUNCTION
-OSR 3 3
-OSR 1 OSR 3
1 – z
1 – z
H z = --------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------------3
–
1
–
OSR
OSR 1 – z
3
3
OSR 1 – z
1
Where:
2 fj
z = exp ----------------------
DMCLK
The resolution (number of possible output codes
expressed in powers of two or in bits) of the digital filter
is 16-bit maximum for any OSR (OSR3 x OSR1) and
data format choice. The resolution depends only on the
OSR through the OSR[3:0] settings in the CONFIG1
per Table 5-6. Once the OSR is chosen, the resolution
is fixed and the output code of the ADC is encoded with
the data format defined by the DATA_FORMAT[1:0]
setting in the CONFIG3 register.
DS20006180D-page 38
The transfer function of this filter has a unity gain at each
multiple of DMCLK. A proper anti-aliasing filter must be
placed at the ADC inputs. This will attenuate the
frequency contents around each multiple of DMCLK and
keep the desired accuracy over the baseband of the
converter. This anti-aliasing filter can be a simple
first-order RC network with low time constant to provide
a high rejection at DMCLK frequency.
The conversion time is a function of the OSR settings
with the DMCLK frequency:
EQUATION 5-4:
CONVERSION TIME FOR
OSR = OSR3 x OSR1
3 OSR 3 + OSR 1 – 1 OSR 3
T CONV = ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------DMCLK
In One-Shot mode, each conversion is launched
individually, so the maximum data rate is effectively
1/TCONV if each conversion is launched with no delay.
The digital filter is reset in between each conversion.
However, due to the nature of the digital filter (which
memorizes the sum of the incoming bit stream), the
data rate at the filter output can be maximized if the
filter is never reset. Because of the internal resampling
of the digital filter, the output data rate can be equal to
DMCLK/OSR = DRCLK; this is the case in Continuous
mode. In this case, the first conversion still happens in
the TCONV time, as this is the settling time of the filter.
The subsequent conversions are pipelined and give
their output at a data rate of DRCLK. The Continuous
Conversion mode can optimize the data rate while
consuming the same power as One-Shot mode, which
is advantageous in applications that require a continuous sampling of the analog inputs. The Continuous
mode is not compatible with multiplexing the inputs
(see Section 5.14 “SCAN Mode” for more details
about the Conversion mode settings in MUX and SCAN
modes).
Figure 5-5 shows the fundamental difference between
One-Shot mode and Continuous mode in a simplified
diagram.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
Analog Input
Signal
One-Shot mode
Conversions are Serialized,
IRQ
Filter is Reset After Each
ADC
Conversion
Status
Group Delay = TCONV
Data Rate: 1/(TCONV)
Conversion1
Conversion2
Conversion3
TCONV
TCONV
TCONV
IRQ
ADC
Continuous mode
Status
Conversions are Pipelined,
Filter is Never Reset
Group Delay : TCONV
Data Rate: DRCLK
Conversion1
TCONV = Settling Time
1/DRCLK
Conversion2
TCONV
Conversion3
TCONV
FIGURE 5-5:
One-Shot Mode vs. Continuous Mode.
Since the converter is effectively doing two conversions
when the AZ_MUX bit is enabled, the conversion time
is equal to 2 x TCONV in this mode. As described in
Section 5.1.3 “ADC Offset Cancellation Algorithm”,
this selection is not compatible with the Continuous
Conversion mode, therefore, the output data rate is
equal to 1/(2 x TCONV) in this mode.
When OSR is larger than 20480 for typical master clock
frequency, MCLK = 4.9152 MHz, the device includes an
additional 50/60 Hz rejection by aligning decimation filter
notches with a multiple of 50 or 60 Hz depending on the
OSR setting. The rejection band depends strongly on
the master clock accuracy and corresponds to a
first-order decimation filter rejection rate.
Table 5-6 summarizes the possible filter settings and
their associated Conversion Time, TCONV, as well as
their output data rate (DRCLK) in Continuous mode.
The high OSR settings can be used for applications
requiring very low noise and slow data rates.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
Figure 5-6 shows the frequency response of the
decimation filter with default settings. Figure 5-7
represents the frequency response of the filter with the
highest OSR settings and a line rejection at 60 Hz.
DS20006180D-page 39
MCP3461/2/4
TABLE 5-6:
OVERSAMPLING RATIO AND SINC FILTER RELATIONSHIP
ADC Resolution
Total
in Bits
OSR[3:0] OSR3 OSR1
OSR
(No Missing
Codes)
Conversion
Time
(TCONV)
Data Rate in Continuous
Conversion Mode
Data Rate (Hz)
Fastest Data Rate (Hz)
with MCLK = 4.9152 MHz with MCLK = 19.6608 MHz
0 0 0 0
32
1
32
16
96/DMCLK
38400
153600
0 0 0 1
64
1
64
16
192/DMCLK
19200
76800
0 0 1 0 128
1
128
16
384/DMCLK
9600
38400
0 0 1 1 256
1
256
16
768/DMCLK
4800
19200
0 1 0 0 512
1
512
16
1536/DMCLK
2400
9600
0 1 0 1 512
2
1024
16
2048/DMCLK
1200
4800
0 1 1 0 512
4
2048
16
3072/DMCLK
600
2400
0 1 1 1 512
8
4096
16
5120/DMCLK
300
1200
1 0 0 0 512
16
8192
16
9216/DMCLK
150
600
1 0 0 1 512
32
16384
16
17408/DMCLK
75
300
1 0 1 0 512
40
20480
16
21504/DMCLK
60
240
1 0 1 1 512
48
24576
16
25600/DMCLK
50
200
1 1 0 0 512
80
40960
16
41984/DMCLK
30
120
1 1 0 1 512
96
49152
16
50176/DMCLK
25
100
1 1 1 0 512
160
81920
16
82944/DMCLK
15
60
1 1 1 1 512
192
98304
16
99328/DMCLK
12.5
50
DS20006180D-page 40
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
FIGURE 5-6:
Decimation Filter Frequency Response (OSR = 256, PRE = 1:1,
MCLK = 4.9152 MHz).
FIGURE 5-7:
Decimation Filter Frequency Response (OSR = 81920, PRE = 1:1,
MCLK = 4.9152 MHz).
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 41
MCP3461/2/4
5.6
ADC Output Data Format
The ADC Output Data register (ADCDATA) is located at
the address: 0x0. The default length of the register is
16-bit (15-bit + SIGN).
Output data are calculated in the digital decimation
filter with a larger resolution and are rounded to the
closest LSb value.
EQUATION 5-5:
The rounding ensures a maximum 1/2 LSb error
instead of a simple truncation that ensures a 1 LSb
maximum error.
Equation 5-5 calculates ADC output code as a function
of the input and reference signals for DC inputs.
ADC OUTPUT CODE FOR DC INPUT (DATA_FORMAT[1:0] = 00)
V IN+ – V IN-
ADC_OUTPUT(LSb) = ----------------------------------------- 32768 GAIN
V REF+ – V REF-
For AC sine wave inputs, the decimation filter transfer
function (see Equation 5-3) induces an additional gain
on the ADC output code, which depends on the input
frequency (roll-off of the decimation filter). For any
inputs, the VIN+/VIN- voltages are averaged out during
the whole conversion time, since the ADC is an
oversampling converter.
The ADC output format is set by the DATA_FORMAT[1:0]
bits in the CONFIG3 register. These bits define four
different possible formats for the ADC Data Output
register: three 32-bit formats and one 16-bit format for
MCP3461/2/4.
All possible data formats are described in Figure 5-8.
DATA_FORMAT[1:0]
00
SGN + DATA[14:0]
01
SGN + DATA[14:0]
0x0000
10
SGN ext (16-bit)
DATA[15:0]
11
CH_ID[3:0]
FIGURE 5-8:
SGN ext (12-bit)
ADC Output Format Selection.
When DATA_FORMAT[1:0] = 0x, the ADC resolution is
16-bit. The ADC output code is represented with MSb
first, signed two’s complement coding. With these two
data formats, the coding does not allow overrange; the
equivalent analog input range is [-VREF; +VREF – 1 LSb].
When VIN * Gain > VREF – 1 LSb, the 16-bit ADC code
(SGN + DATA[14:0]) will saturate and be locked at
0x7FFF. When VIN * Gain < -VREF, the 16-bit ADC code
will saturate and be locked at 0x8000. Using these data
formats does not permit correctly evaluating full-scale
errors in case of a positive full-scale error.
DS20006180D-page 42
DATA[15:0]
When DATA_FORMAT[1:0 = 00, the output register
shows only the 16-bit value.
When DATA_FORMAT[1:0] = 01, the output register is
32 bits long and the output code is padded with
additional zeros on the last two bytes. The output code
is left justified in this case. This format is useful for
32-bit MCU applications.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
When DATA_FORMAT[1:0] = 1x, the ADC data are
represented on 17 bits. For these two data formats, the
output register is 32 bits long. With these two data
formats, the coding allows overrange; the equivalent
analog input range is [-2 * VREF; +2 * VREF – 1 LSb].
When VIN * Gain > 2 VREF – 1 LSb, the 17-bit ADC
code (SIGN + DATA[15:0]) saturates and locks at
0x0FFFF. When VIN * Gain < -2 VREF, the 17-bit ADC
code will saturate and be locked at 0x10000. Using
these data formats allows a correct evaluation of the
full-scale errors in case of a positive full-scale error,
since they allow inputs that can be greater than VREF or
less than -VREF.
The ADC accuracy is not maintained on the full
extended [-2 * VREF; +2 * VREF – 1 LSb] range, but only
on a smaller range, which is approximately equal to
±1.05 * VREF. This overrange can be useful in high-side
measurements and gain error cancellation algorithms.
The overrange-capable formatting on 17 bits is fully
compatible with the standard code locked formatting on
16 bits: both coding formats produce the same 16-bit
TABLE 5-7:
codes for the [-VREF; +VREF – 1 LSb] range and the
MSb on the 17-bit coding can be considered as a
simple Sign bit extension.
When DATA_FORMAT[1:0] = 10, the 17-bit (16-bit plus
SGN) value is right justified. The first two bytes of the
32-bit ADC output code will repeat the Sign bit (SGN).
In DATA_FORMAT[1:0] = 11, the output code is similar
to the DATA_FORMAT[1:0] = 10. The only difference
resides in the four MSbs of the first byte, which are no
longer repeats of the Sign bit (SGN). They are the
Channel ID data (CH_ID[3:0]) that are defined in
Table 5-14. This CH_ID[3:0] word can be used to verify
that the right channel has been converted in SCAN
mode, and can serve easy data retrieval and logging
(see Section 5.14 “SCAN Mode” for more details
about the SCAN mode). In MUX mode, this 4-bit word
is defaulted to ‘0000’ and does not vary with the
MUX[7:0] selection. This format is useful for 32-bit
MCU applications.
DATA_FORMAT[1:0] = 0x (16-BIT CODING)
Equivalent Input
Voltage
ADC Output Code
(SGN + DATA[14:0])
Hexadecimal
Decimal
> VREF – 1 LSb
0111111111111111
0x7FFF
+32767
VREF – 2 LSbs
0111111111111110
0x7FFE
+32766
1 LSb
0000000000000001
0x0001
+1
0
0000000000000000
0x0000
0
-1 LSb
-1
1111111111111111
0xFFFF
-VREF + 1 LSb
1000000000000001
0xFFFF
-32767
< -VREF
1000000000000000
0x8000
-32768
TABLE 5-8:
DATA_FORMAT[1:0] = 1x (17-BIT CODING)
Equivalent Input
Voltage
ADC Output Code
(SGN + DATA[15:0])
Hexadecimal
Decimal
> 2 VREF – 1 LSb
01111111111111111
0x0FFFF
+65535
2 VREF – 2 LSbs
01111111111111110
0x0FFFE
+65534
VREF + 1 LSb
01000000000000001
0x08001
+32769
VREF
01000000000000000
0x08000
+32768
VREF – 1 LSb
00111111111111111
0x07FFF
+32767
VREF – 2 LSbs
00111111111111110
0x07FFE
+32766
1 LSb
00000000000000001
0x00001
+1
0
00000000000000000
0x00000
0
-1 LSb
11111111111111111
0x1FFFF
-1
-VREF + 1 LSb
11000000000000001
0x18001
-32767
-VREF
11000000000000000
0x18000
-32768
-VREF – 1 LSb
10111111111111111
0x17FFF
-32769
-2 VREF – 1 LSb
10000000000000001
0x10001
-65535
< -2 VREF
10000000000000000
0x10000
-65536
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 43
MCP3461/2/4
5.7
Power-on Reset
During Full Shutdown mode, the power supply voltages
are not monitored to be able to reach ultra-low power
consumption. The device cannot generate a POR
event interrupt in this mode, except in cases of
extremely low-power supply voltages.
The analog and digital power supplies are monitored
separately by two Power-on-Reset (POR) monitoring
circuits at all times, except during Full Shutdown mode
(see Section 5.9 “Low-Power Shutdown Modes”).
The DVDD and AVDD monitoring thresholds are
different since their respective voltage ranges are
different. The AVDD rising threshold is approximately
1.75V, ±10% and the DVDD is 1.2V, ±10%. The
hysteresis is approximately 150 mV (typical). Proper
decoupling ceramic capacitors (0.1 µF and 10 µF
ceramic) should be placed as close as possible to the
power supply pins (AVDD, DVDD), to provide additional
transient immunity.
Each POR circuit has two separate thresholds, one for
the rising voltage supply and one for the falling voltage
supply. They both include hysteresis (the rising
threshold is superior to the falling threshold), so that the
device is tolerant to a certain degree of transient noise
on each power supply.
If any of the two power supply voltages is below its
respective threshold, the POR state is forced internally.
In this state, the SPI interface is disabled and no command can be executed by the chip. All registers are
cleared and set to their default values.
In order to ensure a proper power-up sequence, the
ramp rate of DVDD should not exceed 3V/µs when
coming out of the POR state.
At power-up, when both power supply voltages are
above the rising thresholds, the device powers up and
the SPI interface is enabled and can handle communications. Since both thresholds need to be crossed for
the power-up, the power-up sequence is not important
and any power supply voltage can ramp up first. The
detection time for the monitoring circuits (tPOR) is about
1 µs for relatively fast power-up ramp rates. The normal
operation is stopped when any of the falling thresholds
of the two POR monitoring circuits are crossed.
Figure 5-9 illustrates the power-up and power-down
sequences.
Additionally, the user needs to lower the DVDD residual
voltage as much as possible, close to 0V, when the
device is kept for a long time in a POR state (below
DVDD POR threshold) in order to ensure a proper
power-up sequence. The user can verify if the
power-up sequence has been correctly performed by
reading the default state of all the registers in the
register map, just after powering up the device. If one
or more of the registers do not show the proper default
setting, a new power-up cycle should be launched to
recover from this condition.
If the CS pin is kept logic low during a POR state, a
logic high pulse is necessary to start the first
communication sequence. The CS rising edge will
properly reset the SPI interface and the falling edge will
clear the POR interrupt on the IRQ pin (see
Figure 6-16).
Voltage
(AVDD, DVDD)
POR Threshold Up
POR Threshold Down
tPOR
Time
POR State
FIGURE 5-9:
DS20006180D-page 44
Normal Operation
POR State
Power-on Reset Timing Diagram.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
5.8
ADC Operating Modes
The ADC can be placed into three different operating
modes: ADC Shutdown, Standby and Conversion. The
ADC operating mode is controlled directly by the user
using the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits in the CONFIG0 register.
The user can directly launch conversions or place the
ADC into ADC Shutdown or Standby mode by writing
directly to these bits. Additional Fast commands are
available for each of the three possible states of these
bits to allow faster programming in case of time-sensitive
applications (see Section 6.2.4 “Command-Type Bits
(CMD[1:0])”). The different ADC_MODE[1:0] bits
settings available are described in Table 5-9.
The ADC_MODE[1:0] bits do not give an instantaneous
representation of the state of the ADC. Writing the
ADC_MODE[1:0] bits sets the desired state of the
ADC, but this state is only attained after a start-up time
depending on the current state of the ADC. See
Section 5.10 “ADC Start-up Timer” for details about
the start-up timer. Typically, the device starts in ADC
Shutdown mode after a POR (ADC_MODE[1:0] = 00
by default). To launch conversions in the desired
configuration, the user should program the part in the
desired configuration and then set the ADC_MODE[1:0]
bits to ‘11’. In this case, the first conversion will start
after TADC_SETUP = 256 DMCLK periods. This time is
necessary for the part to adjust to the new programmed
settings and settle in to its operating point to accurately
convert the input signals.
Internally, the device tracks the current state of the
ADC, as well as the start-up timer counter to be able to
optimize the start-up time, depending on the desired
transitions and internal configurations required and set
by the user.
TABLE 5-9:
In MUX mode, overwriting the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits to
‘11’ when the ADC is already in conversion, resets and
restarts the current conversion immediately. The
conversion start pulse will also be regenerated in this
case if the EN_STP bit was enabled.
In SCAN mode (see Section 5.14 “SCAN Mode”), writing the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits to ‘11’ starts the conversion
SCAN cycle. During the whole cycle, even when the scan
timer is enabled, reading the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits will
give a ‘11’ code output, meaning that the SCAN cycle
is ongoing. Rewriting ADC_MODE[1:0] = 11 during
SCAN mode will immediately reset and restart the
whole SCAN sequence, from the beginning of the
sequence. The conversion start pulse will also be
regenerated in this case if the EN_STP bit was
enabled. The restart of the SCAN sequence may
induce a TADC_SETUP additional delay if the ADC was
effectively in ADC Shutdown mode when the
ADC_MODE bits are overwritten (this can happen if the
ADC_MODE bits are overwritten during the timer delay
period, where the ADC is placed into ADC Shutdown
mode in between two SCAN cycles).
The ADCDATA register is always updated with the last
conversion results only. The ADCDATA register cannot
provide incomplete conversion results. The A/D
conversion needs to be completed to be able to provide
a result in the ADCDATA register. Each end of conversion generates a data ready interrupt on all three IRQ
mechanisms (see Section 6.8.1 “Conversion Data
Ready Interrupt”). The ADCDATA register is never
cleared when the device transitions from one mode to
another. The only way to clear the ADC Output register
is a POR event or a full Reset Fast command. See
Section 6.2.5 “Fast Commands Description”.
ADC OPERATING MODES DESCRIPTION
ADC_MODE[1:0]
ADC Mode
Description
11
Conversion
The ADC is placed into Conversion mode and consumes the specified current
(see the Electrical Characteristics table). A/D conversions can be reset and
restarted immediately once this mode is effectively reached. This mode may be
reached after a maximum of TADC_SETUP time, depending on the current state
of the ADC.
10
Standby
0x
Conversions are stopped. ADC is placed into Reset but consumes almost as
much current as in Conversion mode. A/D conversions can start immediately
once this mode is effectively reached. This mode may be reached after a
maximum of TADC_SETUP time, depending of the current state of the ADC.
ADC Shutdown Conversions are stopped. ADC is placed into ADC Shutdown mode consuming
no current. A/D conversions can start only after TADC_SETUP start-up time. This
mode is effective immediately after being programmed.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 45
MCP3461/2/4
5.9
Low-Power Shutdown Modes
The Full Shutdown mode stops all internal timers and
resets them. Sending a Fast CMD to change the
operating mode exits the Full Shutdown mode.
The device incorporates two low-power modes that can
be activated in order to limit power consumption of the
device when ADC is not used. These two modes are
called Partial Shutdown and Full Shutdown modes.
5.9.1
The user should place all digital inputs to a static value
(logic low or high) in order to optimize power consumption during Full Shutdown mode. The current
consumption specifications during Full Shutdown
mode are intended without any digital pin toggling
during the measurement. In this case, only leakage
current is consumed throughout the device and this
current varies exponentially with respect to absolute
temperature.
FULL SHUTDOWN MODE
The Full Shutdown mode can be enabled by two
means:
• Writing CONFIG0 to ‘0x00’
• Sending a Fast Command Full Shutdown (Fast
Command code: ‘1101’)
5.9.2
Full Shutdown mode is the lowest power mode of the
device. None of the circuits consuming static power are
active in this mode.
Partial Shutdown mode is achieved when CONFIG0 is
set to ‘xx000000’ where ‘xx’ is not equal to ‘00’
(CONFIG0 = 0x00 puts the device in Full Shutdown
mode). In this mode, most of the internal circuits are
shut down, with the exception of the POR monitoring
and internal biasing circuits. During the Partial
Shutdown mode, the power supply is continuously
monitored, whereas in Full Shutdown mode, the POR
monitoring circuits are powered down. The power consumption is also much higher in Partial Shutdown
mode due to different biases and the POR monitoring
circuits being active. Partial Shutdown mode allows the
device to be restarted and put back in Conversion
mode faster than Full Shutdown mode. Table 5-10
describes the differences between Partial and Full
Shutdown modes. If the current consumption of Partial
Shutdown mode is acceptable for the application, it is
recommended that it is used as an alternative to Full
Shutdown mode, where the POR monitoring circuits
are shut down, and no longer monitoring the AVDD and
DVDD power supplies.
As stated in Section 5.7 “Power-on Reset”, the
AVDD/DVDD POR monitoring circuits are not active
while in Full Shutdown mode. For this reason, the Full
Shutdown mode is not recommended for applications
where an AVDD/DVDD power-down (whether expected
or unexpected) voltage level of 100 mV (approx.) or
less cannot be ensured before reapplying power.
The part can still be accessed through the SPI interface
during this mode and will accept incoming SPI
commands. The ADCDATA register is not cleared
during Full Shutdown mode and still holds previous
conversion results. The other Configuration register
settings are not modified or reset due to entering in Full
Shutdown mode.
When the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits are temporarily set
internally to ‘00’, during SCAN mode, in between
SCAN cycles, the part does not go into Full Shutdown
mode, even if all the other bits in the CONFIG0 register
are set to ‘0’.
TABLE 5-10:
PARTIAL SHUTDOWN MODE
LOW-POWER MODES(1)
Device
CONFIG0[7:6] CLK_SEL[1:0] CS_SEL[1:0] ADC_MODE[1:0]
Low-Power Mode
Description
Partial-Shutdown
11
00
00
0x
All peripherals, except the POR
monitoring and clock biasing
circuits, are shut down and
consume no static current. The
SPI interface remains active in
this mode and consumes no
current while the bus is Idle.
Full-Shutdown
00
00
00
0x
All analog and digital circuits are
shut down and consume no static
current. The SPI interface remains
active in this mode and consumes
no current while the bus is Idle.
Note 1:
x = Don’t Care
DS20006180D-page 46
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
5.10
ADC Start-up Timer
The device includes an intelligent start-up timer circuit
for the ADC, which ensures that the ADC is properly
biased and that internal nodes are properly settled
before each conversion. This timer ensures the proper
conditions for the ADC to convert with its full accuracy
for each conversion.
The ADC can operate in three different modes: ADC
Shutdown, Standby and Conversion, as described in
Section 5.8 “ADC Operating Modes”. The ADC
start-up timer manages the time for the transitions
between each mode. These transitions can be instantaneous or can take a maximum of 256 DMCLK
periods, depending on the type of transition and the
current status of the ADC and of the internal start-up
timer.
The timer will always try to reduce the transition time
from one state to another, but will also allow enough
time for the internal circuitry to settle to the proper
internal operating points.
The transitions from Standby or Conversion mode to
ADC Shutdown mode are always immediate. They
reset the internal start-up timer to 256 DMCLK periods
(TADC_SETUP).
The transitions from ADC Shutdown to Standby or
Conversion mode start the internal start-up timer that
decrements from 256 to 0. The timer only decrements
after a small delay of two MCLK periods in case of a
transition caused by an SPI command. This small delay
is necessary to overcome any possible synchronization
issues between the two asynchronous clocks, MCLK
and SCK. The timer will immediately decrement
(without the synchronization delay) if the transitions are
generated by the internal state machine (for example,
when the transitions are generated by the SCAN
sequence). Once the timer reaches 0 (when the user
has clocked 256 DMCLK periods), the device reaches
its internal proper operating points and will either stay
in Standby mode (if ADC_MODE[1:0] = 10) or start the
Conversion mode (if ADC_MODE[1:0] = 11).
The transition from Standby to Conversion mode and
vice versa is immediate once the timer has reached 0 (if
ADC_MODE[1:0] = 11). If the transition from Standby to
Conversion mode occurs, and if the timer has not yet
reached 0, the timer will continue to decrement to 0
TABLE 5-11:
before effectively starting the conversion. The timer cannot decrement faster than 256 DMCLK periods when the
ADC transitions from ADC Shutdown mode to Conversion mode (from ADC Shutdown mode, the ADC is
allowed 256 DMCLK periods to power-up and settle to
its desired operating point before starting conversions).
The start-up time has been sized at 256 DMCLK clock
periods for the part to be able to settle in all conditions
and with all possible clock frequencies as specified.
Table 5-11 summarizes the behavior of the internal
start-up timer as a function of the ADC_MODE[1:0]
settings.
Rewriting the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits without changing
the bit settings does not modify the internal timer and
cannot shorten the start-up delay necessary to start
accurate conversions. A synchronization delay of two
MCLK periods occurs after each rewrite if
ADC_MODE[1:0] = 1x.
In SCAN mode, when CONV_MODE[1:0] = 11 (Continuous mode), the ADC may be placed in ADC Shutdown
and restarted in between each SCAN cycle, depending
on the TIMER[23:0] settings (see Section 5.14.5
“Delay Between Each SCAN Cycle (TIMER[23:0])”).
If the TIMER register is programmed with a decimal
code greater than TADC_SETUP = 256, the internal timer
will automatically place the part in ADC Shutdown
mode at the end of the cycle and will start to transition
to the next cycle 256 DMCLK periods before the end of
the TIMER delay.
This lowers the power consumed during the TIMER
delay as much as possible. If the value of the TIMER
delay is less than 256 DMCLK periods, the part will not
enter ADC Shutdown mode and stay in Standby mode
during the TIMER delay (in this case, the power consumed is equivalent to the Conversion mode power
consumption).
In order to catch the start of the conversion in case of
complex sequences of transitions, it can be useful to
enable the EN_STP bit so that the part will generate a
pulse on the IRQ pin to indicate a conversion start.
Figure 5-10 shows different cases of transitions
between modes and shows the internal state of the
start-up timer for each step. Table 5-11 summarizes the
behavior of the internal start-up timer as a function of
the ADC_MODE[1:0] settings.
ADC START-UP TIMER BEHAVIOR AS A FUNCTION OF ADC_MODE[1:0] SETTINGS
ADC_MODE[1:0]
ADC State
11
Conversion
10
Standby
0x
ADC Shutdown
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
ADC Start-up Timer Behavior
The ADC start-up timer decrements to 0. The conversion starts
when it reaches 0.
The ADC start-up timer decrements to 0. The ADC is ready to
convert when it reaches 0.
ADC start-up timer is reset to TADC_SETUP = 256.
DS20006180D-page 47
MCP3461/2/4
DMCLK
Continuous Clocking
SPI
Wri te
AD C_MODE = 1x
Wri te
AD C_MODE = 0x
Wri te
AD C_MODE = 1x
0x
1x
0x
1x
Timer Reset
Switching Between ADC_MODE = 10 and 11
has no Effect on the Timer
ADC_MODE
Timer Reset
ADC Start-up
Timer Decimal
Code
Timer
Countdown
Wri te
1X
AD C_MODE = 1x
256
ADC Ready to Convert
0
FIGURE 5-10:
5.11
ADC Start-up Timer Timing Diagram.
Master Clock Selection/Internal
Oscillator
The device includes three possible clock modes for the
master clock generation. The Master Clock (MCLK) is
used by the ADC to perform conversions and is also
used by the digital portion to generate the different digital
timers. The clock mode selection is made through the
CLK_SEL[1:0] bits located in the CONFIG0 register. The
possible selections are described in Table 5-12.
The master clock is not propagated in the chip when
the chip is placed into the Full Shutdown mode (see
Section 5.9 “Low-Power Shutdown Modes”). Any
change to the CLK_SEL bits creates a Reset and
restart for the currently running conversions, and a
restart of the ADC setup timer. Each Reset and restart
will reset all internal phases to their default values and
can lead to a possible temporary duty cycle change at
the clock output pin.
TABLE 5-12:
CLK_SEL[1:0]
CLOCK SELECTION BITS
Clock Mode
MCLK Pin
00 or 01
External clock
MCLK digital input
10
Internal RC
Oscillator, no
clock output
High-Z
11
Internal RC
Oscillator with
clock output
AMCLK digital
output
DS20006180D-page 48
5.11.1
EXTERNAL MASTER CLOCK MODE
(CLK_SEL[1:0] = 0x)
The External Clock mode is used to input the MCLK
clock necessary for the ADC conversions and can
accept duty cycles with a large range since the clock is
redivided internally to generate the different internal
phases.
The external clock can be provided on the MCLK pin for
the MCP3461/2/4 devices.
5.11.2
INTERNAL OSCILLATOR
The device includes an internal RC-type oscillator
powered by the digital power supply (DVDD/DGND).The
frequency of this internal oscillator ranges from 3.3 to
6.6 MHz. The oscillator is not trimmed in production,
therefore, the precision of the center frequency is
approximately ±30% from chip-to-chip. The duty cycle
of the internal oscillator is centered around 50% and
varies very slightly from chip-to-chip. The internal
oscillator has no Reset feature and keeps running once
selected.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
5.11.3
INTERNAL MASTER CLOCK
MODES (CLK_SEL[1:0] = 1x)
When CLK_SEL[1] = 1, the internal oscillator is
selected and the master clock is generated internally.
The internal oscillator has no Reset feature and is
always running once selected. The master clock
generation is independent of the ADC, as the clock can
still be generated even if the ADC is in ADC Shutdown
mode. The internal oscillator is only disabled when
CLK_SEL[1:0] = 0x. The clock can be distributed to the
dedicated output pin depending on the CLK_SEL[0] bit.
When the clock output is selected (CLK_SEL[0] = 1),
the AMCLK clock derived from the MCLK
(AMCLK = MCLK/PRESCALE) is available on the output pin. The AMCLK output can serve as the clock pin
to synchronize either the modulator output or other
MCP3461/2/4 devices that would be configured with
CLK_SEL[1:0] = 00 or 01.
The AMCLK output is available on the MCLK clock
output pin as soon as the Write command
(CLK_SEL[1:0] = 11) is finished.
5.12
Digital System Offset and Gain
Calibrations
The MCP3461/2/4 devices include a digital calibration
feature for offset and gain errors. The calibration
scheme for offset error consists of the addition of a
fixed offset value to the ADC output code (ADCDATA at
address 0x0). The offset value added (OFFSETCAL) is
determined in the OFFSETCAL register (address: 0x9).
The calibration scheme for gain error consists of the
multiplication of a fixed gain value to the ADC output
code. The gain value (GAINCAL) multiplied is
determined in the GAINCAL register (address 0xA).
The digital offset and gain calibration schemes are
enabled or disabled via the EN_OFFCAL and
EN_GAINCAL control bits of the CONFIG3 register.
When both calibration control bits are enabled
(EN_OFFCAL = EN_GAINCAL = 1), the ADCDATA
register contents are modified with the digital offset and
gain calibration schemes, as described in Equation 5-6.
When a calibration enable bit is off, its corresponding
register becomes a don’t care register and the
corresponding calibration is not performed.
EQUATION 5-6:
ADCDATA OUTPUT
AFTER DIGITAL GAIN
AND OFFSET ERROR
CALIBRATION
ADCDATA (post-calibration) =
[ADCDATA (pre-calibration) + OFFSETCAL] x GAINCAL
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
The calculations are performed internally with proper
management of overloading, so that the overload
detection is done on the output result only and not on
the intermediate results. A sufficient number of additional overload bits are maintained and propagated
internally to overcome all possible overload and/or
overload recovery situations.
For example, if ADCDATA (pre-calibration) + OFFSETCAL
is out of bounds but (ADCDATA (pre-calibration) +
OFFSETCAL) * GAINCAL is still in the right range
(possible with 0 < GAINCAL < 1), then the result is not
saturated.
5.12.1
DIGITAL OFFSET ERROR
CALIBRATION
The Offset Calibration register (OFFSETCAL,
address: 0x9) is a signed MSb first, two’s complement
coding, 24-bit register that holds the digital offset
calibration value, OFFSETCAL. The OFFSETCAL
equivalent input voltage value is calculated with
Equation 5-7.
EQUATION 5-7:
OFFSETCAL
CALIBRATION VALUE
(EQUIVALENT INPUT
VOLTAGE)
OFFSETCAL (V) =
VREF * (OFFSETCAL[23:8])/(32768 * GAIN)
For the MCP3461/2/4 devices, the offset calibration is
done by adding bit-by-bit the OFFSETCAL[23:8]
calibration value to the ADCDATA code. The last byte
of the OFFSETCAL register (OFFSETCAL[7:0]) is
ignored and internally reset to 0x00 during the
calibration, therefore the addition just takes into
account the OFFSETCAL[23:8] bits and is done
bit-by-bit with the ADC output code.
The offset calibration value range in equivalent voltage
is [-VREF/GAIN; (+VREF – 1 LSb)/GAIN], which permits
cancellation of any possible offset in the ADC, but also
in the system. The offset calibration is realized with a
simple 16-bit signed adder and is instantaneous (no
pipeline delay). Enabling the offset calibration will
affect the next conversion result; the conversion result
already held in the ADCDATA Output register (0x0) is
not modified when the EN_OFFCAL is set to ‘1’, but
the next one will take in account the offset calibration.
Changing the OFFSETCAL register to a new value will
not affect the current ADCDATA value, but the next
one (after a data ready interrupt) will take into account
the new OFFSETCAL value. Figure 5-11 shows the
different cases and their implication on the ADCDATA
register, as well as on the IRQ output.
DS20006180D-page 49
MCP3461/2/4
Wri te
OFFSETCAL[2 3 :] = OFFSETCAL1
SPI
ADC
STATUS
Data 2 Conversion
Data 3 Conversion
Data 4 Conversion
DATA0
DATA1
DATA2 + OFFSETCAL1
DATA3 + OFFSETCAL2
FIGURE 5-11:
ADC Output and IRQ Behavior with Digital Offset Calibration Enabled.
DIGITAL GAIN ERROR
CALIBRATION
The Gain Error Calibration register (GAINCAL,
address: 0xA) is an unsigned 24-bit register that holds
the digital gain error calibration value, GAINCAL. The
GAINCAL multiplier is calculated with Equation 5-8.
EQUATION 5-8:
GAINCAL CALIBRATION
VALUE (MULTIPLIER
VALUE)
GAINCAL (V/V) = (GAINCAL[23:8] unsigned decimal
code)/32768
For the MCP3461/2/4 devices, the gain error calibration
is done by multiplying the GAINCAL value to the ADC
output code. The last byte of the GAINCAL register
(GAINCAL[7:0]) is ignored and internally reset to 0x00
during the calibration, therefore, the multiplication just
takes into account the GAINCAL[23:8] bits. The gain
error calibration value range in equivalent voltage is
Wri te
GAINCAL[2 3 :] = GAINCAL1
SPI
ADC
STATUS
Wri te
OFFSETCAL[2 3 :] = OFFSETCAL2
Data 1 Conversion
IRQ
ADC DATA
REGISTER
VALUE
5.12.2
Wri te
EN _OFFC AL = 1
Data 1 Conversion
Wri te
EN _GAIN C AL = 1
[0; 2-2-15], which permits the cancellation of any possible
gain error in the ADC, but also in the system. The gain
error calibration is realized with a simple add-and-shift
circuit clocked on DMCLK and induces a pipeline delay
of TGCAL = 15 DMCLK periods. This pipeline delay acts
as a delay on the data ready interrupt position that is
shifted by TGCAL = 15 DMCLK periods. During this delay,
the converter can process the next conversion, the delay
does not shift the next conversion and does not change
the Conversion Time, TCONV. Enabling the gain error
calibration will affect the next conversion result; the
conversion result already held in the ADCDATA Output
register (0x0) is not modified when the EN_GAINCAL is
set to ‘1’, but the next one will take into account the offset
calibration. Changing the GAINCAL register to a new
value will not affect the current ADCDATA value, but the
next one (after a data ready interrupt) will take into
account the new GAINCAL value. Figure 5-12 details
the different cases and their associated effects to the
ADCDATA register and the IRQ output.
Wri te
GAINCAL[2 3 :] = GAINCAL2
Data 2 Conversion
Data 3 Conversion
Data 4 Conversion
IRQ
ADCDATA
DATA0
DATA1
DATA2 x GAINCAL1
TGCAL
FIGURE 5-12:
DS20006180D-page 50
DATA3 x GAINCAL2
TGCAL
ADC Output and IRQ Behavior with Digital Gain Error Calibration Enabled.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
5.13
Conversion Modes
The ADC includes several Conversion modes that can
be selected through the CONV_MODE[1:0] bits located
in the CONFIG3 register. The behavior of the ADC with
respect to these bits depends on whether the ADC is in
MUX or SCAN mode. Table 5-13 summarizes the
possible configurations.
TABLE 5-13:
ADC CONVERSION MODES IN MUX OR SCAN MODES
CONV_MODE[1:0]
5.13.1
ADC Behavior (MUX Mode)
ADC Behavior
(SCAN Mode)
ADC_MODE[1:0] Bits
Settings
0x
Performs a one-shot conversion Performs one complete SCAN
and returns automatically to
cycle and returns automatically
ADC Shutdown mode.
to ADC Shutdown mode.
Returns to ‘0x’ after one
conversion (MUX mode) or one
SCAN cycle (SCAN mode).
10
Performs a one-shot conversion Performs one complete SCAN
and returns automatically to
cycle and returns automatically
Standby mode.
to Standby mode.
Returns to ‘10’ after one
conversion (MUX mode) or one
SCAN cycle (SCAN mode).
11
Performs continuous
conversions.
Stays at ‘11’.
CONVERSION MODES IN MUX
MODE
In MUX mode, the user can choose between one-shot
and continuous conversions.
A one-shot conversion is a single conversion and takes
a certain Conversion Time, TCONV (or 2 x TCONV when
AZ_MUX = 1, see Section 5.1.3 “ADC Offset Cancellation Algorithm”). Once this conversion is performed,
the part returns automatically to a Standby or ADC
Shutdown state depending on the CONV_MODE[1:0]
bits setting. The Conversion mode determined by the
CONV_MODE[1:0] bits setting will also affect the state
of the ADC_MODE[1:0], as described in Table 5-13.
The conversion can be preceded by a start-up time that
depends on the ADC state (see Section 5.10 “ADC
Start-up Timer”). In One-Shot mode, the ADC data
have to be completely read with the SPI interface for
the interrupt to be cleared on the IRQ pin (the IRQ pin
cannot be automatically cleared like in the Continuous
Conversion mode).
This mode is recommended for low-power, low
bandwidth applications, requiring a once in a while A/D
conversion.
Performs continuous SCAN
cycles with TIMER[23:0] delay
between each cycle.
mode, the output data rate of the ADC is defined by
DRCLK (see Figure 5-5). The digital decimation filter
induces a pipeline or group delay of TCONV for the first
data ready and is structured to give a continuous
stream of data at the DRCLK rate after this first data
ready (the internal registers of the filter are never reset
in this mode, thus the decimation filter acts as a moving
average). Each data ready interrupt corresponds to a
valid and complete conversion that has processed
through the digital filter (the digital filter has no latency
in this respect). This mode allows a much faster data
rate than the One-Shot mode, and is therefore,
recommended for higher bandwidth applications. The
pipeline delay should be carefully determined and
adapted to user needs, especially in closed-loop,
low-latency applications. This mode is recommended for
applications requiring continuous sampling/averaging of
the input signals. If AZ_MUX = 1, the Continuous Conversion mode is replaced by a series of subsequent
One-Shot mode conversions, with a Reset between
each conversion. This makes the group delay equal to
2 * TCONV and the data rate equal to 1/(2 * TCONV).
Figure 5-13 and Figure 5-14 detail One-Shot and
Continuous Conversion modes for MUX mode.
In the Continuous Conversion mode, the ADC is never
placed in Standby or ADC Shutdown mode and converts continuously without any internal Reset. In this
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 51
MCP3461/2/4
ADC Data Read can be
tDODR Performed During this Time
SPI
Write
Write
ADC_MODE = 11
CONV_MODE = 0x or 10
MCLK
ADC_MODE
ADC
STATUS
Read ADC Data
Don’t Care
Continuous Clocking
Don’t Care
00
11
‘0x’ or ‘10’
Depending on CONV_MODE[1:0]
Shutdown
Start-up
Conversion
TADC_SETU P
TCONV
Shutdown or Reset
Depending on CONV_MODE[1:0]
TS TP
IRQ
Conversion
Start
(Generates
Pulse if
EN_STP = 1)
FIGURE 5-13:
IRQ is Cleared
at First SCK Falling Edge
After ADC Read Start
MUX One-Shot Conversion Mode Timing Diagram.
SPI
MCLK
ADC_MODE
ADC
STATUS
Wri te
Wri te
C ONV_MODE = 11 AD C_MODE = 11
R ea d A DC
D ata 1
Don’t Care
Continuous Clocking
00
11
Shutdown
R ea d A DC
D ata 2
Start-up
Data 1 Conversion
Data 2
Conversion
Data 3
Conversion
TA DC_S ET UP
TCONV
1/DRCLK
1/DRCLK
IRQ
TDRH
FIGURE 5-14:
DS20006180D-page 52
TDRH
MUX Continuous Conversion Mode Timing Diagram.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
5.13.2
CONVERSION MODES IN SCAN
MODE
If CONV_MODE[1:0] = 11, the ADC runs in a SCAN
Cycle mode with a TIMER[23:0] delay between each
cycle.
In SCAN mode, the device takes one conversion per
channel and multiplexes the input to the next channel in
the SCAN sequence. Therefore, all conversions are
One-Shot mode conversions, regardless of what the
CONV_MODE[1:0] bits are set to. Each conversion takes
the same time, TCONV (or 2 x TCONV when AZ_MUX = 1,
see Section 5.1.3 “ADC Offset Cancellation Algorithm”), to be performed. If CONV_MODE[1:0] = 00, 01
or 10, the SCAN cycle is executed once and then the
ADC is placed into Standby or ADC Shutdown mode.
SPI
Writ e
CONV_MODE = 0x/10
MCLK
Writ e
A DC_MODE = 11
Writing the CONV_MODE[1:0] bits with the SPI interface within a conversion does not create an internal
Reset. It is recommended not to wait for the end of a
conversion to change the CONV_MODE[1:0] bits to the
desired value, but to change to the desired value just
after a data ready to avoid possible glitches.
Figure 5-15 and Figure 5-16, respectively, detail the
ADC timing behavior in One-Shot and Continuous
Conversion modes, when configured for SCAN mode,
with N channels chosen among 16 SCAN possibilities.
R ea d A DC D ata 1
Don’t Care
ADC
STATUS
Sta rt-u p C ha n ne l 1 C on ve rsi on
TA DC_S ET UP
TCONV
ADC
STATUS
C ha n ne l N Co nv ers io n
(L ast i n C ycl e)
TCONV
TDLY_S CAN
TCONV
TDRH
Sh u td o wn or R e set
D ep e nd in g o n C ON V_MOD E
T DRH
SCAN One-Shot Conversion Mode Timing Diagram.
Writ e
CONV_MODE = 11
ADC_MODE
R es et
R es et C ha n ne l 2 C on ve rsi on
T DLY_S CAN
IRQ
MCLK
‘0x’ or ‘10’
D ep e nd in g o n C ON V_MOD E
11
Sh u td o wn
FIGURE 5-15:
R ea d A DC D ata N
Continuous Clocking
00
ADC_MODE
SPI
R ea d A DC D ata N -1
Writ e
A DC_MODE = 11
R ea d A DC D ata 1
R ea d A DC D ata N -1
Don’t Care
Read ADC Data1
(New Cycle)
R ea d A DC D ata N
Continuous Clocking
00
11
TA DC_S ET UP
Sh u td o wn
Sta rt-u p C ha n ne l 1 C on ve rsi on
TAD C_SE TUP
TC ONV
IRQ
R es et
C ha n ne l N Co nv ers io n
(L ast i n C ycl e)
TD LY _SC AN
TC ONV
R es et C ha n ne l 2 C on ve rsi on
TD LY _SC AN
TC ONV
TD RH
Sh u td o wn or R e set
de pe nd i ng on TIMER [2 3:0] se tti n gs
TTIME R_SC AN
Sta rt-u p
C ha n ne l 1 C on ve rsi on
(N ew C ycle )
TC ONV
R es et
TD RH
TD RH
C ha n ne l 2 C on ve rsi on
(N ew C ycle )
TD LY _SC AN
TC ONV
TD RH
Start-up Time is Reduced to 0
if TTIMER_SCAN < 256 DMCLK
Periods
FIGURE 5-16:
SCAN Continuous Conversion Mode Timing Diagram.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 53
MCP3461/2/4
5.14
SCAN Mode
5.14.1
5.14.2
SCAN MODE PRINCIPLE
In SCAN mode, the device sequentially and automatically converts a list of predefined differential inputs
(also referred to as input channels) in a defined order.
After this series of conversions, the ADC can be placed
in Standby or ADC Shutdown mode, or can wait a
certain time in order to perform the same sequence of
conversions periodically.
This mode is useful for applications that require
constant monitoring of defined channels or internal
resources (like AVDD or REFIN+/REFIN-) and allow
minimal and simplified communication.
When in SCAN mode, the MUX register (address: 0x6)
becomes a Don’t Care register.
SCAN mode includes a configurable delay between
each SCAN cycle, as well as a configurable delay
between each conversion within a SCAN cycle.
Each conversion within the SCAN cycle leads to a data
ready interrupt and to an update of the ADCDATA
register as soon as the current conversion is finished.
The device does not include additional memory to
retain all SCAN cycle A/D conversion results.
Therefore, each result has to be read when it is
available and before it is overwritten by the next
conversion result.
TABLE 5-14:
The ADC is, by default, in MUX mode at power-up. The
ADC enters SCAN mode as soon as one of the
SCAN[15:0] bits in the SCAN register is set to ‘1’. MUX
mode and SCAN mode cannot be enabled at the same
time. When SCAN[15:0] = 0x0000, SCAN mode is
disabled and the part returns to MUX mode, where the
input channel selection is defined by the MUX[7:0] bits.
The SCAN cycle conversions are effectively started as
soon as the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits are programmed
through the SPI interface to ‘11’ (Direct Write or Fast
command, ADC Reset and restart).
After the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits have been set to ‘11’,
they keep the same value until SCAN mode is
completed or aborted.
Each of the SCAN[15:0] bits defines a possible input
channel for the SCAN cycle, which corresponds to a
certain selection of the analog multiplexer input
channel and possibly a certain predefined gain of the
ADC. The SCAN cycle processes and converts each
channel that has been enabled (SCAN[n] = 1) with a
defined order of priority, from MSb to LSb (SCAN[15] to
SCAN[0]). The list of channels with their corresponding
inputs is defined in Table 5-14.
When using DATA_FORMAT[1:0] = 11, each channel
conversion result in the SCAN sequence can be
identified with a Channel ID (CH_ID[3:0]) code that will
appear in the 4 MSbs of the ADCDATA register output
value (Section 5.6 “ADC Output Data Format”). The
Channel ID permits retrieval of which channel the output data came from. Table 5-14 shows each possible
Channel ID value and its associated channel.
ADC CHANNEL SELECTION
SCAN[n]
Bit(1,2)
15
14
13
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Note 1:
2:
SCAN MODE ENABLE AND SCAN
CHANNEL SELECTION
Channel Name
Channel ID
MUX[7:0]
Corresponding Setting
Specific ADC Gain
OFFSET
1111
0x88
None
1110
0xF8
1x
VCM
AVDD
1101
0x98
0.33x
TEMP
1100
0xDE
1x
Differential Channel D (CH6-CH7)
1011
0x67
None
Differential Channel C (CH4-CH5)
1010
0x45
None
Differential Channel B (CH2-CH3)
1001
0x23
None
Differential Channel A (CH0-CH1)
1000
0x01
None
Single-Ended Channel CH7
0111
0x78
None
Single-Ended Channel CH6
0110
0x68
None
Single-Ended Channel CH5
0101
0x58
None
Single-Ended Channel CH4
0100
0x48
None
Single-Ended Channel CH3
0011
0x38
None
Single-Ended Channel CH2
0010
0x28
None
Single-Ended Channel CH1
0001
0x18
None
Single-Ended Channel CH0
0000
0x08
None
SCAN[11:10] and SCAN[7:4] are not available for MCP3462. Writing to these bits has no effect.
SCAN[11:9] and SCAN[7:2] are not available for MCP3461. Writing to these bits has no effect.
DS20006180D-page 54
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
5.14.3
5.14.3.1
SCAN MODE INTERNAL
RESOURCE CHANNELS
Analog Supply Voltage Reading
(AVDD)
During the conversion that reads AVDD in SCAN mode,
the multiplexer selection becomes 0x98 (AVDD-AGND),
which is equal to the analog power supply voltage.
Since AVDD is the highest voltage available in the chip,
when reading AVDD in SCAN mode, the gain of the
ADC is automatically set to 0.33x, which maximizes the
input full-scale range, regardless of the GAIN[2:0] settings. This temporary internal configuration does not
change the register settings, but just for the gain of the
device during this conversion.
With this fixed 0.33x gain, the ADC can measure the
maximum specified analog supply voltage (AVDD = 3.6V)
with a reference voltage as low as 1.2V.
5.14.3.2
Temperature Reading (TEMP)
During the conversion that reads TEMP in SCAN
mode, the multiplexer selection becomes 0xDE, which
enables the two temperature diode sensors at each
input of the ADC. During the temperature reading, the
gain of the ADC is automatically set to ‘1x’, regardless
of the GAIN[2:0] settings. This temporary internal configuration does not change the register setting, but just
for the gain of the device during this conversion.
During the VCM reading, the gain of the ADC is set to
1x regardless of the GAIN[2:0] settings. This temporary
internal configuration does not change the register
setting, but just the gain of the device during this
conversion.
The VCM reading is susceptible to the gain error and offset error of the ADC, which should be calibrated out to
obtain a precise internal Common-mode measurement.
5.14.4
DELAY BETWEEN EACH
CONVERSION WITHIN A SCAN
CYCLE (DLY[2:0])
While the ADC and multiplexer are optimized to switch
from one channel to another instantaneously, it may not
be the case of an application that requires additional
settling time to overcome the transition. The device can
insert an additional delay between each conversion of
the SCAN cycle.
The delay value is controlled by the DLY[2:0] bits
located in the SCAN register (SCAN[23:20]). See
Table 5-15.
TABLE 5-15:
DELAY BETWEEN
CONVERSIONS WITH A SCAN
CYCLE
DLY[2:0]
Delay Value
(DMCLK Periods)
111
512
During the conversion that reads OFFSET in SCAN
mode, the differential MUX output is shorted to AGND
(internally). The Offset Reading varies from part to part,
over AVDD and temperature. The reading of this offset
value can be used for the device offset calibration or
tracking of the offset value in applications.
110
256
101
128
100
64
011
32
010
16
There is no automatic offset calibration in the device,
so the user has to manually write the opposite signed
value of the offset measured into the OFFSETCAL register to effectively cancel the offset on the subsequent
outputs.
001
8
000
0
5.14.3.3
5.14.3.4
Offset Reading (OFFSET)
VCM Reading (VCM)
During the conversion that reads VCM, the device
monitors the internal Common-mode voltage of the
device in order to ensure proper operation.
The VCM voltage of the device should be located at 1.2V,
±2%, to ensure proper accuracy. In this setting, the internal multiplexer setting becomes 0xF8h (VCM – AGND). In
order to properly measure VCM, the voltage reference at
the inputs needs to be larger than 1.2V.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
The delay is only added in between two conversions of
the same SCAN cycle. There is no delay added at the
end or the beginning of each SCAN cycle as a result of
the DLY[2:0] bits setting.
During this delay, the ADC is internally kept in Standby
mode (ADC_MODE[1:0] = 10 internally, but the
ADC_MODE[1:0] bits are always read as ‘11’ through
the SPI interface).
The analog multiplexer switches to the next selected
input at the end of each conversion, which means at
the beginning of the added delay so that the application
can have additional time to settle properly.
DS20006180D-page 55
MCP3461/2/4
5.14.5
DELAY BETWEEN EACH SCAN
CYCLE (TIMER[23:0])
During Continuous mode, SCAN cycles are processed
continuously, one after another, separated by a time
delay (TTIMER_SCAN), which is defined by the TIMER
register (address: 0x8) value. During this delay, the
ADC is automatically placed into a power-saving mode
(Standby or ADC Shutdown). The TTIMER_SCAN delay
offers better power efficiency for applications that run a
SCAN sequence periodically. Since the delay can be
very long, it allows synchronous applications with very
slow update rates without having to use an external
timer. The TIMER register defines the time, TTIMER_SCAN,
between each cycle with a 24-bit unsigned value going
from 0 to 16777215 DMCLK periods. Table 5-16 details
the TIMER possible values with respect to the
TIMER[23:0] code.
TABLE 5-16:
TIMER DELAY VALUE
BETWEEN SCAN CYCLES
TIMER[23:0]
TTIMER_SCAN
Delay Value
(DMCLK Periods)
111111111111111111111111
16777215
111111111111111111111110
16777214
100000000000000000000000
8388608
000000000000000000000001
1
000000000000000000000000
0
The internal TIMER counter will decrement from the
TTIMER_SCAN value to 0 and launch the new SCAN cycle.
If the TTIMER_SCAN value is greater than TADC_SETUP
(256 DMCLK periods), the device will be placed in ADC
Shutdown mode (ADC_MODE is set internally to ‘00’)
at each end of a SCAN cycle. When the internal TIMER
counter reaches 256, the device will start up the ADC
during a TADC_SETUP time to be ready to convert when
the internal counter reaches 0.
If the TTIMER_SCAN value is less than TADC_SETUP, the
part will be placed in Standby mode between each
SCAN cycle (ADC_MODE is internally set to ‘10’).
ADC_MODE[1:0] bits in the CONFIG0 can only be read
as ‘11’ by the SPI interface during the whole SCAN
cycle and in between SCAN cycles.
5.15
A/D Conversions Automatic Reset
and Restart Feature
When the A/D conversions are running, the user can
change the device configuration through the SPI interface
by writing any register. Some register settings directly
impact the conversion results and would lead to invalid
ADC data if they were changed within a conversion. The
device incorporates an automatic Reset and restart
feature for the A/D conversions to avoid these invalid data
DS20006180D-page 56
to be generated. Some register writes with the SPI interface during a conversion will automatically reset and
restart the A/D conversion with the new settings.
The automatic Reset and restart feature behavior
depends on the register bits that are written by the SPI
interface.
5.15.1
REGISTER BITS’ MODIFICATIONS
NOT CAUSING RESET/RESTART
The first group of bits does not generate any Reset and
restart. This group is composed of all the unused bits,
all the read-only bits and some digital settings, such as
CONV_MODE[1:0], DATA_FORMAT[1:0], CRC_FORMAT,
EN_CRCCOM, IRQ_MODE[0], EN_FASTCMD,
EN_STP and LOCK[7:0] bits.
5.15.2
REGISTER BITS’ MODIFICATIONS
CAUSING IMMEDIATE
RESET/RESTART
The second group of bits generates immediate Reset and
restart. The Reset is immediate, the restart is only valid
after a period of two MCLK periods (necessary to handle
the Reset and ensures that the restart is synchronous with
the master clock). This group is composed of settings that
do not induce an analog operating point change. This
group includes ADC_MODE[1:0], PRE[1:0], OSR[3:0],
GAIN[2:0], AZ_MUX, EN_OFFCAL, EN_GAINCAL,
IRQ_MODE[1:0], MUX[7:0] and DLY[2:0] bits.
The EN_OFFCAL, EN_GAINCAL and IRQ_MODE[1:0]
bits generate the Reset and restart only if they are
changed to a new value. An overwrite of the same
value has no effect. In SCAN mode, the Reset and
restart feature will just restart the current conversion for
this group of bits; the SCAN cycle is not modified and
not restarted. The MUX[7:0] bits can be changed within
SCAN mode without generating a Reset and restart,
since this register is a don’t care during SCAN mode.
The DLY[2:0] bits can be changed during the MUX
mode without generating a Reset and restart, since
these bits are don’t care during the MUX mode. The
OFFSETCAL[23:0] and GAINCAL[23:0] bits will only
generate a Reset and restart when written if their
corresponding enable bit (EN_OFFCAL, EN_GAINCAL)
is enabled.
The ADC_MODE[1:0] bits generate an immediate
reset and restart but only if they are overwritten with
‘11’ (in any other case, the conversions are stopped).
Depending on the part being in MUX or SCAN mode,
the reset and restart feature resets either the conversion or the complete SCAN cycle.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
5.15.3
REGISTER BITS’ MODIFICATIONS
CAUSING DELAYED
RESET/RESTART
A third group of bits will generate a Reset and restart
that induces a new start-up delay (TADC_SETUP) so that
the internal analog operating points can be settled with
the new settings before the new conversion is started.
The Reset is immediate; the start-up timer is only
restarted after a period of two MCLK periods
(necessary to handle the Reset and ensures that the
restart is synchronous with the master clock). Overall,
the delay from Reset to actual restart of the conversion
with the new settings is then two MCLK periods plus
TADC_SETUP. This group includes CONFIG0[7:6],
CLK_SEL[1:0], CS_SEL[1:0], BOOST[1:0] and the
RESERVED Address registers (0xB and 0xC). The
CS_SEL[1:0], CLK_SEL[1:0] and BOOST[1:0] bits will
induce a start-up timer delay only if they are changed
to a new value. If they are overwritten with the same
value, they will generate an immediate Reset and
restart. In SCAN mode, the Reset and restart feature
will just restart the current conversion for this group of
bits; the SCAN cycle is not modified and not restarted.
This third group of bits will induce a start-up timer
delay, even when ADC_MODE[1:0] = 10 or if the ADC
is in Standby mode.
In MUX mode, the TIMER and SCAN registers do not
generate a Reset and restart when written, except if the
SCAN register is modified to effectively enter in SCAN
mode. In this case, the MUX mode is superseded by
the SCAN mode immediately.
In SCAN mode, a write access of the SCAN register,
during or between conversions within the SCAN cycle,
will create a Reset and restart of the whole SCAN
sequence. Within the same conditions, a write access
on the TIMER register will not create a Reset and
restart of the whole SCAN sequence. However, during
the TTIMER_SCAN delay between each SCAN cycle, a
write on the SCAN register will not generate a Reset
and restart of the whole sequence. Within the same
conditions, a write on the TIMER register will generate
a Reset and restart of the whole sequence.
Depending on the phase between AMCLK and the SPI
commands, the two MCLK period delay can become a
four MCLK delay to ensure the proper synchronization
of the device. If very precise synchronization is
required, it is recommended to either not change
dynamically the register configurations (i.e., not during
conversions), or to use the EN_STP = 1 setting so that
the start of the conversions can be clearly determined.
During the Reset and restart sequence, the Reset is
immediate and resets the internal phases to the original
state, which can lead to a discontinuity in the clock output frequency if the AMCLK clock output is enabled. The
restart is synchronous with the AMCLK generation and
is effective only after two MCLK periods. The restart will
also generate a conversion start pulse (only after the two
MCLK periods or the 2 MCLK + TADC_SETUP necessary
for the restart) if enabled for the user to be able to align
the system with the exact start of the new conversion.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 57
MCP3461/2/4
NOTES:
DS20006180D-page 58
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
6.0
SPI SERIAL INTERFACE AND
DEVICE OPERATION
6.1
Overview
The MCP3461/2/4 devices use an SPI interface for
reading and writing the internal registers. The SPI
interface includes a four-wire (CS, SCK, SDI, SDO)
serial SPI interface that is compatible with SPI
Modes 0,0 and 1,1. Data are clocked out of the device
on the falling edge of SCK and data are clocked into the
device on the rising edge of SCK. In these modes, the
SCK clock can Idle either high (1,1) or low (0,0). The
digital interface is asynchronous with the MCLK clock
that controls the ADC sampling and digital filtering. All
digital input pins are Schmitt Triggered to avoid system
noise perturbations on the communications. The SPI
interface is maintained in a Reset state during POR.
Each SPI communication starts with a CS falling edge
and stops with the CS rising edge. Each SPI communication is independent. When CS is logic high, SDO is
in high-impedance; the transitions on SCK and SDI
have no effect. Changing from SPI Mode 1,1 to an SPI
Mode 0,0 and vice-versa is possible and must be done
while the CS pin is logic high. Any CS rising edge clears
the communication and resets the SPI digital interface.
See Figure 1-1 for the SPI timing details.
The MCP3461/2/4 digital interface is capable of
handling various Continuous Read and Write modes,
which allows for ADC data streaming or full register
map writing within only one communication (and therefore, with only one unique COMMAND byte). It also
includes single-byte Fast commands that allow faster
access to common and useful configurations. The
device does not include a Master Reset pin, but it
includes an SPI Fast command to be able to fully reset
the part at any time and place it back in a default
configuration.
The device family also includes advanced security
features to secure communication and alert users of
unwanted Write commands which change the desired
configuration. To secure the entire configuration of the
device, the device includes an 8-bit lock code
(LOCK[7:0]), which blocks all write commands to the
full register map if the value of the lock code is not
equal to a defined password (0xA5). The user can
protect its configuration by changing the LOCK[7:0]
value to 0x00 after full programming, so that any
unwanted Write command will not result in a change in
the configuration. Each SPI read communication can
be secured through a selectable CRC-16 checksum
provided on the SDO pin at the end of every communication sequence. This checksum computation is
compatible with the DMA CRC hardware of the PIC24
and PIC32 MCUs, as well as many other MCU references, resulting in no additional overhead for the
added security.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
Once the part is locked (write-protected), an additional
checksum calculation is also running continuously in
the background to ensure the integrity of the full register map. All writable registers of the register map are
processed through a CRC-16 calculation engine and
give a CRC-16 checksum that depends on the
configuration. This checksum is readable from the CRC
register and updated at all times when MCLK is
running. If a change in this checksum happens, a CRC
interrupt generates a flag to warn the user that the
configuration has been corrupted.
The MCP3461/2/4 devices also include additional
digital signal pins, such as a dedicated IRQ interrupt
output pin and a Master Clock (MCLK) input/output pin,
which allow easier synchronization and faster interrupt
handling, facilitating the implementation of the device in
many different applications.
6.2
SPI Communication Structure
The MCP3461/2/4 interface has a simple communication structure. Every communication starts with a CS
falling edge and stops with a CS rising edge.
After the communication start, the communication is
always started by the COMMAND byte (8 bits) clocking
on the SDI input. The COMMAND byte defines the
command that will be executed by the digital interface.
It includes the device address, the register address bits
and the command-type bits.
The COMMAND byte is typically followed by data bytes
clocked on SDI if the command type is a write, and on
SDO if the command type is a read. The COMMAND
byte can also define a Fast command, in which case, it
is not followed by any other byte. The following subsections detail the COMMAND byte structure and all
possible commands.
During the COMMAND byte clocking on SDI, a STATUS
byte is also propagated on the SDO output to enable
easy polling of the device status. During this time, the
interface is full-duplex, but the part can still be used by
MCUs handling only half-duplex communications if the
STATUS byte is ignored.
6.2.1
COMMAND BYTE STRUCTURE
The COMMAND byte fully defines the command that is
executed by the part. This byte is divided into three
parts: the Device Address bits (CMD[7:6]), the Command Address bits (CMD[5:2]) and the Command Type
bits (CMD[1:0]). A representation of this COMMAND
byte is available in Figure 6-1.
CMD[7]
CMD[6]
Device Address
Bits
CMD[5]
CMD[4]
CMD[3]
CMD[2]
Register Address / Fast Command bits
FIGURE 6-1:
CMD[1]
CMD[0]
Command Type
Bits
COMMAND Byte.
DS20006180D-page 59
MCP3461/2/4
6.2.2
DEVICE ADDRESS BITS (CMD[7:6])
The SPI interface of the MCP3461/2/4 devices is
addressable, which means that multiple devices can
communicate on the same SPI bus with only one chip
select line for all devices. Each device communication
starts by a CS falling edge, followed by the clocking of
the device address (CMD[7:6]). Each device contains
an internal device address which the device can
respond to.
This device address is coded on two bits, so four possible
addresses are available. The address is hard-coded
within the device and should be determined at the ordering of the device. The device address is part of the device
markings to avoid potential confusion (see Section 9.1
“Package Marking Information(2)”). When the
CMD[7:6] bits match the device address, the communication proceeds and the part will execute the commands
defined in the control byte and its subsequent data bytes.
When the CMD[7:6] bits do not correspond to the
device address hard-coded in the device, the command is ignored. In this case, the SDO output will
become high-impedance, which prevents bus contention errors when multiple devices are connected on the
same SPI bus (see Figure 6-3). The user has to exit
from this communication through a CS rising edge to
be able to launch another command.
TABLE 6-1:
6.2.3
COMMAND ADDRESS BITS
(CMD[5:2])
The COMMAND byte contains four address bits
(CMD[5:2]) that can serve two purposes. In case of a
register write or read access, they define at which
register address the first read/write is performed. In
case of a Fast command, they determine which Fast
command is executed by the device. In case of a Write
command on a read-only register, the command is not
executed and the communication should be aborted
(CS rising edge) to place another command. All
registers can be read; there is no undefined address in
the register map.
6.2.4
COMMAND-TYPE BITS (CMD[1:0])
The last two bits of the COMMAND byte define the
command type. These bits are an extension of the typical
read/write bits present in most SPI communication protocols. The two bits define four possible command types:
Incremental Write, Incremental Read, Static Read and
Fast command. Changing command type within the
same communication (while CS is logic low) is not
possible. The communication has to be stopped (CS
rising edge) and restarted (CS falling edge) to change its
command type. The list of possible commands, their type
and their possible command addresses are described in
Table 6-1.
COMMAND TYPES DESCRIPTION TABLE
CMD[5:2]
CMD[1:0]
0xxx
00
Don’t Care
100x
00
Don’t Care
1010
00
ADC Conversion Start/Restart Fast Command (Overwrites ADC_MODE[1:0] = 11)
1011
00
ADC Standby Mode Fast Command (Overwrites ADC_MODE[1:0] = 10)
1100
00
ADC Shutdown Mode Fast Command (Overwrites ADC_MODE[1:0] = 00)
1101
00
Full Shutdown Mode Fast Command (Overwrites CONFIG0[7:0] = 0x00)
1110
00
Device Full Reset Fast Command (Resets Whole Register Map to Default Value)
1111
00
Don’t Care
ADDR
01
Static Read of Register Address, ADDR
ADDR
10
Incremental Write Starting at Register Address, ADDR
ADDR
11
Incremental Read Starting at Register Address, ADDR
DS20006180D-page 60
Command Description
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
6.2.5
FAST COMMANDS DESCRIPTION
There are five possible Fast commands available in the
MCP3461/2/4 devices. For each command, only the
COMMAND byte has to be provided on the SPI port and
the command will be executed right after the
COMMAND byte has been clocked. The Fast command
codes are detailed in Table 6-1. All undefined command
address codes for Fast commands will be ignored and
will have no effect. SDO will stay in high-impedance after
the COMMAND byte for a Fast command until a CS
rising edge is provided. The Fast commands can be
enabled or disabled by placing the EN_FASTCMD bit in
the IRQ register to ‘1’ (default). Disabling Fast commands can increase the security of the device because
it can avoid unwanted Fast commands to be executed,
which can be useful in harsh environments.
The ADC Start/Restart command (command address:
‘1010’) overwrites the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits to ‘11’,
creating a conversion start (or a restart if the
conversion was already running).
The ADC Standby mode command (command address:
‘1011’) overwrites the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits to ‘10’, and
is therefore, placing the ADC in Standby mode.
The ADC Shutdown mode command (command
address: ‘1100’) overwrites the ADC_MODE[1:0] bits to
‘00’, and is therefore, placing the ADC in ADC Shutdown
mode.
The Full Shutdown mode command (command
address: ‘1101’) is overwriting the CONFIG0 register to
0x00h, which places the device in full ADC Shutdown
mode. (see Section 5.9 “Low-Power Shutdown
Modes” for a full description of this mode).
The Full Reset command (command address: ‘1110’)
resets the whole device and places the whole register
map into its default state condition, including the
non-writable registers. The only difference with a POR
event is that the POR_STATUS bit in the IRQ register
is set to ‘1’ after a full Reset and is reset to ‘0’ after a
POR event. The Full Reset command is the only way
with POR to clear the ADC Data Output register to its
default value.
6.2.6
DEVICE ADDRESS AND STATUS
BYTE DURING CONTROL BYTE
During the clocking of the COMMAND byte on the SDI
pin, the SDO pin displays a STATUS byte to help the
user to quickly retrieve interrupt status information.
The STATUS byte structure is described in Figure 6-2.
STAT[7]
STAT[6]
STAT[5]
STAT[4]
STAT[3]
STAT[2]
STAT[1]
STAT[0]
0
0
DEV_ADDR
[1]
DEV_ADDR
[0]
DEV_ADDR
[0]
DR_ST ATUS
CRCCFG_
ST ATUS
POR_ST ATUS
Device Address
Acknowledge bits
FIGURE 6-2:
Interrupt Status bits
STATUS Byte.
The first two bits are always equal to ‘0’ and SDO
toggles to ‘0’ as soon as a CS pin falling edge is
performed. This allows the application of multiple
devices with different device addresses sharing one
common SPI bus and avoiding bus contention during
STATUS byte clocking.
The next three bits of the STATUS byte give a confirmation (Acknowledge) of the hard-coded device address.
If the device address of the COMMAND byte and the
internal device address of the chip match, these three
bits will be transmitted and they are equal to:
• STAT[5:4] = DEV_ADDR[1:0]
• STAT[3] = DEV_ADDR[0]
The STAT[3] bit permits the user to distinguish the SDO
output from a High-Impedance state (device address is
not matched) as the bits, STAT[4] and STAT[3], are
complementary and will induce a toggle on the SDO
output.
If the two device address bits are not matched with the
internally hard-coded device address bits, SDO is
maintained in a High-Impedance state during the rest
of the communication and the command is ignored.
This behavior avoids potential bus contention errors if
multiple devices with different device addresses are
sharing the same SPI bus, as after the transmission of
the first two bits, only one device is responding to the
command (all other devices with non-matching device
addresses have SDO kept in high-impedance). In this
case, the user needs to abort the communication (CS
rising edge) to be able to perform another command.
The three LSbs of the STATUS byte are the three
interrupt status bits:
• STAT[2] = DR_STATUS ADC (Data Ready
Interrupt Status)
• STAT[1] = CRCCFG_STATUS (CRC Checksum
Error on the Register Map Interrupt Status)
• STAT[0] = POR_STATUS (POR Interrupt Status)
The STATUS byte permits fast polling of the different
interrupts without having to read the IRQ register. However, it requires a MCU that can communicate in
Full-Duplex mode (SDI and SDO are clocked at the
same time). For MCUs that are only half-duplex, and
for devices that do not incorporate a separate IRQ pin,
or for applications that do not connect the existing IRQ
pin, the polling of the IRQ status can still be done by
reading the IRQ register continuously.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 61
MCP3461/2/4
These three interrupt status bits are independent of the
two other interrupt mechanisms (IRQ pin and IRQ
register) and are cleared each time the STATUS byte is
fully clocked. This enables the polling on the STATUS
byte as a possible interrupt management solution
without requiring to connect the IRQ pin in the system.
All status bit values are latched together just after the
device address has been correctly recognized by the
chip. Any interrupt happening after the two first status
bits have been clocked out will appear on the STATUS
byte of the next communication sequence.
Figure 6-3 represents the beginning of each
communication with both COMMAND and STATUS
bytes depicted. After the STATUS byte is propagated,
the SDO pin will be placed in high-impedance for Fast
commands or Write commands and will transfer data
bytes for Read commands as long as the CS pin stays
logic low.
Device Latches SDI on Rising Edge
CS
Device Latches SDO on Falling Edge
SPI Mode 1,1
SCK
SDO
High-Z
Device Address
does not Match
CMD[7:6]
CMD[0]
CMD[1]
CMD[2]
CMD[3]
Device
Address ACK
DR_
STATUS
0
CMD[6]
Device Address
Matches CMD[7:6]
CMD[6]
High-Z
CMD[7]
SDO
Command
Type
Register
Address
CRCREG_
STATUS
POR_
STATUS
Device
Address
CMD[4]
CMD[5]
Don’t Care
CMD[6]
SDI
CMD[7]
SPI Mode 0,0
Interrupts
Status
High-Z
0
FIGURE 6-3:
SPI Communication Start (COMMAND on SDI and STATUS on SDO) in Cases of a
Device Address Match and Not Matched.
DS20006180D-page 62
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
6.3
Writing to the Device
When the command type is “Incremental Write”
(CMD[1:0] = 10), the device enters Write mode and
starts writing the first data byte to the address given in
the CMD[5:2] bits.
CONFIG0 (0x1)
CONFIG1 (0x2)
After the STATUS byte has been transferred, SDO is
always in a High-Impedance state during an incremental
write communication. Writing to a read-only address
(such as addresses, 0x0 or 0xF) has no effect and does
not increment the Address Pointer. In this case, the
user needs to stop the communication and restart a
communication with a COMMAND byte pointing to a
writable address (0x1 to 0xD).
CONFIG2 (0x3)
CONFIG3 (0x4)
IRQ (0x5)
MUX (0x6)
Each register is effectively written after receiving the
last bit for the register (SCK last rising edge). Any CS
rising edge during a write communication aborts the
current writing. In this case, the register being written
will not be updated and will keep its old value.
The registers may need 8, 16 or 24 bits to be effectively
written depending on their address (see Table 8-1). After
each register is written, the Address Pointer is automatically incremented as long as CS stays logic low.
Attempted data writes to read-only registers will result in
the data byte being written to the next sequential writable
register/address in the register map. When the Address
Pointer reaches 0xD, the next register to write is the register 0x1 (see Figure 6-4 for a graphical representation
of the address looping). The incremental write feature
can be used to fully configure the part by using a unique
communication, which can save time in the application.
This unique communication can end at address 0xD so
that the user can also lock the configuration when
written, providing additional security in the application
(see Section 6.6 “Locking/Unlocking Register Map
Write Access”).
SCAN (0x7)
TIMER (0x8)
OF FSETCAL (0x9)
GAINCAL (0xA)
Reserved (0xB)
Reserved (0xC)
LOCK (0xD)
Reserved (0xE)
FIGURE 6-4:
Incremental Write Loop.
Internal registers, located at addresses 0xB, 0xC and
0xE, should be kept to their default state at all times for
proper operation. These are reserved registers and
should not be modified.
Figure 6-5 and Figure 6-6 show an example of a write
communication in detail with a single register
incremental write communication.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 63
MCP3461/2/4
CS
Device Latches SDI on Rising Edge
DATA[0]
DATA[1]
DATA[3]
DATA[2]
DATA[4]
DATA[5]
DATA[6]
DATA[7]
DATA[9]
DATA[8]
DATA[11]
DATA[10]
DATA[12]
DATA[13]
DATA[15]
DATA[14]
DATA[16]
DATA[17]
DATA[18]
DATA[19]
DATA[21]
DATA[20]
DATA[22]
0
1
DATA[23]
Don’t Care
High-Z
POR _
STA TUS
CMD[2]
CMD[3]
C RC C FG_
STA TUS
CMD[4]
CMD[6]
0
D R_
STA TUS
CMD[5]
0 0
CMD[7]
High-Z
SDO
CMD[6]
Don’t Care
CMD[6]
SDI
CMD[7]
SCK
SPI Mode 0,0; Example with a 24-Bit Wide Register Located at Address CMD[5:2]
CS
Device Latches SDI on Rising Edge
DATA[1]
DATA[2]
DATA[3]
DATA[4]
DATA[5]
DATA[6]
DATA[7]
DATA[8]
DATA[9]
DATA[10]
DATA[11]
DATA[12]
DATA[13]
DATA[14]
DATA[15]
DATA[16]
DATA[17]
DATA[18]
DATA[19]
DATA[20]
DATA[21]
DATA[22]
DATA[23]
0
DATA[0]
Don’t
Care
High-Z
POR _
STA TUS
1
CMD[2]
D R_
STA TUS
C RC C FG_
STA TUS
CMD[3]
CMD[5]
CMD[4]
CMD[6]
0 0
0
CMD[6]
High-Z
CMD[7]
SDO
Don’t Care
CMD[6]
SDI
CMD[7]
SCK
A[6]
SPI Mode 1,1; Example with a 24-Bit Wide Register Located at Address CMD[5:2]
FIGURE 6-5:
Single Register Write Communication (CMD[1:0] = 10) Timing Diagram.
CS
ADDRESS SET
0x1
SCK
Depends on
ADDR
8x
Depends on
ADDR + 1
...
8x
8x
8x
...
8x
...
ADDR
SDI
Don’t Care
COMMAND
BYTE
CMD[7:6] + ADDR +10
ADDR
ADDR + 1
...
ADDR = 0xD
ADDR = 0x1
Complete Write Sequence
ADDR = 0x2
...
Complete Write Sequence
ADDR = 0xD
...
Complete
Write
Sequence
0xD
Rollover
SDO
High-Z
00xxxxxx
High-Z
0
Depends on IRQ Status
and Device Address
FIGURE 6-6:
DS20006180D-page 64
Multiple Register Write Within One Communication Using Incremental Write Feature.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
6.4
Reading from the Device
When the Command bit, CMD[0], is equal to ‘1’, the
command is a read communication. After the STATUS
byte has been transferred, the first register to be read
on the SDO pin is the one with the address defined by
the Command Address bits (CMD[5:2]).
Any CS rising edge during a read communication
aborts the current reading.
The registers may need 4, 8, 16, 24 or 32 bits to be fully
read, depending on their address (see Table 8-1).
If the CMD[1:0] bits are equal to ‘11’, the command type
is incremental read. In this case, after each register is
read, the Address Pointer is automatically incremented
as long as CS stays logic low. The following data bytes
are read from the next address sequentially defined in
the register map. When the Address Pointer reaches
0xF (last register in the register map for reading), the
next register to read is the register 0x0. See Figure 6-7
for a graphical representation of the address looping.
If the CMD[1:0] bits are equal to ‘01’, the command
type is static read. In this case, the register address
defined in the COMMAND byte is read continuously.
The Address Pointer is not incremented automatically.
Continuously clocking SCK while CS stays logic low
will continuously read the same register. Reading
another register is only possible by aborting the current
communication sequence by raising CS and issuing
another command.
In both Static and Incremental modes, the registers will
be updated after each register read is fully performed.
If the value of the register changes internally during the
read, it will only be updated after the end of the read.
The value of each register is latched in the SDO Output
Shift register at the first rising edge of SCK of each
individual register reading. Figure 6-8 shows the details,
bit by bit, of a single register read communication.
Figure 6-9 shows the examples of static and incremental read communications.
ADCDATA (0x0)
CONFIG0 (0x1)
CONFIG1 (0x2)
CONFIG2 (0x3)
CONFIG3 (0x4)
IRQ (0x5)
MUX (0x6)
SCAN (0x7)
TIMER (0x8)
OF FSETCAL (0x9)
GAINCAL (0xA)
Reserved (0xB)
Reserved (0xC)
LOCK (0xD)
Reserved (0xE)
CRCREG (0xF)
FIGURE 6-7:
Incremental Read Loop.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 65
SDO
High-Z
0
0 0
FIGURE 6-8:
DS20006180D-page 66
A[6]
DATA[1]
DATA[2]
DATA[3]
DATA[4]
DATA[5]
DATA[6]
DATA[7]
DATA[8]
DATA[9]
DATA[10]
1
DATA[11]
DATA[12]
DATA[13]
DATA[14]
DATA[15]
DATA[16]
DATA[17]
DATA[18]
DATA[19]
Device Latches SDI on Rising Edge
DATA[20]
CMD[3]
CMD[2]
CMD[0]
CMD[6]
DR_
ST ATUS
C RC C FG_
STA TUS
POR _
STA TUS
DATA[0]
DATA[1]
DATA[2]
DATA[3]
DATA[4]
DATA[5]
DATA[6]
DATA[7]
DATA[8]
DATA[9]
DATA[10]
DATA[11]
DATA[12]
DATA[13]
DATA[14]
DATA[15]
DATA[16]
DATA[17]
DATA[18]
DATA[19]
DATA[20]
DATA[21]
DATA[22]
DATA[23]
DATA[21]
CMD[4]
CMD[6]
Device Latches SDI on Rising Edge
DATA[22]
DATA[23]
CMD[0]
CMD[2]
CMD[3]
CMD[4]
CMD[6]
CMD[5]
0 0
CMD[7]
CMD[7]
1
POR _
STA TUS
C RC C FG_
STA TUS
DR_
ST ATUS
CMD[6]
Don’t Care
CMD[5]
0
CMD[6]
SDI
High-Z
CMD[7]
SDO
Don’t Care
CMD[7]
SDI
CMD[6]
MCP3461/2/4
CS
Device Latches SDO on Falling Edge
SCK
Don’t Care
Don’t Care
DATA[0]
High-Z
SPI Mode 0,0; Example with a 24-Bit Wide Register Located at Address CMD[5:2]
CS
Device Latches SDO on Falling Edge
SCK
Don’t Care
High-Z
SPI Mode 1,1; Example with a 24-Bit Wide Register Located at Address CMD[5:2]
Single Register Read SPI Communication.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
CS
SCK
SDI
Depends on
ADDR
8x
Don’t Care
Depends on
ADDR
COMMAND
BYTE
...
Depends on
ADDR
...
ADDR
Don’t Care
CMD[7:6] + ADDR + 01
SDO
High-Z
00XXXXXX
ADDR
Depends on IRQ status
and device address
Complete READ
sequence
ADDR
0
Static Read Sequence
CS
ADDRESS SET
0x0
Depends on
ADDR
SCK
8x
SDI
COMMAND
BYTE
Depends on
ADDR+1
...
Depends on
Data Format
16x
8x
...
16x
...
ADDR
Don’t Care
Don’t Care
...
CMD[7:6] + ADDR + 11
Complete
READ
sequence
0xF
Roll-over
SDO
High-Z
00XXXXXX
ADDR
ADDR + 1
...
ADDR = 0xF
ADDR = 0x0
ADDR = 0x1
...
ADDR = 0xF
0
Depends on IRQ status
and device address
Complete READ sequence
Complete READ sequence
Incremental Read Sequence
FIGURE 6-9:
Static and Incremental Read SPI Communications.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 67
MCP3461/2/4
If the COMMAND byte defines a static read of the
ADCDATA register (address: 0x0), the ADC data will be
present on SDO and will be updated continuously at
each read. In this case, when a data ready interrupt
happens within a read, the data are not corrupted and
will be updated to a new value after the old value has
been completely read. The ADC register contains a
double buffer that prevents data from being corrupted
while reading them. The part will be able to stream output data continuously, with no additional command, if
the communication is not stopped with a CS rising
edge. Figure 6-10 represents the continuous streaming
of incoming ADCDATA, through the SPI port, with both
SPI Modes 0,0 and 1,1.
CS
The Falling Edge After Read Start Clears the DR
Interrupt on IRQ Pin
Device Latches SDI on Rising Edge
The Falling Edge After Read Start
Clears the DR Interrupt on IRQ Pin
Device Latches SDO on Falling Fdge
Don’t Care
D ATA1[3 1]
D ATA1[2 8]
D ATA0[3 1]
D ATA1[2 9]
D ATA0[0]
D ATA0[1]
D ATA0[2]
D ATA0[3]
D ATA0[4]
D ATA0[5]
D ATA0[8]
D ATA0[6]
D ATA0[7]
D ATA0[9]
D ATA0[1 1]
D ATA0[1 0]
D ATA0[1 3]
D ATA0[1 2]
D ATA0[1 4]
D ATA0[1 5]
D ATA0[1 6]
D ATA0[1 7]
D ATA0[1 8]
D ATA0[1 9]
D ATA0[2 2]
D ATA0[2 0]
D ATA0[2 1]
D ATA0[2 3]
D ATA0[2 4]
D ATA0[2 5]
D ATA0[2 6]
D ATA0[2 7]
D ATA0[2 8]
D ATA0[3 1]
D ATA0[2 9]
D ATA0[3 0]
Read Start
1
1
0
CMD[6]
CMD[6]
Hi-Z
0
0
SDO
CMD[7]
Read Start
D ATA1[3 0]
A[0]
0
R/W
1
A[3]
0
A[1]
0
A[2]
0
A[4]
0
Don’t
Don’t Care
care
CMD[6]
A[5]
SDI
CMD[7]
A[6]
SCK
SD OChanges Synchronously with the IRQ
Falling Edge (DR interrupt flag)
only when MS b is Present on SDO
timing> tDOD R
IRQ
DR Interrupt
(DATA1 is ready)
SPI Mode 0,0; ADC Data Format: 32-Bit
CS
The Falling Edge After Read Start
Clears the DR Interrupt on IRQ Pin
Device Latches SDI on Rising Edge
The Falling Edge After Read Start
Clears the DR Interrupt on IRQ Pin
Device Latches SDO on Falling Edge
Don’t Care
R/W
1
D ATA1[2 8]
D ATA1[2 9]
D ATA0[0]
D ATA1[3 0]
D ATA0[1]
D ATA0[2]
D ATA0[3]
D ATA0[5]
D ATA0[4]
D ATA0[6]
D ATA0[7]
D ATA0[8]
D ATA0[9]
D ATA0[1 0]
D ATA0[1 1]
D ATA0[1 2]
D ATA0[1 3]
D ATA0[1 4]
D ATA0[1 5]
D ATA0[1 6]
D ATA0[1 7]
D ATA0[1 8]
D ATA0[1 9]
D ATA0[2 0]
D ATA0[2 1]
D ATA0[2 2]
D ATA0[2 3]
D ATA0[2 4]
D ATA0[2 5]
D ATA0[2 6]
D ATA0[2 7]
D ATA0[2 8]
D ATA0[2 9]
D ATA0[3 0]
Read Start
D ATA0[3 1]
1
1
0
CMD[6]
Hi-Z
CMD[6]
0
CMD[7]
SDO
0
Read Start
D ATA1[3 1]
A[0]
0
A[1]
0
A[2]
0
A[3]
0
A[4]
0
Don’t
Don’t Care
care
CMD[6]
A[5]
SDI
CMD[7]
A[6]
SCK
timing> tDOD R
IRQ
DR Interrupt
(DATA1 is ready)
SPI Mode 1,1; ADC Data Format: 32-Bit
FIGURE 6-10:
DS20006180D-page 68
Continuous ADC Read (Data Streaming) with SPI Mode 0,0 and 1,1.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
For continuous reading of ADCDATA in SPI Mode (0,0),
once the data have been completely read after a data
ready interrupt, the SDO pin will take the MSb value of
the previous data at the end of the reading (falling edge
of the last SCK clock). If SCK stays Idle at logic low (by
definition of Mode 0,0), the SDO pin will be updated at
the falling edge of the next data ready pulse (synchronously with the IRQ pin falling edge with an output
timing of tDODR) with the new MSb of the data corresponding to the data ready pulse. This mechanism
allows the device to continuously read ADC data
outputs seamlessly, even in SPI Mode (0,0).
In SPI Mode (1,1), the SDO pin stays in the last state
(LSb of previous data) after a complete reading, which
also allows seamless Continuous Read mode.
ADC output data can only be properly read after a
tDODR time, after the data ready interrupt is coming on
the IRQ pin. The tDODR timing is shorter than the time
necessary to input a command on the SDI pin, which
ensures proper reading in the case a new read command is triggered by the data ready interrupt. In case of
continuous reading (with CS pin kept logic low), the
tDODR timing must be carefully taken care of by the
MCU, but in general, the interrupt service time is longer
than the tDODR timing. Retrieving a data ready interrupt
by reading the STATUS byte or reading the IRQ
register automatically ensures that the tDODR timing is
respected.
6.5
Securing Read Communications
through CRC-16 Checksum
Since some applications can generate or receive large
EMI/EMC interferences and large transient spikes, it is
helpful to secure SPI communications as much as
possible to maintain data integrity and desired
configurations during the lifetime of the application.
The communication data on the SDO pin can be
secured through the insertion of a Cyclic Redundancy
Check (CRC) checksum at the end of each read
sequence. The CRC checksum on communications
can be enabled or disabled through the EN_CRCCOM
bit in the CONFIG3 register. The CRC message
ensures the integrity of the read sequence bits
transmitted on the SDO pin.
The CRC checksum in the MCP3461/2/4 devices uses
the 16-bit CRC-16 ANSI polynomial as defined in the
IEEE 802.3 standard: x16 + x15 + x2 + 1.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
This polynomial can also be noted as 0x8005. CRC-16
detects all single and double-bit errors, all errors with
an odd number of bits, all burst errors of 16 bits in
length or less and most errors for longer bursts. This
allows an excellent coverage of the SPI communication
errors that can happen in the system, and heavily
reduces the risk of a miscommunication, even under
noisy environments.
When enabled, the CRC checksum (CRCCOM[15:0])
is propagated on SDO after each read communication
sequence. In case of a Static Read command, the
checksum is propagated after each register read. In
case of an Incremental Read command, the checksum
is propagated after the last register read in the register
map (address 0xF). Figure 6-12 and Figure 6-13 show
typical read communications in Static and Incremental
Read modes when the EN_CRCCOM bit is enabled.
Since the STATUS byte is propagated on SDO, it is part
of the first message, and therefore, it is included in the
calculation of the first checksum. For subsequent
checksum calculations, the message only contains the
registers that are effectively read between two
checksums.
The CRC-16 format displayed on the SDO pin depends
on the CRC_FORMAT bit in the CONFIG3 register (see
Figure 6-11). It can either be 16-bit or 32-bit format to
be compatible with both 16-bit and 32-bit MCUs. The
CRCCOM[15:0] bits calculated by the device are not
dependent on the format (the device always calculates
a 16-bit only CRC checksum).
CRC_FORMAT = 0: 16-bit
(Default)
CRCCOM[15:0]
CRC_FORMAT = 1: 32-bit
CRCCOM[15:0]
FIGURE 6-11:
Communications.
0x0000
CRC Format Table for Read
The CRC calculation computed by the device is fully
compatible with CRC hardware contained in the Direct
Memory Access (DMA) of the PIC24 and PIC32 MCU
product lines. The CRC message that should be considered in the PIC® device’s DMA is the concatenation
of the read sequence and its associated checksum.
When the DMA CRC hardware computes this extended
message, the resulted checksum should be 0x0000.
Any other result indicates that a miscommunication has
happened and that the current communication
sequence should be stopped and restarted.
DS20006180D-page 69
MCP3461/2/4
CS
16x or 32x
Depending on
CRC Format
Depends on
ADDR
SCK
8x
SDI
COMMAND
BYTE
Depends on
ADDR
16x or 32x
Depending on
CRC Format
...
ADDRESS SET
ADDR
Rollover
Don’t Care
Don’t Care
CRC Checksum
CMD[7:6] + ADDR + 01
STATUS
BYTE
High-Z
SDO
0
ADDR
CRC Checksum
Complete Read Sequence Including STATUS Byte
= First Message for CRC Calculation
FIGURE 6-12:
First Checksum
ADDR
CRC Checksum
New Message
New Checksum
...
SPI Static Read with Communication CRC Enabled.
CS
ADDRESS SET
0x0
SCK
8x
Depends on
ADDR
Depending on
ADDR+1
...
16x
16x or 32x
Depending on
CRC Format
Depends on
Data Format
8x
...
16x
16x or 32x
Depending on
CRC format
...
ADDR
SDI
Don’t Care
COMMAND
BYTE
Don’t Care
...
CMD[7:6] + ADDR + 11
Complete
Read
Sequence
0xF
Rollover
SDO
High-Z
0
STATUS
BYTE
ADDR
ADDR + 1
...
Complete Read Sequence Including STATUS Byte
= First Message for CRC Calculation
FIGURE 6-13:
DS20006180D-page 70
ADDR = 0xF CRC Checksum ADDR = 0x0
First Checksum
ADDR = 0x1
New Message
...
ADDR = 0xF CRC Checksum
CRC Checksum
(not part of register map)
New Checksum
SPI Incremental Read with Communication CRC Enabled.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
6.6
Locking/Unlocking Register Map
Write Access
The MCP3461/2/4 digital interface includes an
advanced security feature that permits locking or
unlocking the register map write access. This feature
prevents the miscommunication that can corrupt the
desired configuration of the device, especially an SPI
read becoming an SPI write because of the noisy
environment.
The last register address of the incremental write loop
(0xD: LOCK) contains the LOCK[7:0] bits. If these bits
are equal to the password value (0xA5), the register
map write access is not locked. Any write can take
place and the communications are not protected. The
devices are, by default after POR, in an unlocked state
(LOCK[7:0] = 0xA5).
When the LOCK[7:0] bits are not equal to 0xA5, the
register map write access is locked. The register map,
and therefore, the full device configuration is writeprotected. Any write to an address other than 0xD will
yield no result. All the register addresses, except the
address 0xD, become read-only. In this case, if the user
wants to change the configuration, the LOCK[7:0] bits
have to be reprogrammed back to 0xA5 before sending
the desired write command.
The LOCK[7:0] bits are located in the last register of the
incremental write address loop, so the user can
program the whole register map, starting from 0x1 to
0xD, within one continuous write sequence and then
lock the configuration at the end of the sequence by
writing all zeros (for example) in the address 0xD.
6.7
Detecting Configuration Change
Through CRC-16 Checksum on
Register Map and its Associated
Interrupt Flag
In order to prevent internal corruption and to provide
additional security on the register map configuration,
the MCP3461/2/4 devices include an automatic and
continuous CRC checksum calculation on the full register map Configuration bits. This calculation is not the
same as the communication CRC checksum described
in Section 6.5 “Securing Read Communications
through CRC-16 Checksum”.
This calculation takes the contents of the register map
from addresses, 0x1 to 0xE, and produces a checksum
which is held in the CRCCFG[15:0] bits located in the
CRCCFG register (address: 0xF). The CRC checksum
for the register map uses the 16-bit CRC-16 ANSI
polynomial, as defined in the IEEE 802.3 standard:
x16+x15+x2+1.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
Since this feature is intended for protecting the configuration of the device, this calculation is run continuously
only when the register map is locked (LOCK[7:0], which
is different than 0xA5; see Section 6.6 “Locking/Unlocking Register Map Write Access”). If the
register map is unlocked (for example, after POR), the
CRCCFG[15:0] bits are cleared and no CRC is
calculated.
CRCCFG_STATUS
and
The
DR_STATUS,
POR_STATUS bits are set to ‘1’ (default) and the
CRCCFG[15:0] bits are set to ‘0’ (default) for this
calculation as they could vary and lead to unwanted
CRC errors.
After the DR_STATUS, CRCCFG_STATUS and
POR_STATUS bits are cleared (with a read on the IRQ
register), the CRC checksum on the register map can
be verified by reading all registers in an incremental
read sequence and by using the CRC communication.
At the second incremental read loop, the checksum
provided by the communication CRC should be equal
to all zeros if the checksum on the register map is
correct.
The checksum will be calculated for the first time in
11 DMCLK periods. This first value will then be the
reference checksum value and will be latched
internally, until an unlocking of the register map
happens. The checksum will then be calculated
continuously every 11 DMCLK periods and checked
against the reference checksum. If the checksum is
different than the reference, an interrupt flag will be
generated on the CRCCFG_STATUS bit within the
STATUS byte on SDO, on the CRCCFG_STATUS bit in
the IRQ register and on the IRQ output pin. The
interrupt flag is maintained on all three mechanisms
until the register map write access is unlocked.
When the part write access is unlocked, the interrupt on
the IRQ pin will clear immediately and the two other
interrupt mechanisms will be cleared when the interrupt
has been read (read STATUS byte or read IRQ
register). The CRC interrupt can happen even if the
IRQ pin is configured as the MDAT modulator output. In
this case, the interrupt stays present and forces a logic
low output on this pin as long as the LOCK[7:0] register
is locked (LOCK[7:0] 0xA5).
At power-up, the interrupt is not present and the
register map is unlocked. As soon as the user finishes
writing its configuration, the user needs to lock the
register map (for example, by writing 0x00 in the
LOCK bits) to be able to use the interrupt flag and to
calculate the checksum of the register map.
DS20006180D-page 71
MCP3461/2/4
6.8
Interrupts Description
The MCP3461/2/4 devices incorporate multiple interrupt
mechanisms to be able to synchronize the device with
an MCU and to warn against external perturbations.
There are four events that can generate interrupt flags:
•
•
•
•
Additionally, there are three independent interrupt
mechanisms that allow the devices to be implemented
in many different applications and many different configurations. A summary of the different mechanisms is
available in Table 6-2.
Conversion Start
Data Ready
Power-on Reset
CRC Error on the Register Map Configuration
TABLE 6-2:
INTERRUPT DESCRIPTION SUMMARY TABLE
Interrupt Flag Type
Description
Clearing Procedure
STATUS Byte
Cleared when STATUS byte clocking is finished
Three status bits (DR_STATUS,
CRCCFG_STATUS, POR_STATUS) are
(on the last SCK falling edge).
latched together after device address
detection and are clocked out during each
command on the SDO STATUS byte.
IRQ Register Status
Bits
IRQ register Status bits can be read when Cleared when the IRQ register reading is
finished (on the last SCK falling edge).
reading the address 0x5 (IRQ register).
IRQ latching happens at the beginning of
the IRQ register reading.
IRQ Pin State
DS20006180D-page 72
• When IRQ_MODE[1] = 0: The IRQ
pin can be asserted to logic low by
any of the interrupts.
• When IRQ_MODE[1] = 1: Only POR
and CRC interrupts can assert the
IRQ pin to logic-low.
• Conversion start interrupt is cleared
automatically at the beginning of a new
conversion cycle after a TSTP timing.
• DR interrupt is cleared by the first SCK
falling edge of an ADC read or automatically
16 DMCLK periods before a new data ready
in Continuous Conversion mode or in SCAN
mode.
• POR interrupt is cleared on the first CS
falling edge when both AVDD and DVDD
monitoring circuits are detecting their power
supply to be over their respective
thresholds.
• CRCCFG interrupt is cleared when the
device is unlocked (writing 0xA5 to LOCK
register) or when a Fast command ADC
start/restart conversion is performed.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
6.8.1
CONVERSION DATA READY
INTERRUPT
The data ready interrupt happens when a new conversion is ready to be read on the ADCDATA register. This
event happens synchronously with DMCLK and at
each end of conversion. This interrupt is implemented
with three different and independent mechanisms:
STATUS byte on SDO, IRQ register Status bit and IRQ
pin state.
1.
2.
STATUS byte on SDO. When the interrupt
happens, on the next STATUS byte transmitted
on SDO, the DR_STATUS bit is logic low. Once
the STATUS byte has been transmitted, the
DR_STATUS bit appears as ‘1’ until a new
interrupt will be present. If between two STATUS
byte transmissions, the interrupt happens once
again, the DR_STATUS bit on SDO will appear
as ‘0’ on the second reading.
IRQ register Status bit. When the interrupt
happens, the DR_STATUS bit in the IRQ register
will be set to ‘0’. Once the IRQ register has been
fully read, this DR_STATUS bit is reset again to
‘1’. If between two readings of the IRQ register,
the interrupt happens once again, the IRQ
register Status bit will appear as equal to ‘0’ on
the second reading.
3.
IRQ pin state. The interrupt generates an IRQ
pin falling edge (transition to logic low) as soon
as it happens.
The data ready interrupt is cleared by the first event of
the following two events:
• First falling edge of SCK during an ADC Output
Data register read
• 16 DMCLK clock periods before current
conversion ends
If the user does not read the ADCDATA register in time
in Continuous Conversion mode or in SCAN mode, the
IRQ pin will automatically reset to its inactive state
16 DMCLK periods prior to the new data ready interrupt. This feature is designed to avoid the case in which
the IRQ pin output would always be logic low if the
reading of the ADC data were not performed. The user
can determine exactly when to expect new data and
can respect the tDODR timing in all cases to ensure
proper reading of the ADC data. See Figure 6-14 for
more details.
Transition Time
Transition Time
tDOD R
tDOD R
DATA1 can be Read During this Time
DATA2 can be Read During this Time
SPI
ADCDATA
REGISTER
C OMM AN D By te
R ea d A DC D ATA1
R ea d A DC D ATA
DATA0
DATA2
DATA1
TCON V
1/DRCLK
1/DRCLK
TDRH
TDRH
IRQ
Data Ready Interrupt
IRQ is Cleared
at First SCK Falling Edge After
ADCDATA Read Start
FIGURE 6-14:
C OMM AN D By te
Read ADC DATA2
R ea d A DC D ATA
IRQ is Cleared
if ADCDATA has Not
been Read in Time
Data Ready Interrupt IRQ Pin Timing Diagram.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 73
MCP3461/2/4
6.8.2
CONVERSION CYCLE START
INTERRUPT
This interrupt is the only one that is selectable and the
only one not present in the STATUS byte on SDO and
the IRQ register. It is only available on the IRQ pin. The
user can enable or disable this output using:
• [EN_STP] = 1: Conversion start interrupt output is
enabled (default).
• [EN_STP] = 0: Conversion start interrupt output is
disabled.
This interrupt marks the beginning of a conversion
cycle. In case of a One-Shot mode or Continuous mode
conversion in MUX mode, it marks the start of the
sampling in the first conversion (happening after the
ADC start-up delay of 256 DMCLK periods). In case of
a SCAN mode, it marks the start of the sampling in the
first conversion of the first SCAN mode cycle. The host
MCU can utilize this interrupt to synchronize the start of
the ADC conversion and manage synchronous events
together with the conversion process. See Figure 6-15
for more details.
This interrupt output generates a falling edge on the IRQ
pin and is cleared automatically after a short time, TSTP.
ADC_MODE
00
ADC STATUS
11
ADC Shutdown
Sta rt-u p
1st C on ve rsi on in
e ithe r MU X o r SC AN mo de
TADC_SETU P
TCON V
TST P
IRQ
Conversion
Start IRQ
(EN_STP = 1)
FIGURE 6-15:
6.8.3
Conversion Start IRQ Timing Diagram.
POR INTERRUPT
The POR interrupt provides information to the user that
either a POR event has happened previously or if the
part is in a POR state when the IRQ pin is used.
This interrupt is implemented with three different and
independent mechanisms: STATUS byte on SDO, IRQ
register Status bit and IRQ pin state.
6.8.3.1
STATUS Byte on SDO
When the device powers up, on the first STATUS byte
transmitted on SDO (first communication), the
POR_STATUS is logic low. Once the STATUS byte has
been transmitted, the POR_STATUS bit appears as ‘1’
until the part is powered down. If between two STATUS
byte transmissions, a POR event happens once again,
and if the part is properly repowered up, the POR_STATUS bit on SDO will appear as equal to ‘0’ on the latter
reading. This mechanism can only work when the power
supplies are back above the POR thresholds, on the
analog and digital cores, as retrieving data from the SPI
port is not possible when the device is in a POR state.
DS20006180D-page 74
Data Ready
IRQ
6.8.3.2
IRQ Register Status Bit
When the device is powered up, the POR_STATUS bit
in the IRQ register will be reset to ‘0’. Once the IRQ
register has been fully read, this POR_STATUS bit is
reset again to ‘1’.
If, between two readings of the IRQ register, a POR
event happens once again, the IRQ register Status bit
will appear as equal to ‘0’ on the second reading. This
mechanism can only work when the power supplies are
back above the POR thresholds on the analog and
digital cores.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
6.8.3.3
IRQ Pin State
A logic low state is generated on the IRQ pin as soon
as the AVDD or DVDD monitoring circuits detect a power
supply drop below their specified threshold.
This POR interrupt can only be cleared when both
AVDD and DVDD are above their monitoring voltage
thresholds. When this condition is met, the POR
threshold is cleared by the CS falling edge. This means
that if a CS falling edge does not clear the IRQ pin
state, the POR event is still in effect.
DVDD
AVDD
This feature can be used by the user to know exactly
when the chip has powered up by polling with the CS
pin and checking the IRQ pin state at power-up. See
Figure 6-16 for more details.
Since this is a high-level priority interrupt, this POR
interrupt can happen at all times, even when MDAT is
enabled. In this case, having a constant logic low bit
stream can indicate in this case a probable POR event
(or a fully negative ADC saturation output code induced
by a large negative input voltage).
V POR_A, V POR_D
tPOR
POR
Internal State
High-Z
IRQ
0
tC SIR Q
CS
Don’t Care
Chip Select
Starts Low
Clears POR Interrupt
FIGURE 6-16:
POR IRQ Timing Diagram.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 75
MCP3461/2/4
6.8.4
CRCCFG ERROR INTERRUPT
The CRCCFG interrupt happens when an error in the
CRC-16 checksum has been detected in the register
map CRC calculation.
This interrupt is implemented with three different and
independent mechanisms: STATUS byte on SDO, IRQ
register Status bit and IRQ pin state.
6.8.4.1
STATUS Byte on SDO
When the CRCCFG error happens, on the next STATUS
byte transmitted on SDO, the CRCCFG_STATUS bit will
be logic low. Once the STATUS byte has been transmitted, the CRCCFG_STATUS bit will then appear as ‘1’
until a new interrupt occurs. If between two STATUS byte
transmissions, the error is detected once again, the
CRCCFG_STATUS bit on SDO will appear as equal to
‘0’ on the second reading.
6.8.4.2
IRQ Register Status Bit
When
the
CRCCFG
error
happens,
the
CRCCFG_STATUS bit in the IRQ register will be set to
‘0’. Once the IRQ register has been fully read, this
CRCCFG_STATUS bit will be reset back to ‘1’. If
between two readings of the IRQ register, the
CRCCFG error happens once again, the IRQ register
Status bit will appear as ‘0’ on the second reading.
DS20006180D-page 76
6.8.4.3
IRQ Pin State
The CRCCFG error generates a Logic Low state on the
IRQ pin until it is cleared. The clearing of the CRCCFG
error can only be made by “unlocking” the device (by
writing 0xA5 in the LOCK[7:0] register or by sending a
Fast command start/restart ADC conversion).
Unlocking the device stops the CRC calculation and
clears the associated interrupt. Sending an ADC
start/restart conversion Fast command resets the CRC
calculation and clears the interrupt as well.
This CRCCFG error can only happen in case of an
external perturbation (for example, EMI induced) that
would cause the continuous calculation of the CRC on
the register map to be erroneous or in the case that the
chip integrity has been altered. Since both causes are
high-priority issues, the CRCCFG error takes priority
over all other interrupts (except POR) and over the
MDAT output on the IRQ pin.
Note:
If MCLK is running before the device has
been locked, an interrupt can momentarily
occur even if registers have not been
corrupted. In such a case, the user needs
to send a start/restart conversion Fast
command, which will clear the unwanted
interrupt and correctly restart the CRC
calculations.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
7.0
BASIC APPLICATION
CONFIGURATION
The MCP3461/2/4 devices can be used for various
precision Analog-to-Digital Converter applications. The
flexibility of its usage is given by the possibility of
configuring the ADC to fit the required application.
FIGURE 7-1:
7.1
Typical Application for Absolute
Voltage Measurement
One application of MCP3461/2/4 is to measure the
signal provided by the sensors with absolute voltage
output. For such applications, the MCP3461/2/4 will
rely on an external voltage reference. Figure 7-1
provides an example that uses the MCP3464 ADC with
MCP1501 external voltage reference. For best performance, an RC filter and operational amplifier have
been placed between the OUT pin of the MCP1501
voltage reference and the REFIN+ input of the
MCP3464.
MCP3464 Application Example Schematic.
The ADC can be used either in differential or
Single-Ended mode, thanks to the internal dual
multiplexer (Figure 5-1). The user can select the input
connection settings from the MUX register
(Section 8.7 “MUX Register”) by using the different
settings available on the positive and negative inputs of
the ADC. The single-ended configuration is achieved
by selecting AGND for the VIN- input of the ADC
(MUX[3:0] = 1000) or by selecting any CHn input channel for VIN- and connecting the corresponding CHn
input channel to AGND.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
7.1.1
HIGH-SIDE AND LOW-SIDE
CURRENT SENSING
The ADC has the ability to perform differential
measurements with analog input Common-mode equal
to or slightly larger than AVDD, or equal to or slightly lower
than AGND (see the Electrical Characteristics table).
The user must use a differential input structure and
Kelvin connection to achieve the most accurate
measurements. An anti-aliasing filter is required to
avoid aliasing of the oversampling frequency (DMCLK)
back into the baseband of the input signal and possible
corruption of the output data. Figure 7-1 provides an
example of an anti-aliasing filter.
DS20006180D-page 77
MCP3461/2/4
For measurement of voltages that can reach AVDD or a
few mV higher, a gain setting of 0.33x is useful since it will
increase the input range to 3 x VREF value, so a 1.2V
VREF will allow a theoretical input range of 3.6V. The
maximum voltage that can be measured is always
bounded by AVDD + 0.1V in order to limit excess leakage
current at the input pins created by the ESD structures.
Therefore, in order to properly measure 3.6V with a 1.2V
voltage reference, it is recommended to use an AVDD
supply voltage as close as possible to 3.6V.
Others act as a single resistor with a value dependent
on temperature (pure metal Resistance Thermometer,
RTD, and Negative Temperature Coefficient resistor,
NTC). To accurately measure the signal from these
sensors, most often the REFIN+ is connected to the
same power supply of the sensor (Figure 7-4) as long
as this will respect the Electrical Characteristics table.
R1
7.1.2
THERMOCOUPLE CONNECTION
One of the most used temperature transducers in the
industry is the thermocouple. The thermocouples
provide a voltage dependent on the temperature difference between cold junction and hot junction. This
voltage is in the order of magnitude of few tens of
µV/°C, which require amplification that can be provided
by the internal gain stage of the ADC.
VIN+
MCP3461
24-Bit ADC
VIN-
I2C
FIGURE 7-2:
to MCP3461.
Thermocouple Connection
The connection of the thermocouple to the ADC requires
minimal extra components and it’s recommended to
use a differential input structure. The cold junction can
be measured using a digital temperature sensor, such
as MCP9804 connected to the MCU. If high accuracy
is not required, the cold junction temperature can be
estimated directly with the internal temperature sensor
of the ADC (Figure 7-2).
7.2
Typical Application for
Ratiometric Voltage Measurement
A wide range of sensors provides an output voltage
directly related to the power supply of the sensors.
These sensors are known as ratiometric output. These
sensors often have Wheatstone bridge structure, like
pressure sensors or load cells (Figure 7-3).
R2
Vin+
Sensor
Anti
Aliasing
Filter
REFIN +
M CP3461
Vin-
REFIN-
R1
C1
C2
AGND
DGND
FIGURE 7-3:
Wheatstone Bridge
Ratiometric Connection.
DS20006180D-page 78
RTD
In p u t
S ig n a l
V in +
V in -
FIGURE 7-4:
Connection.
7.3
R E F IN +
M CP3461
R E F IN -
RTD Ratiometric
Power Supply Design and
Bypassing
In any system, the analog ICs (such as references or
operational amplifiers) are always connected to the
analog ground plane. The MCP3461/2/4 should also be
considered as sensitive analog components and
connected to the analog ground plane. The ADC
features two pairs of power supply voltage pins: AGND
and AVDD, DGND and DVDD. For best performance, it is
recommended to keep the two pairs of pins connected
to two different networks (Figure 7-5). This way, the
design will feature two ground traces and two power
supplies (Figure 7-6).
The analog circuitry (including MCP3461/2/4) and the
digital circuitry (MCU) should have separate power
supplies and return paths to the external ground
reference, as described in Figure 7-5. An example of a
typical power supply circuit, with different paths for
analog and digital return circuit, is shown in Figure 7-6.
A possible split example is shown in Figure 7-7, where
the ground star connection can be located underneath
the device with the exposed pad. The split here,
between analog and digital, can be done under the
device, and AVDD and DVDD can be connected
together with lines coming under the ground plane. The
two separate return paths eventually share a unique
connection point (star connection) in order to minimize
coupling between the two power supply domains.
Another possibility, sometimes easier to implement in
terms of PCB layout, is to consider the MCP3461/2/4
as an analog component, and connect both AVDD and
DVDD together, and AGND and DGND together, with a
star connection. In this scheme, the decoupling capacitors may be larger, due to the ripple on the digital
power supply (caused by the digital filters and the SPI
interface of the MCP3461/2/4), now causing glitches on
the analog power supply.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
Figure 7-6 shows an example of a power supply
schematic with separate DVDD and AVDD. A high-current
LDO (MCP1825) was used for the DVDD line in order to
be able to power the MCU and other peripherals
attached to the MCU. A high PSRR LDO is used
(MCP1754) for the AVDD that goes to the ADC and a few
other components sensitive to noise. The NET tie is
used to separate DGND from AGND.
ID
IA
0.1 μF
C
0.1 μF
VA
AVDD DVDD
VD
MCP346x
MCU
DGND
AGND
IA
ID
“Star” Point
D-=
A-=
FIGURE 7-5:
Separating Digital and
Analog Ground by Using a Star Connection.
VIN
VOUT
3
C44
10F
5V_USB
U4
LM1117-5V
MRA4005
VIN
GND
2
+5V USB
+9V IN
1
U3
MCP1754-3.3V
GND
GND
VIN
VOUT
3
3.3A
2
1
C15
10uF
TANT-B
VOUT
3 1
4 2
3
GND
D1
1
3
2
Power Jack 2.5mm
GND
TANT-B
J9
GND
9V
J10
C10
0.1F
TANT-B
0603
GND
GND
3.3D
C45
10F
C11
0.1F
0603
2
1
U2
MCP1825S-3.3V
GND
5V
C14
0.1F
0603
GND
Net Tie
GND
GND
GNDA
GNDA
C12
0.1F
0603
GNDA
GNDA
C13
10F
TANT-B
GNDA
FIGURE 7-6:
Power Supply with Separate Lines for Analog and Digital Sections. Note the “Net Tie”
Object that Represents the Star Ground Connection.
MCLK
DGND
DVDD
DIGITAL
AVDD
AGND
ANALOG
20 19 18 17 16
REFIN- 1
15
REFIN+ 2
14 SDO
EP
21
CH0 3
CH1 4
8
CH4
CH5
13
SDI
12
SCK
11
CS
9 10
CH7
7
CH6
6
CH3
CH2 5
IRQ/MDAT
When remote sensors are used to reduce sensitivity to
external influences, such as EMI, the wires that
connect the sensor to the ADC should form a twisted
pair. Ferrite beads can be used between the digital and
analog ground planes to keep high-frequency noise
from entering the device. The ferrite bead is
recommended to be low resistance.
FIGURE 7-7:
Separation of Analog and
Digital Circuits on Layout.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 79
MCP3461/2/4
7.4
SPI Interface Digital Crosstalk
The MCP3461/2/4 incorporates a high-speed 20 MHz
SPI digital interface. This interface can induce
crosstalk, especially with the outer channels closer to
the SPI digital pins (CH7, for example), if it is running at
full speed without any precautions. The crosstalk is
caused by the switching noise created by the digital
SPI signals. This crosstalk would negatively impact the
SNR in this case. The noise is attenuated if proper
separation between the analog and digital power
supplies is put in place (see Section 7.3 “Power Supply Design and Bypassing”).
In order to further remove the influence of the SPI
communication on measurement accuracy, it is recommended to add series resistors on the SPI lines to
reduce the current spikes caused by the digital switching noise (see Figure 7-1, where these resistors have
been implemented). The resistors also help to keep the
level of electromagnetic emissions low.
The measurement graphs provided in this
MCP3461/2/4 data sheet have been performed with
100 series resistors connected on each SPI I/O pin.
Measurement accuracy disturbances have not been
observed, even at 20 MHz interfacing.
The switching noise is also a linear function of the
DVDD supply voltage. In order to reduce further the
influence of the switching noise caused by SPI
transmissions, the DVDD digital power supply voltage
should be kept as low as possible.
DS20006180D-page 80
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
8.0
INTERNAL REGISTERS
The device has a total of 16 internal registers, which are
made of volatile memory. Table 8-1 shows the summary
of the registers. These registers are accessible
sequentially.
TABLE 8-1:
INTERNAL REGISTERS SUMMARY
Address
Register Name
No. of Bits
R/W
Description
0x0
ADCDATA
4/16/32
R
0x1
CONFIG0
8
R/W
0x2
CONFIG1
8
R/W
Prescale and OSR settings.
0x3
CONFIG2
8
R/W
ADC boost and gain settings, auto-zeroing settings for
analog multiplexer, voltage reference and ADC.
0x4
CONFIG3
8
R/W
Conversion mode, data and CRC format settings, enable for
CRC on communications, enable for digital offset and gain
error calibrations.
0x5
IRQ
8
R/W
IRQ Status bits and IRQ mode settings, enable for Fast
commands and for conversion start pulse.
Latest A/D conversion data output value (16 or 32 bits
depending on DATA_FORMAT[1:0]) or modulator output
stream (4-bit wide) in MDAT Output mode.
ADC Operating mode, Master Clock mode and Input Bias
Current Source mode.
0x6
MUX
8
R/W
Analog multiplexer input selection (MUX mode only).
0x7
SCAN
24
R/W
SCAN mode settings.
0x8
TIMER
24
R/W
Delay value for TIMER between each SCAN cycle.
0x9
OFFSETCAL
24
R/W
ADC digital offset calibration value.
ADC digital gain calibration value.
0xA
GAINCAL
24
R/W
0xB
RESERVED
24
R/W
0xC
RESERVED
8
R/W
0xD
LOCK
8
R/W
0xE
RESERVED
16
R/W
0xF
CRCCFG
16
R
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
Password value for SPI Write mode locking.
CRC checksum for the device configuration.
DS20006180D-page 81
MCP3461/2/4
8.1
ADCDATA Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
ADCDATA
4/16/32
0x0
R
REGISTER 8-1:
ADCDATA: ADC CHANNEL DATA OUTPUT REGISTER
R-0
ADCDATA[15:0]
bit 15
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
bit 23-0
x = Bit is unknown
ADCDATA[15:0]: ADC Data Output Code
Output code from ADC. The data are post-calibration if the EN_OFFCAL or EN_GAINCAL bits are
enabled. The data can be formatted in 16/32-bit modes, depending on the DATA_FORMAT[1:0]
settings (see Section 5.6 “ADC Output Data Format”).
The ADC Channel Data Output registers always contain the most recent A/D conversion data. The
register is updated at each data ready internal signal (depends on OSR and CONV_MODE settings).
The register is latched at the start of each SPI Read command. The register is double buffered to avoid
loss of data. There is a small time delay, tDODR, after each data ready where the user has to wait for
the data to be available. Otherwise, data corruption can happen (when the internal data are refreshed).
When the IRQ_MODE[1:0] = 1x, this register becomes a 4-bit wide register containing the MDAT
output codes, which are the outputs of the modulator that are represented by four comparator outputs
(COMP[3:0], see Section 5.4.2 “Modulator Output Block”).
DS20006180D-page 82
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
8.2
CONFIG0 Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
CONFIG0
8
0x1
R/W
REGISTER 8-2:
R/W-1
CONFIG0: CONFIGURATION REGISTER 0
R/W-1
R/W-0
CONFIG0[7:6]
R/W-0
R/W-0
CLK_SEL[1:0]
R/W-0
R/W-0
CS_SEL[1:0]
R/W-0
ADC_MODE[1:0]
bit 7
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
x = Bit is unknown
bit 7-6
CONFIG0[7:6]: Full Shutdown Mode Enable
These bits are writable but have no effect except that they force Full Shutdown mode when they are
set to ‘00’ and when all other CONFIG0 bits are set to ‘0’.
bit 5-4
CLK_SEL[1:0]: Clock Selection
11 = Internal clock is selected and AMCLK is present on the analog master clock output pin
10 = Internal clock is selected and no clock output is present on the CLK pin
01 = External digital clock
00 = External digital clock (default)
bit 3-2
CS_SEL[1:0]: Current Source/Sink Selection Bits for Sensor Bias (source on VIN+/Sink on VIN-)
11 = 15 µA is applied to the ADC inputs
10 = 3.7 µA is applied to the ADC inputs
01 = 0.9 µA is applied to the ADC inputs
00 = No current source is applied to the ADC inputs (default)
bit 1-0
ADC_MODE[1:0]: ADC Operating Mode Selection
11 = ADC Conversion mode
10 = ADC Standby mode
01 = ADC Shutdown mode
00 = ADC Shutdown mode (default)
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 83
MCP3461/2/4
8.3
CONFIG1 Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
CONFIG1
8
0x2
R/W
REGISTER 8-3:
R/W-0
CONFIG1: CONFIGURATION REGISTER 1
R/W-0
R/W-0
PRE[1:0]
R/W-0
R/W-1
R/W-1
R/W-0
OSR[3:0]
R/W-0
RESERVED[1:0]
bit 7
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
bit 7-6
PRE[1:0]: Prescaler Value Selection for AMCLK
11 = AMCLK = MCLK/8
10 = AMCLK = MCLK/4
01 = AMCLK = MCLK/2
00 = AMCLK = MCLK (default)
bit 5-2
OSR[3:0]: Oversampling Ratio for Delta-Sigma A/D Conversion
1111 = OSR: 98304
1110 = OSR: 81920
1101 = OSR: 49152
1100 = OSR: 40960
1011 = OSR: 24576
1010 = OSR: 20480
1001 = OSR: 16384
1000 = OSR: 8192
0111 = OSR: 4096
0110 = OSR: 2048
0101 = OSR: 1024
0100 = OSR: 512
0011 = OSR: 256 (default)
0010 = OSR: 128
0001 = OSR: 64
0000 = OSR: 32
bit 1-0
RESERVED[1:0]: Should always be set to ‘00’
DS20006180D-page 84
x = Bit is unknown
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
8.4
CONFIG2 Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
CONFIG2
8
0x3
R/W
REGISTER 8-4:
R/W-1
CONFIG2: CONFIGURATION REGISTER 2
R/W-0
R/W-0
BOOST[1:0]
R/W-0
R/W-1
GAIN[2:0]
R/W-0
R/W-1
AZ_MUX
R/W-1
RESERVED[1:0]
bit 7
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
x = Bit is unknown
bit 7-6
BOOST[1:0]: ADC Bias Current Selection
11 = ADC channel has current x 2
10 = ADC channel has current x 1 (default)
01 = ADC channel has current x 0.66
00 = ADC channel has current x 0.5
bit 5-3
GAIN[2:0]: ADC Gain Selection
111 = Gain is x64 (x16 analog, x4 digital)
110 = Gain is x32 (x16 analog, x2 digital)
101 = Gain is x16
100 = Gain is x8
011 = Gain is x4
010 = Gain is x2
001 = Gain is x1 (default)
000 = Gain is x1/3
bit 2
AZ_MUX: Auto-Zeroing MUX Setting
1 = ADC auto-zeroing algorithm is enabled. This setting multiplies by two the conversion time and
does not allow Continuous Conversion mode operation (which is then replaced by a series of
consecutive One-Shot mode conversions).
0 = Analog input multiplexer auto-zeroing algorithm is disabled (default)
bit 1-0
RESERVED[1:0]: Should always be set to ‘11’
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 85
MCP3461/2/4
8.5
CONFIG3 Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
CONFIG3
8
0x4
R/W
REGISTER 8-5:
R/W-0
R/W-0
CONV_MODE[1:0]
CONFIG3: CONFIGURATION REGISTER 3
R/W-0
R/W-0
DATA_FORMAT[1:0]
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
R-0
CRC_FORMAT
EN_CRCCOM
EN_OFFCAL
EN_GAINCAL
bit 7
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
x = Bit is unknown
bit 7-6
CONV_MODE[1:0]: Conversion Mode Selection
11 = Continuous Conversion mode or continuous conversion cycle in SCAN mode
10 = One-shot conversion or one-shot cycle in SCAN mode and sets ADC_MODE[1:0] to ‘10’ (Standby) at
the end of the conversion or at the end of the conversion cycle in SCAN mode
0x = One-shot conversion or one-shot cycle in SCAN mode and sets ADC_MODE[1:0] to ‘0x’ (ADC
Shutdown) at the end of the conversion or at the end of the conversion cycle in SCAN mode (default).
bit 5-4
DATA_FORMAT[1:0]: ADC Output Data Format Selection
11 = 32-bit (17-bit right justified data plus Channel ID): CHID[3:0] plus SGN extension (12 bits) plus 16-bit
ADC data; allows overrange with the SGN extension
10 = 32-bit (17-bit right justified data): SGN extension (16-bit) plus 16-bit ADC data; allows overrange with
the SGN extension
01 = 32-bit (16-bit left justified data): 16-bit ADC data plus 0x0000 (16-bit); does not allow overrange (ADC
code locked to 0xFFFF or 0x8000)
00 = 16-bit (default ADC coding): 16-bit ADC data; does not allow overrange (ADC code locked to 0xFFFF
or 0x8000) (default)
bit 3
CRC_FORMAT: CRC checksum format selection on read communications (does not affect CRCCFG coding)
1 = CRC-16 followed by 16 zeros (32-bit format)
0 = CRC-16 only (16-bit format) (default)
bit 2
EN_CRCCOM: CRC Checksum Selection on Read Communications (does not affect CRCCFG calculations)
1 = CRC on communication enabled
0 = CRC on communication disabled (default)
bit 1
EN_OFFCAL: Enable Digital Offset Calibration
1 = Enabled
0 = Disabled (default)
bit 0
EN_GAINCAL: ADC Operating Mode Selection
1 = Enabled
0 = Disabled (default)
DS20006180D-page 86
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
8.6
IRQ Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
IRQ
8
0x5
R/W
REGISTER 8-6:
IRQ: INTERRUPT REQUEST REGISTER
U-0
R-1
R-1
R-1
—
DR_STATUS
CRCCFG_STATUS
POR_STATUS
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-1
IRQ_MODE[1:0](1) EN_FASTCMD
R/W-1
EN_STP
bit 7
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
x = Bit is unknown
bit 7
Unimplemented: Read as ‘0’
bit 6
DR_STATUS: Data Ready Status Flag
1 = ADCDATA has not been updated since last reading or last Reset (default)
0 = New ADCDATA ready for reading
bit 5
CRCCFG_STATUS: CRC Error Status Flag Bit for Internal Registers
1 = CRC error has not occurred for the Configuration registers (default)
0 = CRC error has occurred for the Configuration registers
bit 4
POR_STATUS: POR Status Flag
1 = POR has not occurred since the last reading (default)
0 = POR has occurred since the last reading
bit 3-2
IRQ_MODE[1:0]: Configuration for the IRQ/MDAT Pin(1)
IRQ_MODE[1]: IRQ/MDAT Selection
1 = MDAT output is selected; only POR and CRC interrupts can be present on this pin and take priority
over the MDAT output
0 = IRQ output is selected; all interrupts can appear on the IRQ/MDAT pin (default)
IRQ_MODE[0]: IRQ Pin Inactive State Selection
1 = The Inactive state is logic high (does not require a pull-up resistor to DVDD)
0 = The Inactive state is High-Z (requires a pull-up resistor to DVDD) (default)
bit 1
EN_FASTCMD: Enable Fast Commands in the COMMAND Byte
1 = Fast commands are enabled (default)
0 = Fast commands are disabled
bit 0
EN_STP: Enable Conversion Start Interrupt Output
1 = Enabled (default)
0 = Disabled
Note 1:
When IRQ_MODE[1:0] = 10 or 11, the modulator output codes (MDAT stream) are available at both the
MDAT pin and ADCDATA register (0x0).
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 87
MCP3461/2/4
8.7
MUX Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
MUX
8
0x6
R/W
REGISTER 8-7:
R/W-0
MUX: MULTIPLEXER REGISTER
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
MUX_VIN+[3:0](2,3)
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-1
MUX_VIN-[3:0](2,3)
bit 7
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
bit 7-4
MUX VIN+[3:0]: MUX VIN+ Input Selection(2,3)
1111 = Internal VCM
1110 = Internal Temperature Sensor Diode M (TEMP Diode M)(1)
1101 = Internal Temperature Sensor Diode P (TEMP Diode P)(1)
1100 = REFIN1011 = REFIN+
1010 = Reserved (do not use)
1001 = AVDD
1000 = AGND
0111 = CH7
0110 = CH6
0101 = CH5
0100 = CH4
0011 = CH3
0010 = CH2
0001 = CH1
0000 = CH0 (default)
bit 3-0
MUX VIN-[3:0]: MUX VIN- Input Selection(2,3)
1111 = Internal VCM
1110 = Internal Temperature Sensor Diode M (TEMP Diode M)(1)
1101 = Internal Temperature Sensor Diode P (TEMP Diode P)(1)
1100 = REFIN1011 = REFIN+
1010 = Reserved (do not use)
1001 = AVDD
1000 = AGND
0111 = CH7
0110 = CH6
0101 = CH5
0100 = CH4
0011 = CH3
0010 = CH2
0001 = CH1 (default)
0000 = CH0
Note 1:
2:
3:
x = Bit is unknown
Selects the internal temperature sensor diode and forces a fixed current through it. For a correct temperature
reading, the MUX[7:0] selection should be equal to 0xDE.
For MCP3462, the codes, ‘0111/0110/0101/0100’, correspond to a floating input and should be avoided.
For MCP3461, the codes, ‘0111/0110/0101/0100/0011/0010’, correspond to a floating input and
should be avoided.
DS20006180D-page 88
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
8.8
SCAN Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
SCAN
24
0x7
R/W
REGISTER 8-8:
R/W-0
SCAN: SCAN MODES SETTINGS REGISTER
R/W-0
R/W-0
DLY[2:0]
R/W-0
U-0
RESERVED
—
bit 23
bit 16
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
OFFSET
VCM
AVDD
TEMP
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
SCAN_DIFF_CH[D:A]
bit 15
R/W-0
bit 8
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-0
R-0
SCAN_SE_CH[7:0]
bit 7
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
x = Bit is unknown
bit 23-21
DLY[1:0]: Delay Time (TDLY_SCAN) Between Each Conversion During a SCAN Cycle
111 = 512 * DMCLK
110 = 256 * DMCLK
101 = 128 * DMCLK
100 = 64 * DMCLK
011 = 32 * DMCLK
010 = 16 * DMCLK
001 = 8 * DMCLK
000 = 0: No Delay (default)
bit 20
Reserved: Should be set to ‘0’
bit 19-16
Unimplemented: Read as ‘0’
bit 15-0
SCAN Channel Selection (see Table 5-14 for the complete description of the list)
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 89
MCP3461/2/4
8.9
TIMER Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
TIMER
24
0x8
R/W
REGISTER 8-9:
TIMER: TIMER DELAY VALUE REGISTER
R/W-0
TIMER[23:0]
bit 23
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
bit 23-0
x = Bit is unknown
TIMER[23:0]: Selection Bits for Time Interval (TTIMER_SCAN) Between Two Consecutive SCAN Cycles
(when CONV_MODE[1:0] = 11)
0xFFFFFF: TTIMER_SCAN = 16777215 * DMCLK
0xFFFFFE: TTIMER_SCAN = 16777214 * DMCLK
•
•
•
0x000002: TTIMER_SCAN = 2 * DMCLK
0x000001: TTIMER_SCAN = 1 * DMCLK
0x000000: TTIMER_SCAN = 0: No delay (default)
DS20006180D-page 90
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
8.10
OFFSETCAL Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
OFFSETCAL
24
0x9
R/W
REGISTER 8-10:
OFFSETCAL: OFFSET CALIBRATION REGISTER
R/W-0
OFFSETCAL[23:0]
bit 23
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
bit 23-0
8.11
x = Bit is unknown
OFFSETCAL[23:0]: Offset Error Digital Calibration Code (two’s complement, MSb first coding)
See Section 5.12 “Digital System Offset and Gain Calibrations”.
GAINCAL Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
GAINCAL
24
0xA
R/W
REGISTER 8-11:
GAINCAL: GAIN CALIBRATION REGISTER
R/W-1
R/W-0
GAINCAL[23:0]
bit 23
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
bit 23-0
x = Bit is unknown
GAINCAL[23:0]: Gain Error Digital Calibration Code (unsigned, MSb first coding)
The GAINCAL[23:0] default value is 800000, which provides a gain of 1x. See Section 5.12 “Digital
System Offset and Gain Calibrations”.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 91
MCP3461/2/4
8.12
RESERVED Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
RESERVED
24
0xB
R/W
REGISTER 8-12:
RESERVED REGISTER
R/W-0x900000
RESERVED[23:0]
bit 23
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
RESERVED[23:0]: Should be set to 0x900000
Bit 23-0
8.13
x = Bit is unknown
RESERVED Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
RESERVED
8
0xC
R/W
REGISTER 8-13:
RESERVED REGISTER
R/W-0x50
RESERVED[7:0]
bit 7
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
Bit 7-0
x = Bit is unknown
RESERVED[7:0]: Should be set to 0x50
DS20006180D-page 92
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
8.14
LOCK Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
LOCK
8
0xD
R/W
REGISTER 8-14:
R/W-1
LOCK: SPI WRITE MODE LOCKING PASSWORD VALUE REGISTER
R/W-0
R/W-1
R/W-0
R/W-0
R/W-1
R/W-0
R/W-1
LOCK[7:0]
bit 7
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
bit 7-0
8.15
x = Bit is unknown
LOCK[7:0]: Write Access Password Entry Code
0xA5 = Write access is allowed on the full register map. CRC on register map values is not calculated
(CRCCFG[15:0] = 0x0000) – Default.
Any code except 0xA5 = Write access is not allowed on the full register map. Only the LOCK register
is writable. CRC on register map is calculated continuously only when DMCLK is running.
RESERVED Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
RESERVED
16
0xE
R/W
REGISTER 8-15:
RESERVED REGISTER
R/W (default depends on product denomination)
RESERVED[15:0]
bit 15
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
Bit 15-0
x = Bit is unknown
RESERVED[15:0]: Should be set to:
MCP3461: 0x0008
MCP3462: 0x0009
MCP3464: 0x000B
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 93
MCP3461/2/4
8.16
CRCCFG Register
Name
Bits
Address
Cof
CRCCFG
16
0xF
R
REGISTER 8-16:
CRCCFG: CRC CONFIGURATION REGISTER
R/W-0
CRCCFG[15:0]
bit 15
bit 0
Legend:
R = Readable bit
W = Writable bit
U = Unimplemented bit, read as ‘0’
-n = Value at POR
‘1’ = Bit is set
‘0’ = Bit is cleared
bit 15-0
x = Bit is unknown
CRCCFG[15:0]: CRC-16 Checksum Value
CRC-16 checksum is continuously calculated internally based on the register map configuration
settings when the device is locked (LOCK[7:0] is different than 0xA5).
DS20006180D-page 94
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
9.0
PACKAGING INFORMATION
9.1
Package Marking Information(2)
20-Lead UQFN (3 x 3 x 0.55 mm)
PIN 1
Example
XXX
YYWW
NNN
PIN 1
AAE
2112
256
Part Number
Code
SPI Device Address
MCP3461T-E/NC
AAE
01(2)
MCP3462T-E/NC
AAF
01(2)
MCP3464T-E/NC
AAG
01(2)
20-Lead TSSOP (6.5 x 4.4 x 1 mm)(3)
Example
XXXXXXXX
XXXXXNNN
MCP3464
EST e3 256
YYWW
2112
Legend: XX...X
Y
YY
WW
NNN
e3
*
Note
Customer-specific information
Year code (last digit of calendar year)
Year code (last 2 digits of calendar year)
Week code (week of January 1 is week ‘01’)
Alphanumeric traceability code
Pb-free JEDEC designator for Matte Tin (Sn)
This package is Pb-free. The Pb-free JEDEC designator ( e3 )
can be found on the outer packaging for this package.
1:
In the event the full Microchip part number cannot be marked on one line, it will be carried over to the
next line, thus limiting the number of available characters for customer-specific information.
2:
Denotes the device default SPI address option. Device only responds to SPI commands if CMD[7:6]
matches the SPI device address for each command (see Section 6.2.2 “Device Address
Bits (CMD[7:6])”).
3:
The 20-Lead TSSOP package allows up to 8 characters per line as shown here. Currently only 7
characters are being used as shown in the example.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 95
MCP3461/2/4
20-Lead Ultra Thin Plastic Quad Flat, No Lead Package 1&- 3x3 mm Body [UQFN]
(Formerly Q3DE; SST Legacy Package)
Note:
For the most current package drawings, please see the Microchip Packaging Specification located at
http://www.microchip.com/packaging
D
NOTE 1
A
B
N
1
2
E
(DATUM B)
(DATUM A)
2X
0.075 C
2X
TOP VIEW
0.075 C
0.10 C
C
SEATING
PLANE
A1
A
20X
(A3)
SIDE VIEW
0.08 C
0.10
C A B
D2
0.10
See
Detail A
C A B
e
2
E2
2
1
NOTE 1
K
N
20X b
0.10
0.05
e
C A B
C
BOTTOM VIEW
Microchip Technology Drawing C04-264A Sheet 1 of 2
DS20006180D-page 96
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
20-Lead Ultra Thin Plastic Quad Flat, No Lead Package1&- 3x3 mm Body [UQFN]
(Formerly Q3DE; SST Legacy Package)
Note:
For the most current package drawings, please see the Microchip Packaging Specification located at
http://www.microchip.com/packaging
(b) b1
L
DETAIL A
Units
Dimension Limits
N
Number of Terminals
e
Pitch
A
Overall Height
Standoff
A1
A3
Terminal Thickness
Overall Length
D
Exposed Pad Length
D2
E
Overall Width
E2
Exposed Pad Width
b
Terminal Width (Inner)
b1
Terminal Width (Outer)
L
Terminal Length
K
Terminal-to-Exposed-Pad
MIN
0.50
0.00
1.60
1.60
0.15
0.35
0.20
MILLIMETERS
NOM
20
0.40 BSC
0.55
0.02
0.15 REF
3.00 BSC
1.70
3.00 BSC
1.70
0.15 REF
0.20
0.40
-
MAX
0.60
0.05
1.80
1.80
0.25
0.45
-
Notes:
1. Pin 1 visual index feature may vary, but must be located within the hatched area.
2. Package is saw singulated
3. Dimensioning and tolerancing per ASME Y14.5M
BSC: Basic Dimension. Theoretically exact value shown without tolerances.
REF: Reference Dimension, usually without tolerance, for information purposes only.
Microchip Technology Drawing C04-264A Sheet 2 of 2
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 97
MCP3461/2/4
20-Lead Ultra Thin Plastic Quad Flat, No Lead Package1&- 3x3 mm Body [UQFN]
(Formerly Q3DE; SST Legacy Package)
Note:
For the most current package drawings, please see the Microchip Packaging Specification located at
http://www.microchip.com/packaging
C1
X2
EV
20
ØV
1
2
C2 Y2
EV
G1
Y1
X1
E
SILK SCREEN
RECOMMENDED LAND PATTERN
Units
Dimension Limits
Contact Pitch
E
X2
Optional Center Pad Width
Optional Center Pad Length
Y2
Contact Pad Spacing
C1
Contact Pad Spacing
C2
Contact Pad Width (X20)
X1
Contact Pad Length (X20)
Y1
Contact Pad to Center Pad (X20)
G1
Thermal Via Diameter
V
Thermal Via Pitch
EV
MIN
MILLIMETERS
NOM
0.40 BSC
MAX
1.80
1.80
3.00
3.00
0.20
0.80
0.20
0.30
1.00
Notes:
1. Dimensioning and tolerancing per ASME Y14.5M
BSC: Basic Dimension. Theoretically exact value shown without tolerances.
2. For best soldering results, thermal vias, if used, should be filled or tented to avoid solder loss during
reflow process
Microchip Technology Drawing C04-2264A
DS20006180D-page 98
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 99
MCP3461/2/4
DS20006180D-page 100
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
Note:
For the most current package drawings, please see the Microchip Packaging Specification located at
http://www.microchip.com/packaging
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 101
MCP3461/2/4
NOTES:
DS20006180D-page 102
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
APPENDIX A:
REVISION HISTORY
Revision D (May 2021)
• Updated Electrical Characteristics table
Revision C (April 2021)
• Updated size for 20-Lead TSSOP package
throughout the document
• Updated Features
• Updated Section 2.1, Noise Specifications
• Updated Equation 2-1 and Equation 2-2
• Updated Table 2-1 and Table 2-2
Revision B (March 2020)
• Added 20-Lead TSSOP package
• Added Section 5.9.2, Partial Shutdown Mode
• Updated Electrical Characteristics table:
- Added Partial Shutdown Specs
- Added Specs for Analog and Digital Full
Shutdown at +105°C and +125°C
• Updated Figure 2-32 and Figure 2-33
• Updated Equation 5-1
Revision A (March 2019)
• Initial release of this document
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
DS20006180D-page 103
MCP3461/2/4
NOTES:
DS20006180D-page 104
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
MCP3461/2/4
PRODUCT IDENTIFICATION SYSTEM
To order or obtain information, e.g., on pricing or delivery, refer to the factory or the listed sales office.
X(1)
PART NO.
Device
Tape and Reel
X
/XX
Temperature
Range
Package
Device:
MCP3461/2/4:
Tape and Reel:
T
= Tape and Reel(1)
Temperature
Range:
E
= -40C to +125C (Extended)
Package:
NC
= Ultra Small Leadless Package,
3 mm x 3 mm 20-Lead UQFN
= Plastic Thin Shrink Small Outline,
6.5 x 4.4 x 1 mm 20-Lead TSSOP
ST
Examples:
a)
MCP3461T-E/NC:
b)
MCP3462T-E/NC:
c)
MCP3464T-E/NC:
d)
MCP3461T-E/ST:
e)
MCP3462T-E/ST:
f)
MCP3464T-E/ST:
Two/Four/Eight-Channel, 153.6 ksps, Low
Noise, 16-Bit Delta Sigma ADC
Note 1:
2:
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
Single Channel ADC,
Tape and Reel,
Extended Temperature,
20-Lead UQFN
Dual Channel ADC,
Tape and Reel,
Extended Temperature,
20-Lead UQFN
Quad Channel ADC,
Tape and Reel,
Extended Temperature,
20-Lead UQFN
Single Channel ADC,
Tape and Reel,
Extended Temperature,
20-Lead TSSOP
Dual Channel ADC,
Tape and Reel,
Extended Temperature,
20-Lead TSSOP
Quad Channel ADC,
Tape and Reel,
Extended Temperature,
20-Lead TSSOP
Tape and Reel identifier only appears in the
catalog part number description. This identifier is
used for ordering purposes and is not printed on
the device package. Check with your Microchip
Sales Office for package availability with the
Tape and Reel option.
The device SPI Address ‘01’ is the default address
option. Contact Microchip Sales Office for other
device address option ordering procedure.
DS20006180D-page 105
MCP3461/2/4
NOTES:
DS20006180D-page 106
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
Note the following details of the code protection feature on Microchip devices:
•
Microchip products meet the specifications contained in their particular Microchip Data Sheet.
•
Microchip believes that its family of products is secure when used in the intended manner and under normal conditions.
•
There are dishonest and possibly illegal methods being used in attempts to breach the code protection features of the Microchip
devices. We believe that these methods require using the Microchip products in a manner outside the operating specifications
contained in Microchip's Data Sheets. Attempts to breach these code protection features, most likely, cannot be accomplished
without violating Microchip's intellectual property rights.
•
Microchip is willing to work with any customer who is concerned about the integrity of its code.
•
Neither Microchip nor any other semiconductor manufacturer can guarantee the security of its code. Code protection does not
mean that we are guaranteeing the product is "unbreakable." Code protection is constantly evolving. We at Microchip are
committed to continuously improving the code protection features of our products. Attempts to break Microchip's code protection
feature may be a violation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If such acts allow unauthorized access to your software or
other copyrighted work, you may have a right to sue for relief under that Act.
Information contained in this publication is provided for the sole
purpose of designing with and using Microchip products. Information regarding device applications and the like is provided
only for your convenience and may be superseded by updates.
It is your responsibility to ensure that your application meets
with your specifications.
THIS INFORMATION IS PROVIDED BY MICROCHIP "AS IS".
MICROCHIP MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
WRITTEN OR ORAL, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE,
RELATED TO THE INFORMATION INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF NONINFRINGEMENT, MERCHANTABILITY, AND FITNESS FOR A
PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR WARRANTIES RELATED TO
ITS CONDITION, QUALITY, OR PERFORMANCE.
IN NO EVENT WILL MICROCHIP BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL LOSS, DAMAGE, COST OR EXPENSE OF ANY KIND
WHATSOEVER RELATED TO THE INFORMATION OR ITS
USE, HOWEVER CAUSED, EVEN IF MICROCHIP HAS
BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OR THE DAMAGES
ARE FORESEEABLE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT
ALLOWED BY LAW, MICROCHIP'S TOTAL LIABILITY ON
ALL CLAIMS IN ANY WAY RELATED TO THE INFORMATION
OR ITS USE WILL NOT EXCEED THE AMOUNT OF FEES, IF
ANY, THAT YOU HAVE PAID DIRECTLY TO MICROCHIP
FOR THE INFORMATION. Use of Microchip devices in life support and/or safety applications is entirely at the buyer's risk, and
the buyer agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless
Microchip from any and all damages, claims, suits, or expenses
resulting from such use. No licenses are conveyed, implicitly or
otherwise, under any Microchip intellectual property rights
unless otherwise stated.
Trademarks
The Microchip name and logo, the Microchip logo, Adaptec,
AnyRate, AVR, AVR logo, AVR Freaks, BesTime, BitCloud, chipKIT,
chipKIT logo, CryptoMemory, CryptoRF, dsPIC, FlashFlex,
flexPWR, HELDO, IGLOO, JukeBlox, KeeLoq, Kleer, LANCheck,
LinkMD, maXStylus, maXTouch, MediaLB, megaAVR, Microsemi,
Microsemi logo, MOST, MOST logo, MPLAB, OptoLyzer,
PackeTime, PIC, picoPower, PICSTART, PIC32 logo, PolarFire,
Prochip Designer, QTouch, SAM-BA, SenGenuity, SpyNIC, SST,
SST Logo, SuperFlash, Symmetricom, SyncServer, Tachyon,
TimeSource, tinyAVR, UNI/O, Vectron, and XMEGA are registered
trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and
other countries.
AgileSwitch, APT, ClockWorks, The Embedded Control Solutions
Company, EtherSynch, FlashTec, Hyper Speed Control, HyperLight
Load, IntelliMOS, Libero, motorBench, mTouch, Powermite 3,
Precision Edge, ProASIC, ProASIC Plus, ProASIC Plus logo, QuietWire, SmartFusion, SyncWorld, Temux, TimeCesium, TimeHub,
TimePictra, TimeProvider, WinPath, and ZL are registered
trademarks of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A.
Adjacent Key Suppression, AKS, Analog-for-the-Digital Age, Any
Capacitor, AnyIn, AnyOut, Augmented Switching, BlueSky,
BodyCom, CodeGuard, CryptoAuthentication, CryptoAutomotive,
CryptoCompanion, CryptoController, dsPICDEM, dsPICDEM.net,
Dynamic Average Matching, DAM, ECAN, Espresso T1S,
EtherGREEN, IdealBridge, In-Circuit Serial Programming, ICSP,
INICnet, Intelligent Paralleling, Inter-Chip Connectivity,
JitterBlocker, maxCrypto, maxView, memBrain, Mindi, MiWi,
MPASM, MPF, MPLAB Certified logo, MPLIB, MPLINK, MultiTRAK,
NetDetach, Omniscient Code Generation, PICDEM, PICDEM.net,
PICkit, PICtail, PowerSmart, PureSilicon, QMatrix, REAL ICE,
Ripple Blocker, RTAX, RTG4, SAM-ICE, Serial Quad I/O,
simpleMAP, SimpliPHY, SmartBuffer, SMART-I.S., storClad, SQI,
SuperSwitcher, SuperSwitcher II, Switchtec, SynchroPHY, Total
Endurance, TSHARC, USBCheck, VariSense, VectorBlox, VeriPHY,
ViewSpan, WiperLock, XpressConnect, and ZENA are trademarks
of Microchip Technology Incorporated in the U.S.A. and other
countries.
SQTP is a service mark of Microchip Technology Incorporated in
the U.S.A.
The Adaptec logo, Frequency on Demand, Silicon Storage
Technology, and Symmcom are registered trademarks of Microchip
Technology Inc. in other countries.
GestIC is a registered trademark of Microchip Technology Germany
II GmbH & Co. KG, a subsidiary of Microchip Technology Inc., in
other countries.
All other trademarks mentioned herein are property of their
respective companies.
© 2019-2021, Microchip Technology Incorporated, All Rights
Reserved.
For information regarding Microchip’s Quality Management Systems,
please visit www.microchip.com/quality.
2019-2021 Microchip Technology Inc.
ISBN: 978-1-5224-8243-7
DS20006180D-page 107
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DS20006180D-page 108
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02/28/20