MAXIM MAX6953

19-2312; Rev 2; 11/02
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
Features
♦ 400kbps 2-Wire Interface Compatible with I2C
The MAX6953 is a compact cathode-row display driver
that interfaces microprocessors to 5 ✕ 7 dot-matrix LED
displays through an I2C™-compatible serial interface.
The MAX6953 drives up to four digits (140 LEDs).
Included on-chip are an ASCII 104-character font, multiplex scan circuitry, column and row drivers, and static
RAM that stores each digit, as well as font data for 24
user-definable characters. The segment current for the
LEDs is set by an internal digit-by-digit digital brightness control.
The device includes a low-power shutdown mode, segment blinking (synchronized across multiple drivers, if
desired), and a test mode that forces all LEDs on. The
LED drivers are slew-rate limited to reduce EMI.
For an SPI™-compatible version, refer to the MAX6952
data sheet. An EV kit is available for the MAX6952.
♦ 2.7V to 5.5V Operation
♦ Drives 4 Monocolor or 2 Bicolor Cathode-Row
5 ✕ 7 Matrix Displays
♦ Built-In ASCII 104-Character Font
♦ 24 User-Definable Characters Available
♦ Automatic Blinking Control for Each Segment
♦ 70µA Low-Power Shutdown (Data Retained)
♦ 16-Step Digital Brightness Control
♦ Display Blanked on Power-Up
♦ Slew-Rate-Limited Segment Drivers for Lower EMI
♦ 36-Pin SSOP and 40-Pin DIP Packages
♦ Extended Temperature Range as Standard
Applications
Ordering Information
Message Boards
PART
Medical Equipment
Industrial Displays
TEMP RANGE
PIN-PACKAGE
MAX6953EAX
-40°C to +85°C
36 SSOP
MAX6953EPL
-40°C to +85°C
40 PDIP
Audio/Video Equipment
Pin Configurations appear at end of data sheet.
Gaming Machines
Typical Application Circuit
DIGIT 0
V+
V+
V+
3.3V
100nF
47µF
GND
GND
GND
MAX6953
3.3V
4.7kΩ
4.7kΩ
4.7kΩ
SCL
SDA
BLINK
AD1
AD0
OSC
ISET
26pF
CSET
53.6kΩ
RSET
O0
O1
O2
O3
O4
O5
O6
O7
O8
O9
O10
O11
O12
O13
O14
O15
O16
O17
O18
O19
O20
O21
O22
O23
DIGIT 1
O14
O15
O16
O17
O18
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
O19
O20
O21
O22
O23
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
O0
R1
O0
R1
O1
R2
O1
R2
O2
R3
O2
R3
O3
R4
O3
R4
O4
R5
O4
R5
O5
R6
O5
R6
O6
R7
O6
R7
DIGIT 3
DIGIT 2
O14
O15
O16
O17
O18
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
O19
O20
O21
O22
O23
C1
C2
C3
C4
C5
O7
R1
O7
R1
O8
R2
O8
R2
O9
R3
O9
R3
O10
R4
O10
R4
O11
R5
O11
R5
O12
R6
O12
R6
O13
R7
O13
R7
I2C is a trademark of Philips Corp.
SPI is a trademark of Motorola, Inc.
________________________________________________________________ Maxim Integrated Products
For pricing, delivery, and ordering information, please contact Maxim/Dallas Direct! at
1-888-629-4642, or visit Maxim’s website at www.maxim-ic.com.
1
MAX6953
General Description
MAX6953
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
✕
7
ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS
Voltage (with Respect to GND)
V+ .............................................................................-0.3V to +6V
All Other Pins................................................-0.3V to (V+ + 0.3V)
O0–O13 Sink Current ....................................................... 500mA
O14–O23 Source Current .................................................. 50mA
Continuous Power Dissipation (TA = +70°C)
36-Pin SSOP (derate 11.8mW/°C above +70°C) .....941.2mW
40-Pin PDIP (derate 16.7mW/°C above +70°C)........1333mW
Operating Temperature Range
MAX6953E ......................................................-40°C to +85°C
Junction Temperature ......................................................+150°C
Storage Temperature Range .............................-65°C to +150°C
Lead Temperature (soldering, 10s) .................................+300°C
Stresses beyond those listed under “Absolute Maximum Ratings” may cause permanent damage to the device. These are stress ratings only, and functional
operation of the device at these or any other conditions beyond those indicated in the operational sections of the specifications is not implied. Exposure to
absolute maximum rating conditions for extended periods may affect device reliability.
DC ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS
(Typical operating circuit, V+ = 3.0V to 5.5V, TA = TMIN to TMAX, unless otherwise noted.) (Note 1)
PARAMETER
Operating Supply Voltage
Shutdown Supply Current
SYMBOL
CONDITIONS
V+
ISHDN
MIN
TYP
2.7
Shutdown mode, all
digital inputs at V+
or GND
TA = TMIN to TMAX
MAX
UNITS
5.5
V
130
µA
TA = +25°C
70
100
15
Operating Supply Current
I+
All segments on, intensity set to full,
internal oscillator, no display load
connected, BLINK open circuit
12
Master Clock Frequency
(OSC Internal Oscillator)
fOSC
OSC = RC oscillator, RSET = 53.6kΩ,
CSET = 26pF
4
Master Clock Frequency
(OSC External Clock)
fOSC
OSC overdriven externally
Dead Clock Protection
Frequency
fOSC
90
kHz
OSC Internal/External Detection
Threshold
VOSC
1.7
V
OSC High Time
tCH
OSC Low Time
tCL
Slow Segment Blink Period
(OSC Internal Oscillator)
Fast Segment Blink Period
(OSC Internal Oscillator)
2
MHz
8
50
MHz
ns
ns
50
fSLOWBLINK
OSC = RC oscillator, RSET = 53.6kΩ,
CSET = 26pF
1
s
fFASTBLINK
OSC = RC oscillator, RSET = 53.6kΩ,
CSET = 26pF
0.5
s
Fast or Slow Segment Blink
Duty Cycle (Note 2)
Column Drive Source Current
1
mA
ICOLUMN
VLED = 2.4V, V+ = 3.0V, TA = +25oC
49.5
50.5
%
-32
-48
mA
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
(Typical operating circuit, V+ = 3.0V to 5.5V, TA = TMIN to TMAX, unless otherwise noted.) (Note 1)
PARAMETER
Segment Current Slew Rate
Segment Drive Current
Matching (Within IC)
SYMBOL
∆ISEG/∆t
∆ISEG
CONDITIONS
MIN
TYP
MAX
UNITS
TA = +25oC
12.5
mA/µs
TA = +25°C
4
%
LOGIC INPUTS
Input High Voltage
SDA, SCL, AD0, AD1
VIH
Input Low Voltage
SDA, SCL, AD0, AD1
VIL
Input Hysteresis
SDA, SCL, AD0, AD1
VHYST
Input Leakage Current
IIL, IIH
Input Capacitance
0.7 x
V+
V
0.3 ✕
V+
0.05 ✕
V+
-2
CI
V
V
2
10
µA
pF
DIGITAL OUTPUT
SDA Output Low Voltage
VOLSDA
ISINK = 4mA
0.4
V
BLINK Output Low Voltage
VOLBK
ISINK = 1.6mA
0.4
V
MAX6953 TIMING CHARACTERISTICS
(V+ = 2.7V to 5.5V, TA = TMIN to TMAX, unless otherwise noted.) (Note 1)
PARAMETER
SYMBOL
CONDITIONS
MIN
TYP
MAX
UNITS
400
kHz
Serial Clock Frequency
fSCL
Bus Free Time Between a STOP
and a START Condition
tBUF
1.3
µs
Hold Time (Repeated) START
Condition
tHD, STA
0.6
µs
Repeated START Condition
Setup Time
tSU, STA
0.6
µs
STOP Condition Setup Time
tSU, STO
0.6
µs
Data Hold Time
tHD, DAT
Data Setup Time
tSU, DAT
100
ns
SCL Clock Low Period
tLOW
1.3
µs
SCL Clock High Period
tHIGH
0.6
Rise Time of Both SDA and SCL
Signals, Receiving
tR
Fall Time of Both SDA and SCL
Signals, Receiving
tF
(Note 3)
0.9
µs
µs
(Notes 2, 4)
20 +
0.1CB
300
ns
(Notes 2, 4)
20 +
0.1CB
300
ns
_______________________________________________________________________________________
3
MAX6953
DC ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS (continued)
✕
7
MAX6953 TIMING CHARACTERISTICS (continued)
(V+ = 2.7V to 5.5V, TA = TMIN to TMAX, unless otherwise noted.) (Note 1)
PARAMETER
SYMBOL
CONDITIONS
Fall Time of SDA Transmitting
tF
(Notes 2, 5)
Pulse Width of Spike Suppressed
tSP
(Note 6)
Capacitive Load for Each
Bus Line
CB
(Note 2)
MIN
TYP
MAX
UNITS
20 +
0.1CB
250
ns
0
50
ns
400
pF
Note 1: All parameters tested at TA = +25°C. Specifications over temperature are guaranteed by design.
Note 2: Guaranteed by design.
Note 3: A master device must provide a hold time of at least 300ns for the SDA signal (referred to VIL of the SCL signal) in order to
bridge the undefined region of SCL’s falling edge.
Note 4: CB = total capacitance of one bus line in pF. tR and tF measured between 0.3V+ and 0.7V+.
Note 5: ISINK ≤ 6mA. CB = total capacitance of one bus line in pF. tR and tF measured between 0.3V+ and 0.7V+.
Note 6: Input filters on the SDA and SCL inputs suppress noise spikes less than 50ns.
Typical Operating Characteristics
(Typical application circuit, V+ = 3.3V, LED forward voltage = 2.4V, scan limit set to 4 digits, TA = +25°C, unless otherwise noted.)
INTERNAL OSCILLATOR FREQUENCY
vs. SUPPLY VOLTAGE
V+ = 3.3V
4.00
V+ = 5V
3.90
4.3
4.2
2.0
VOLTAGE AT OSC (V)
4.10
2.5
MAX6953 toc02
V+ = 2.7V
4.20
4.4
OSCILLATOR FREQUENCY (MHz)
MAX6953 toc01
4.30
INTERNAL OSCILLATOR
WAVEFORM AT OSC (PIN 19 OR 21)
4.1
4.0
3.9
MAX6953 toc03
INTERNAL OSCILLATOR
FREQUENCY vs. TEMPERATURE
OSCILLATOR FREQUENCY (MHz)
MAX6953
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
1.5
1.0
3.8
0.5
3.7
3.6
3.80
-40
-20
0
20
40
TEMPERATURE (°C)
4
60
80
0
2.5
3.5
4.5
SUPPLY VOLTAGE (V)
5.5
0
200
400
TIMELINE (ns)
_______________________________________________________________________________________
600
800
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
DEAD CLOCK OSCILLATOR FREQUENCY
vs. SUPPLY VOLTAGE
95
90
85
1.00
0.99
GROUND FOR
ANODE
(PIN 014)
0.98
0.97
0.96
0.95
80
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
MAX6953 toc06
MAX6953 toc05
MAX6953 toc04
100
1.01
CURRENT NORMALIZED TO 40mA
OSCILLATOR FREQUENCY (kHz)
105
WAVEFORMS AT O2 (PIN 3) AND O14
(PIN 28) V+ = 3.3V, 8/16 INTENSITY
OUTPUT SOURCE CURRENT
vs. SUPPLY VOLTAGE
5.5
2.5
3.0
3.5
4.0
4.5
5.0
5.5
SUPPLY VOLTAGE (V)
GROUND FOR
CATHODE
(PIN 03)
200µs/div
SUPPLY VOLTAGE (V)
Pin Description
PIN
NAME
FUNCTION
SSOP
PDIP
1, 2, 3, 6–14, 23, 24
1, 2, 3, 7–15, 26, 27
O0 to O13
4, 5, 17
4, 5, 6, 19
GND
Ground
15
17
ISET
Segment Current Setting. Connect ISET to GND through
series resistor RSET to set the peak current.
16
18
AD1
Address Input 1. Sets device slave address. Connect to
either GND, V+, SCL, SDA to give four logic combinations.
See Table 3.
LED Cathode Drivers. O0 to O13 outputs sink current from
the display’s cathode rows.
—
16, 25
N.C.
18
20
BLINK
Not Connected
19
21
OSC
Multiplex Clock Input. To use internal oscillator, connect
capacitor CSET from OSC to GND. To use external clock,
drive OSC with a 1MHz to 8MHz CMOS clock.
20
22
AD0
Address Input 0. Sets device slave address. Connect to
either GND, V+, SCL, SDA to give four logic combinations.
See Table 3.
21
23
SDA
I C-Compatible Serial Data I/O
22
24
SCL
I C-Compatible Serial Clock Input
25–31, 34, 35, 36
28–34, 38, 39, 40
O14 to O23
32, 33
35, 36, 37
V+
Blink Output. Output is open drain.
2
2
LED Anode Drivers. O14 to O23 outputs source current to
the display’s anode columns.
Positive Supply Voltage. Bypass V+ to GND with a 47µF
bulk capacitor and a 0.1µF ceramic capacitor.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
5
MAX6953
Typical Operating Characteristics (continued)
(Typical application circuit, V+ = 3.3V, LED forward voltage = 2.4V, scan limit set to 4 digits, TA = +25°C, unless otherwise noted.)
MAX6953
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
ISET
OSC
CURRENT
SOURCE
PWM
BRIGHTNESS
CONTROL
DIVIDER/
COUNTER
NETWORK
ROW
MULTIPLEXER
O0 TO O23
ters are uploaded by the user into on-chip RAM through
the serial interface and are lost when the device is powered down. Figure 1 is the MAX6953 functional diagram.
Serial Addressing
The MAX6953 operates as a slave that sends and
receives data through an I2C-compatible 2-wire interface. The interface uses a serial data line (SDA) and a
serial clock line (SCL) to achieve bidirectional communication between master(s) and slave(s). A master (typically a microcontroller) initiates all data transfers to and
from the MAX6953, and generates the SCL clock that
synchronizes the data transfer (Figure 2).
The MAX6953 SDA line operates as both an input and
an open-drain output. A pullup resistor, typically 4.7kΩ,
is required on the SDA. The MAX6953 SCL line operates only as an input. A pullup resistor, typically 4.7kΩ,
is required on SCL if there are multiple masters on the
2-wire interface, or if the master in a single-master system has an open-drain SCL output.
BLINK
SPEED
SELECT
CONFIGURATION
REGISTERS
RAM
SCL
SDA
AD0
AD1
7
Serial Interface
CHARACTER
GENERATOR
ROM
CHARACTER
GENERATOR
RAM
BLINK
LED
DRIVERS
✕
SERIAL INTERFACE
Figure 1. MAX6953 Functional Diagram
Detailed Description
The MAX6953 is a serially interfaced display driver that
can drive four digits of 5 ✕ 7 cathode-row dot-matrix displays. The MAX6953 can drive either four monocolor
digits (Table 1) or two bicolor digits (Table 2). The
MAX6953 includes a 128-character font map comprising 104 predefined characters and 24 user-definable
characters. The predefined characters follow the Arial
font, with the addition of the following common symbols:
£, <, ¥, °, µ, ±, ↑, and ↓. The 24 user-definable charac-
Each transmission consists of a START condition
(Figure 3) sent by a master, followed by the MAX6953
7-bit slave address plus R/W bit (Figure 6), a register
address byte, 1 or more data bytes, and finally a STOP
condition (Figure 3).
Start and Stop Conditions
Both SCL and SDA remain high when the interface is
not busy. A master signals the beginning of a transmission with a START (S) condition by transitioning SDA
from high to low while SCL is high. When the master
has finished communicating with the slave, it issues a
STOP (P) condition by transitioning the SDA from low to
high while SCL is high. The bus is then free for another
transmission (Figure 3).
Table 1. Connection Scheme for Four Monocolor Digits
O0–O6
O7–O13
O14–O18
O19-–O23
1
Digit 0 rows (cathodes) R1 to R7
Digit 1 rows (cathodes) R1 to R7
—
Digit 0 columns (anodes)
C1 to C5
Digit 1 columns
(anodes) C6 to C10
2
—
Digit 2 rows (cathodes) R1 to R7
Digit 3 rows (cathodes) R1 to R7
Digit 2 columns (anodes)
C1 to C5
Digit 3 columns
(anodes) C6 to C10
DIGIT
Table 2. Connection Scheme for Two Bicolor Digits
DIGIT
O0–O6
O7–O13
1
Digit 0 rows (cathodes)
R1 to R14
—
2
—
Digit 1 rows (cathodes)
R1 to R14
6
O14–023
Digit 0 columns (anodes) C1 to C10
- the 5 green anodes -
- the 5 red anodes -
Digit 1 columns (anodes) C1 to C10
- the 5 green columns -
- the 5 red anodes -
_______________________________________________________________________________________
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
Acknowledge
The acknowledge bit is a clocked 9th bit that the recipient uses to handshake receipt of each byte of data
(Figure 5). Thus, each byte transferred effectively
requires 9 bits. The master generates the 9th clock
pulse, and the recipient pulls down SDA during the
acknowledge clock pulse, such that the SDA line is stable low during the high period of the clock pulse. When
the master is transmitting to the MAX6953, the
MAX6953 generates the acknowledge bit because the
MAX6953 is the recipient. When the MAX6953 is transmitting to the master, the master generates the
acknowledge bit because the master is the recipient.
Slave Address
The MAX6953 has a 7-bit-long slave address (Figure
6). The eighth bit following the 7-bit slave address is
the R/W bit. It is low for a write command, high for a
read command.
The first 3 bits (MSBs) of the MAX6953 slave address
are always 101. Slave address bits A3, A2, A1, and A0
are selected by the address input pins AD1 and AD0.
These two input pins may be connected to GND, V+,
SDA, or SCL. The MAX6953 has 16 possible slave
addresses (Table 3) and therefore a maximum of 16
MAX6953 devices may share the same interface.
Message Format for Writing
A write to the MAX6953 comprises the transmission of
the MAX6953's slave address with the R/W bit set to
zero, followed by at least 1 byte of information. The first
byte of information is the command byte, which determines which register of the MAX6953 is to be written by
the next byte, if received. If a STOP condition is detected after the command byte is received, then the
MAX6953 takes no further action (Figure 7) beyond
storing the command byte.
Any bytes received after the command byte are data
bytes. The first data byte goes into the internal register of
the MAX6953 selected by the command byte (Figure 8).
If multiple data bytes are transmitted before a STOP
condition is detected, these bytes are generally stored
in subsequent MAX6953 internal registers because the
command byte address generally autoincrements
(Table 4) (Figure 9).
Message Format for Reading
The MAX6953 is read using the MAX6953's internally
stored command byte as address pointer, the same
way the stored command byte is used as address
pointer for a write. The pointer generally autoincrements after each data byte is read using the same rules
as for a write (Table 4). Thus, a read is initiated by first
configuring the MAX6953's command byte by performing a write (Figure 7). The master can now read n consecutive bytes from the MAX6953, with the first data
byte being read from the register addressed by the initialized command byte (Figure 9). When performing
SDA
tSU, STA
tSU, DAT
tHD, DAT
tLOW
tBUF
tHD, STA
tSU, STO
SCL
tHIGH
tHD, STA
tR
tF
START
CONDITION
REPEATED START
CONDITION
STOP
START
CONDITION CONDITION
Figure 2. 2-Wire Serial Interface Timing Details
_______________________________________________________________________________________
7
MAX6953
Bit Transfer
One data bit is transferred during each clock pulse.
The data on the SDA line must remain stable while SCL
is high (Figure 4).
MAX6953
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
✕
7
SDA
SCL
S
P
START CONDITION
STOP CONDITION
Figure 3. Start and Stop Conditions
SDA
SCL
DATA LINE STABLE, CHANGE OF DATA
ALLOWED
DATA VALID
Figure 4. Bit Transfer
START CONDITION
SCL
CLOCK PULSE FOR ACKNOWLEDGMENT
8
2
1
9
SDA
BY TRANSMITTER
SDA
BY RECEIVER
S
Figure 5. Acknowledge
SDA
1
SCL
START
MSB
0
1
A3
A2
A1
A0
R/W
LSB
Figure 6. Slave Address
8
_______________________________________________________________________________________
ACK
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
D14
D13
D12
D11
D10
D9
MAX6953
D15
COMMAND BYTE IS STORED ON RECEIPT OF STOP CONDITION
D8
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX6953
S
SLAVE ADDRESS
0
A
A
COMMAND BYTE
R/W
P
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX6953
Figure 7. Command Byte Received
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX6953
HOW CONTROL BYTE AND DATA BYTE MAP INTO
MAX6953's REGISTERS
D15
D14
D13
D12
D11
D10
D9
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX6953
D8
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX6953
S
SLAVE ADDRESS
0
A
COMMAND BYTE
A
DATA BYTE
A
P
1 BYTE
R/W
AUTOINCREMENT MEMORY WORD ADDRESS
Figure 8. Command and Single Data Byte Received
read-after-write verification, reset the command byte's
address because the stored byte address generally is
autoincremented after the write (Table 4).
and the other in plane P1. The digit registers are mapped
so that a digit’s data can be updated in plane P0, or
plane P1, or both planes at the same time (Table 5).
Operation with Multiple Masters
If the blink function is disabled through the Blink Enable
Bit E (Table 10) in the configuration register, then the
digit register data in plane P0 is used to multiplex the
display. The digit register data in P1 is not used. If the
blink function is enabled, then the digit register data in
both plane P0 and plane P1 are alternately used to multiplex the display. Blinking is achieved by multiplexing
the LED display using data planes P0 and P1 on alternate phases of the blink clock (Table 11).
The data in the digit registers does not control the digit
segments directly. Instead, the register data is used to
address a character generator, which stores the data of
a 128-character font (Table 15). The lower 7 bits of the
digit data (D6 to D0) select the character from the font.
The most-significant bit of the register data (D7) selects
whether the font data is used directly (D7 = 0) or
whether the font data is inverted (D7 = 1). The inversion
feature can be used to enhance the appearance of
bicolor displays by displaying, for example, a red character on a green background.
If the MAX6953 is operated on a 2-wire interface with
multiple masters, a master reading the MAX6953
should use a repeated start between the write, which
sets the MAX6953's address pointer, and the read(s)
that takes the data from the location(s). This is because
it is possible for master 2 to take over the bus after
master 1 has set up the MAX6953's address pointer but
before master 1 has read the data. If master 2 subsequently changes the MAX6953's address pointer, then
master 1's delayed read may be from an unexpected
location.
Command Address Autoincrementing
Address autoincrementing allows the MAX6953 to be
configured with the shortest number of transmissions
by minimizing the number of times the command byte
needs to be sent. The command address or the font
pointer address stored in the MAX6953 generally increments after each data byte is written or read (Table 4).
Digit Registers
The MAX6953 uses eight digit registers to store the characters that the user wishes to display on the four 5 ✕ 7
LED digits. These digit registers are implemented with
two planes of 4 bytes, called P0 and P1. Each LED digit
is represented by 2 bytes of memory, 1 byte in plane P0
Display Blink Mode
The display blinking facility, when enabled, makes the
driver flip automatically between displaying the digit
register data in planes P0 and P1. If the digit register
data for any digit is different in the two planes, then that
_______________________________________________________________________________________
9
✕
MAX6953
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX6953
HOW COMMAND BYTE AND DATA BYTE MAP INTO
MAX6953'S REGISTERS
D15 D14 D13 D12 D11 D10
D9
7
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX6953
D8
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX6953
S
SLAVE ADDRESS
0
A
COMMAND BYTE
DATA BYTE
A
A
P
n BYTES
R/W
AUTOINCREMENT MEMORY WORD ADDRESS
Figure 9. n Data Bytes Received
digit appears to flip between two characters. To make a
character appear to blink on or off, write the character
to one plane, and use the blank character (0x20) for the
other plane. Once blinking has been configured, it continues automatically without further intervention.
Table 3. MAX6953 Address Map
PIN
DEVICE ADDRESS
AD1
AD0
A6
A5
A4
A3
A2
A1
A0
GND
GND
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
Blink Speed
GND
V+
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
The blink speed is determined by frequency of the multiplex clock, OSC, and by setting the Blink Rate
Selection Bit B (Table 9) in the configuration register.
The Blink Rate Selection Bit B sets either fast or slow
blink speed for the whole display.
GND
SDA
1
0
1
0
0
1
0
GND
SCL
1
0
1
0
0
1
1
V+
GND
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
Initial Power-Up
On initial power-up, all control registers are reset, the
display is blanked, intensities are set to minimum, and
shutdown is enabled (Table 6).
Configuration Register
V+
V+
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
V+
SDA
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
V+
SCL
1
0
1
0
1
1
1
SDA
GND
1
0
1
1
0
0
0
SDA
V+
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
SDA
SDA
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
The configuration register is used to enter and exit shutdown, select the blink rate, globally enable and disable
the blink function, globally clear the digit data, and
reset the blink timing (Table 7).
SDA
SCL
1
0
1
1
0
1
1
SCL
GND
1
0
1
1
1
0
0
SCL
V+
1
0
1
1
1
0
1
SCL
SDA
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
Shutdown Mode (S Data Bit D0) Format
The S bit in the configuration register selects shutdown
or normal operation. The display driver can be programmed while in shutdown mode, and shutdown mode
is overridden when in the display test mode. For normal
operation, the S bit should be set to 1 (Table 8).
SCL
SCL
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
Blink Rate Selection (B Data Bit D2) Format
The B bit in the configuration register selects the blink
rate. This is the speed that the segments alternate
between plane P0 and plane P1 refresh data. The blink
rate is determined by the frequency of the multiplex clock
OSC, in addition to the setting of the B bit (Table 9).
10
______________________________________________________________________________________
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
COMMAND BYTE
ADDRESS RANGE
x0000000 to x0000100
AUTOINCREMENT BEHAVIOR
Command byte address autoincrements after byte read or written.
x0000101
Command byte address remains at x0000101 after byte read or written, but the font
address pointer autoincrements.
x0000110
Factory reserved; do not write to this register.
x000111 to x1111110
x1111111
Command byte address autoincrements after byte read or written.
Command byte address remains at x1111111 after byte read or written.
Table 5. Register Address Map
HEX
CODE
COMMAND ADDRESS
REGISTER
D15
D14
D13
D12
D11
D10
D9
D8
—
No-Op
X
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0x00
Intensity10
X
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
0x01
Intensity32
X
0
0
0
0
0
1
0
0x02
Scan Limit
X
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
0x03
Configuration
X
0
0
0
0
1
0
0
0x04
User-Defined Fonts
X
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
0x05
Factory Reserved. Do not write to this.
X
0
0
0
0
1
1
0
0x06
Display Test
X
0
0
0
0
1
1
1
0x07
Digit 0 Plane P0
X
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0x20
Digit 1 Plane P0
X
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0x21
Digit 2 Plane P0
X
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
0x22
Digit 3 Plane P0
X
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
0x23
Digit 0 Plane P1
X
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0x40
Digit 1 Plane P1
X
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
0x41
Digit 2 Plane P1
X
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
0x42
Digit 3 Plane P1
X
1
0
0
0
0
1
1
0x43
Write Digit 0 Planes P0 and P1 with Same Data
(Reads as 0x00)
X
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
0x60
Write Digit 1 Planes P0 and P1 with Same Data
(Reads as 0x00)
X
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
0x61
Write Digit 2 Planes P0 and P1 with Same Data
(Reads as 0x00)
X
1
1
0
0
0
1
0
0x62
Write Digit 3 Planes P0 and P1 with Same Data
(Reads as 0x00)
X
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0x63
______________________________________________________________________________________
11
MAX6953
Table 4. Command Address Autoincrement Rules
✕
MAX6953
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
7
Table 6. Initial Power-Up Register Status
REGISTER
Intensity10
POWER-UP CONDITION
ADDRESS
CODE (HEX)
1/16 (min on)
0x01
REGISTER DATA
D7
0
D6
0
D5
0
D4
0
D3
0
D2
0
D1
0
D0
0
Intensity32
1/16 (min on)
0x02
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Scan Limit
Display 4 digits: 0 1 2 3
0x03
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
1
Shutdown enabled,
blink speed is slow,
blink disabled
0x04
0
X
0
0
0
0
X
0
Address 0x80; pointing to
the first user-defined font
location
0x05
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
Display Test
Normal operation
0x07
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
0
Digit 0 Plane P0
Blank digit (0x20)
0x20
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Digit 1 Plane P0
Blank digit (0x20)
0x21
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Digit 2 Plane P0
Blank digit (0x20)
0x22
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Digit 3 Plane P0
Blank digit (0x20)
0x23
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Digit 0 Plane P1
Blank digit (0x20)
0x40
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Digit 1 Plane P1
Blank digit (0x20)
0x41
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Digit 2 Plane P1
Blank digit (0x20)
0x42
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Digit 3 Plane P1
Blank digit (0x20)
0x43
0
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
Configuration
User-Defined Font
Address Pointer
Table 7. Configuration Register Format
REGISTER DATA
Configuration Register
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
P
X
R
T
E
B
X
S
Table 8. Shutdown Control (S Data Bit D0) Format
REGISTER DATA
MODE
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
Shutdown Mode
P
X
R
T
E
B
X
0
Normal Operation
P
X
R
T
E
B
X
1
Table 9. Blink Rate Selection (B Data Bit D2) Format
MODE
REGISTER DATA
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
Slow blinking (segments are refreshed using plane P0 for 1s,
plane P1 for 1s, for OSC = 4MHz).
P
X
R
T
E
0
X
S
Fast blinking (segments are refreshed using plane P0 for 0.5s,
plane P1 for 0.5s, for OSC = 4MHz).
P
X
R
T
E
1
X
S
12
______________________________________________________________________________________
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
REGISTER DATA
MODE
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
Blink function is disabled.
P
X
R
T
0
B
X
S
Blink function is enabled.
P
X
R
T
1
B
X
S
Global Blink Enable/Disable (E Data Bit D3) Format
The E bit globally enables or disables the blink feature
of the device (Table 10). When blink is globally
enabled, then the digit data in both planes P0 and P1
are used to control the display (Table 11).
When blink is globally disabled, then only the digit data
in plane P0 is used to control the display. The digit data
in plane P1 is ignored.
Table 11. Digit Register Mapping with
Blink Globally Enabled
SEGMENT’S
BIT SETTING
IN PLANE P1
SEGMENT’S
BIT SETTING
IN PLANE P0
0
0
Segment off
0
1
Segment on only
during the 1st half of
each blink period
1
0
Segment on only
during the 2nd half of
each blink period
1
1
Segment on
SEGMENT
BEHAVIOR
Global Blink Timing Synchronization (T Data Bit D4)
Format
By setting the T bit in multiple MAX6953s at the same
time (or in quick succession), the blink timing can be
synchronized across all the devices (Table 12). Note
that the display multiplexing sequence is also reset,
which might give rise to a one-time display flicker when
the register is written.
Table 12. Global Blink Timing Synchronization (T Data Bit D4) Format
REGISTER DATA
MODE
Blink timing counters are unaffected.
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
P
X
R
0
E
B
X
S
P
X
R
1
E
B
X
S
2
Blink timing counters are reset during the I C
acknowledge.
Table 13. Global Clear Digit Data (R Data Bit D5) Format
REGISTER DATA
MODE
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
Digit data for both planes P0 and P1 are unaffected.
P
X
0
T
E
B
X
S
Digit data for both planes P0 and P1 are cleared during
I2C acknowledge.
P
X
1
T
E
B
X
S
Table 14. Blink Phase Readback (P Data Bit D7) Format
MODE
REGISTER DATA
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
P1 blink phase
0
X
R
T
E
B
X
S
P0 blink phase
1
X
R
T
E
B
X
S
______________________________________________________________________________________
13
MAX6953
Table 10. Global Blink Enable/Disable (E Data Bit D3) Format
MAX6953
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
Table 15. Character Map
MSB
x000
x001
0000
RAM00
RAM16
0001
RAM01
RAM17
LSB
x010
x011
x100
x101
x110
x111
✕
7
Global Clear Digit Data (R Data Bit D5) Format
When global digit data clear is set, the digit data for
both planes P0 and P1 for all digits are cleared during
the acknowledge (Table 13).
Blink Phase Readback (P Data Bit D7) Format
When the configuration register is read, the P bit
reflects the state of the blink output pin at that time
(Table 14).
Character Generator Font Mapping
14
0010
RAM02
RAM18
0011
RAM03
RAM19
0100
RAM04
RAM20
0101
RAM05
RAM21
0110
RAM06
RAM22
0111
RAM07
1000
RAM08
1001
RAM09
1010
RAM10
1011
RAM11
1100
RAM12
1101
RAM13
1110
RAM14
1111
RAM15
RAM23
The font is a 5 ✕ 7 matrix comprising 104 characters in
ROM, and 24 user-definable characters. The selection
from the total of 128 characters is represented by the
lower 7 bits of the 8-bit digit registers. The most-significant bit, shown as x in the ROM map, is zero to light
LEDs as shown by the black segments in Table 15, and
1 to display the inverse.
The character map follows the Arial font for 96 characters in the range 0x0101000 through x1111111. The
first 32 characters map the 24 user-definable positions
(RAM00 to RAM23), plus eight extra common characters in ROM.
User-Defined Fonts
The 24 user-definable characters are represented by
120 entries of 7-bit data, five entries per character, and
are stored in MAX6953's internal RAM.
The 120 user-definable font data entries are written and
read through a single register, address 0x05. An
autoincrementing font address pointer in the MAX6953
indirectly accesses the font data. The font address
pointer can be written, setting one of 120 addresses
between 0x00 and 0xF7, but cannot be read back. The
font data is written to and read from MAX6953 indirectly, using this font address pointer. Unused font locations can be used as general-purpose scratch RAM,
bearing in mind that the font registers are only 7 bits
wide, not 8.
Table 16 shows how the single user-defined font register 0x05 is used to set the font address pointer, write
font data, and read font data. A read action always
returns font data from the font address pointer position.
A write action sets the 7-bit font address pointer if the
MSB is set, or writes 7-bit font data to the font address
pointer position if the MSB is clear.
The font address pointer autoincrements after a valid
access to the user-definable font data. Autoincrementing allows the 120 font data entries to be written and read back very quickly because the font pointer address need only be set once. When the last data
location 0xF7 is written, the font address pointer autoincrements to address 0x80. If the font address pointer is
______________________________________________________________________________________
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
MAX6953
Table 16. Memory Mapping of User-Defined Font Register 0x05
ADDRESS CODE
(HEX)
REGISTER
DATA
I2C READ
OR WRITE
0x05
0x00–0x7F
Read
Read 7-bit user-definable font data entry from current font
address. MSB of the register data is clear. Font address
pointer is incremented after the read.
0x05
0x00–0x7F
Write
Write 7-bit user-definable font data entry to current font
address. Font address pointer is incremented after the write.
0x05
0x80–0xFF
Write
Write font address pointer with the register data.
FUNCTION
Table 17. Font Pointer Address Behavior
FONT POINTER ADDRESS
ACTION
0x80 to 0xF6
Valid range to set the font address pointer. Pointer autoincrements after a font data read or
write, while pointer address remains in this range.
0xF7
0xF8 to 0xFF
Font address resets to 0x80 after a font data read or write to this pointer address.
Invalid range to set the font address pointer. Pointer is set to 0x80 if address.
set to an out-of-range address by writing data in the 0xF8
to 0xFF range, then address 0x80 is set instead (Table
17).
Table 18 shows the user-definable font pointer base
addresses.
Table 19 shows an example of data (characters 0, 1,
and 2) being stored in the first three user-defined font
locations, illustrating the orientation of the data bits.
Table 20 shows the six sequential write commands
required to set a MAX6953's font character RAM02 with
the data to display character 2 given in the font RAM
illustration above.
Multiplex Clock and Blink Timing
The OSC pin can be fitted with capacitor CSET to GND
(to use the internal RC multiplex oscillator), or driven by
an external clock. The multiplex clock frequency determines the multiplex scan rate and the blink timing. The
display scan rate (the frequency that the complete fourdigit display is updated) is calculated by dividing the
frequency at OSC by 5600. With OSC at 4MHz, each
digit row is enabled for 100µs, and the display scan
rate is 714.29Hz.
The on-chip oscillator may be accurate enough for
applications using a single device. If an exact blink rate
is required, use an external clock ranging between
1MHz and 8MHz to drive OSC. The OSC inputs of multiple MAX6953s can be tied together to a common
external clock to make the devices blink at the same
rate. The relative blink phasing of multiple MAX6953s
can be synchronized by setting the T bit in the configuration register for all the devices in quick succession
(Table 12).
Blink Output
The blink output pin indicates the blink phase, and is
high during the P0 period and low during the P1 period.
Blink phase status can also be read back as the P bit in
the configuration register (Table 14). Typical uses for
this output are:
• To provide an interrupt to the processor so that segment data can be changed synchronous to the
blinking. For example, a clock application may have
colon segments blinking every second between
hours and minute digits, and the minute display is
best changed in step with the colon segments. Also,
if the rising edge of blink is detected, there is half a
blink period to change the P1 digit data. Similarly, if
the falling edge of blink is detected, the user has
half a blink period to change the P0 digit data.
• If OSC is driven with an accurate frequency, blink
can be used as a seconds counter or similar.
Scan-Limit Register
The scan-limit register sets how many monocolor digits
are displayed, either two or four. A bicolor digit is connected as two monocolor digits (Table 21).
______________________________________________________________________________________
15
✕
MAX6953
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
7
START OF
NEXT CYCLE
ONE COMPLETE 1.4ms MULTIPLEX CYCLE AROUND 14 ROWS
100µs
COLUMN DRIVER
PINS O14-O18
DIGIT 0
ROW 1
DIGIT 0
ROW 2
DIGIT 0
ROW 3
DIGIT 0
ROW 4
DIGIT 0
ROW 5
DIGIT 0
ROW 6
DIGIT 0
ROW 7
DIGIT 2
ROW 1
DIGIT 2
ROW 2
DIGIT 2
ROW 3
DIGIT 2
ROW 4
DIGIT 2
ROW 5
DIGIT 2
ROW 6
DIGIT 2
ROW 7
DIGIT 0
ROW 1
COLUMN DRIVER
PINS O19-O23
DIGIT 1
ROW 1
DIGIT 1
ROW 2
DIGIT 1
ROW 3
DIGIT 1
ROW 4
DIGIT 1
ROW 5
DIGIT 1
ROW 6
DIGIT 1
ROW 7
DIGIT 3
ROW 1
DIGIT 3
ROW 2
DIGIT 3
ROW 3
DIGIT 3
ROW 4
DIGIT 3
ROW 5
DIGIT 3
ROW 6
DIGIT 3
ROW 7
DIGIT 1
ROW 1
DIGIT 1 COLUMN
DRIVER OUTPUTS
PINS O19-O23
CURRENT SOURCE
1/16TH
(MIN ON)
DIGIT 1 ROW 1's 100µs MULTIPLEX TIMESLOT
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
2/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
3/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
4/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
5/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
6/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
7/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
8/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
9/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
10/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
11/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
12/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
13/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
14/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
15/16TH
HIGH-Z
CURRENT SOURCE
16/16TH
HIGH-Z
(MAX ON)
DIGITS 0 AND 1
ROW OUTPUTS
PINS O0–06
DIGITS 2 AND 3
ROW OUTPUTS
PINS O7–O13
MINIMUM 6.25µs INTERDIGIT BLANKING INTERVAL
HIGH-Z
HIGH-Z
LOW
HIGH-Z
HIGH-Z
Figure 10. Multiplex Timing Diagram (OSC = 4MHz)
16
______________________________________________________________________________________
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
MAX6953
Table 18. User-Definable Font Pointer Base Address Table
REGISTER DATA
FONT
CHARACTER
ADDRESS
CODE (HEX)
REGISTER
DATA (HEX)
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
RAM00
0x05
0x80
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
RAM01
0x05
0x85
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
1
RAM02
0x05
0x8A
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
RAM03
0x05
0x8F
1
0
0
0
1
1
1
1
RAM04
0x05
0x94
1
0
0
1
0
1
0
0
RAM05
0x05
0x99
1
0
0
1
1
0
0
1
RAM06
0x05
0x9E
1
0
0
1
1
1
1
0
RAM07
0x05
0xA3
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
RAM08
0x05
0xA8
1
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
RAM09
0x05
0xAD
1
0
1
0
1
1
0
1
RAM10
0x05
0xB2
1
0
1
1
0
0
1
0
RAM11
0x05
0xB7
1
0
1
1
0
1
1
1
RAM12
0x05
0xBC
1
0
1
1
1
1
0
0
RAM13
0x05
0xC1
1
1
0
0
0
0
0
1
RAM14
0x05
0xC6
1
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
RAM15
0x05
0xCB
1
1
0
0
1
0
1
1
RAM16
0x05
0xD0
1
1
0
1
0
0
0
0
RAM17
0x05
0xD5
1
1
0
1
0
1
0
1
RAM18
0x05
0xDA
1
1
0
1
1
0
1
0
RAM19
0x05
0xDF
1
1
0
1
1
1
1
1
RAM20
0x05
0xE4
1
1
1
0
0
1
0
0
RAM21
0x05
0xE9
1
1
1
0
1
0
0
1
RAM22
0x05
0xEE
1
1
1
0
1
1
1
0
RAM23
0x05
0xF3
1
1
1
1
0
0
1
1
The multiplexing scheme drives digits 0 and 1 at the
same time, then digits 2 and 3 at the same time. To
increase the effective brightness of the displays, drive
only two digits instead of four. By doing this, the average segment current doubles, but also doubles the
number of MAX6953s required to drive a given number
of digits.
Because digit 1 is driven at the same time as digit 0
(and digit 3 is driven at the same time as digit 2), only 1
bit is used to set the scan limit. The bit is clear if one or
two digits are to be driven, and set if three or four digits
are to be driven (Table 21).
Intensity Registers
Display brightness is controlled digitally by four pulsewidth modulators, one for each display digit. Each digit
is controlled by a nibble of one of the two intensity reg-
isters, Intensity10 and Intensity32. The modulator
scales the average segment current in 16 steps from a
maximum of 15/16 down to 1/16 of the peak current.
The minimum interdigit blanking time is therefore 1/16
of a cycle. The maximum duty cycle is 15/16 (Tables 23
and 24).
No-Op Register
A write to the No-Op register is ignored.
Selecting External Components RSET and
CSET to Set Oscillator Frequency and
Segment Current
The RC oscillator uses an external resistor RSET and an
external capacitor CSET to set the oscillator frequency,
fOSC. The allowed range of fOSC is 1MHz to 8MHz.
RSET also sets the peak segment current. The recommended values of RSET and CSET set the oscillator to
______________________________________________________________________________________
17
MAX6953
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
✕
7
Table 19. User-Definable Character Storage Example
FONT
CHARACTER
FONT
ADDRESS
POINTER
ADDRESS
CODE (HEX)
FONT
POINTER
ADDRESS
(HEX)
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
RAM00
0x00
0x05
0x80
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
RAM00
0x01
0x05
0x81
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
RAM00
0x02
0x05
0x82
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
RAM00
0x03
0x05
0x83
0
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
RAM00
0x04
0x05
0x84
0
0
1
1
1
1
1
0
RAM01
0x05
0x05
0x85
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
RAM01
0x06
0x05
0x86
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
RAM01
0x07
0x05
0x87
0
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
RAM01
0x08
0x05
0x88
0
1
0
0
0
0
0
0
RAM01
0x09
0x05
0x89
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
RAM02
0x0A
0x05
0x8A
0
1
0
0
0
0
1
0
RAM02
0x0B
0x05
0x8B
0
1
1
0
0
0
0
1
RAM02
0x0C
0x05
0x8C
0
1
0
1
0
0
0
1
RAM02
0x0D
0x05
0x8D
0
1
0
0
1
0
0
1
RAM02
0x0E
0x05
0x8E
0
1
0
0
0
1
1
0
REGISTER DATA
Table 20. Setting a Font Character to RAM Example
ADDRESS CODE
(HEX)
REGISTER DATA
(HEX)
0x05
0x8A
Set font address pointer to the base address of font character RAM02.
0x05
0x42
1st 7 bits of data: 1000010 goes to font address 0x8A; pointer then autoincrements
to address 0x8B.
0x05
0x61
2nd 7 bits of data: 1100001 goes to font address 0x8B; pointer then
autoincrements to address 0x8C.
0x05
0x51
3rd 7 bits of data: 1010001 goes to font address 0x8C; pointer then
autoincrements to address 0x8D.
0x05
0x49
4th 7 bits of data: 1001001 goes to font address 0x8D; pointer then
autoincrements to address 0x8E.
0x05
0x46
5th 7 bits of data: 1000110 goes to font address 0x8E; pointer then autoincrements
to address 0x8F.
ACTION BEING PERFORMED
Table 21. Scan-Limit Register Format
SCAN
LIMIT
ADDRESS CODE
(HEX)
REGISTER DATA
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
HEX
CODE
Display Digits 0 and 1 Only
0x03
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
0
0xX0
Display Digits 0, 1, 2, and 3
0x03
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
1
0xX1
18
______________________________________________________________________________________
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
ISEG = KI / RSET mA
fOSC = KF / (RSET ✕ (CSET + CSTRAY)) MHz
where:
KI = 2144
KF = 6003
RSET = external resistor in kΩ
CSET = external capacitor in pF
CSTRAY = stray capacitance from OSC pin to GND in
pF, typically 2pF
The recommended value of RSET is 53.6kΩ and the
recommended value of CSET is 26pF.
The recommended value of R SET is the minimum
allowed value since it sets the display driver to the
maximum allowed segment current. RSET can be set to
a higher value to set the segment current to a lower
peak value where desired. The user must also ensure
that the peak current specifications of the LEDs connected to the driver are not exceeded.
The effective value of CSET includes not only the actual
external capacitor used, but also the stray capacitance
from OSC to GND. This capacitance is usually in the
1pF to 5pF range, depending on the layout used.
Display-Test Register
The display-test register switches the drivers between
one of two modes: normal and display test. Display-test
mode turns all LEDs on by overriding, but not altering,
all control and digit registers (including the shutdown
register). In display-test mode, eight digits are scanned
and the duty cycle is 7/16 (half power). Table 22 lists
the display-test register format.
Applications Information
Choosing Supply Voltage to Minimize
Power Dissipation
The MAX6953 drives a peak current of 40mA into LEDs
with a 2.4V forward-voltage drop when operated from a
supply voltage of at least 3.0V. The minimum voltage
drop across the internal LED drivers is therefore (3.0V 2.4V) = 0.6V. If a higher supply voltage is used, the driver absorbs a higher voltage, and the driver’s power
dissipation increases accordingly. However, if the LEDs
used have a higher forward voltage drop than 2.4V, the
supply voltage must be raised accordingly to ensure
that the driver always has at least 0.6V headroom.
The voltage drop across the drivers with a nominal 5V
supply (5.0V - 2.4V) = 2.6V is nearly 3 times the drop
across the drivers with a nominal 3.3V supply (3.3V 2.4V) = 0.9V. In most systems, consumption is an
important design criterion, and the MAX6953 should be
operated from the system’s 3.3V nominal supply. In
other designs, the lowest supply voltage may be 5V.
The issue now is to ensure that the dissipation limit for
the MAX6953 is not exceeded. This can be achieved
by inserting a series resistor in the supply to the
MAX6953, ensuring that the supply decoupling capacitors are still on the MAX6953 side of the resistor. For
example, consider the requirement that the minimum
supply voltage to a MAX6953 must be 3.0V, and the
input supply range is 5V ±5%. Maximum supply current
is:
15mA + (40mA ✕ 10) = 415mA
Minimum input supply voltage is 4.75V. Maximum
series resistor value is:
(4.75V - 3.0V) / 0.415A = 4.22Ω
We choose 3.3Ω ±5%. Worst-case resistor dissipation
is at maximum toleranced resistance, i.e., (0.415A)2 ✕
(3.3Ω x 1.05) = 0.577W. We choose a 1W resistor rating. The maximum MAX6953 supply voltage is at maximum input supply voltage and minimum toleranced
resistance, i.e., 5.25V - (0.415A ✕ 3.3Ω ✕ 0.95) = 3.95V.
Table 22. Display-Test Register Format
REGISTER DATA
ADDRESS
CODE (HEX)
D7
D6
D5
D4
D3
D2
D1
D0
Normal operation
0x07
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
0
Display test
0x07
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
1
MODE
______________________________________________________________________________________
19
MAX6953
4MHz, which makes the blink frequencies 0.5Hz selectable between 1Hz. The recommended value of RSET
also sets the peak current to 40mA, which makes the
segment current adjustable from 2.5mA to 37.5mA in
2.5mA steps:
MAX6953
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
✕
7
Table 23. Intensity Register Format for Digit 0 (Address 0x01) and Digit 2 (Address 0x02)
DUTY
CYCLE
TYPICAL
SEGMENT
CURRENT (mA)
ADDRESS
CODE (HEX)
1/16 (min on)
2.5
2/16
5
3/16
D3
D2
D1
D0
HEX
CODE
0x01, 0x02
0
0
0
0
0xX0
0x01, 0x02
0
0
0
1
0xX1
7.5
0x01, 0x02
0
0
1
0
0xX2
4/16
10
0x01, 0x02
0
0
1
1
0xX3
5/16
12.5
0x01, 0x02
0
1
0
0
0xX4
6/16
15
0x01, 0x02
0
1
0
1
0xX5
7/16
17.5
0x01, 0x02
0
1
1
0
0xX6
8/16
20
0x01, 0x02
0
1
1
1
0xX7
9/16
22.5
0x01, 0x02
1
0
0
0
0xX8
10/16
25
0x01, 0x02
1
0
0
1
0xX9
11/16
27.5
0x01, 0x02
1
0
1
0
0xXA
12/16
30
0x01, 0x02
1
0
1
1
0xXB
13/16
32.5
0x01, 0x02
1
1
0
0
0xXC
14/16
35
0x01, 0x02
1
1
0
1
0xXD
15/16
37.5
0x01, 0x02
1
1
1
0
0xXE
15/16 (max on)
37.5
0x01, 0x02
1
1
1
1
0xXF
D7
D6
D5
D4
See Table 24.
Table 24. Intensity Register Format for Digit 1 (Address 0x01) and Digit 3 (Address 0x02)
20
DUTY
CYCLE
TYPICAL
SEGMENT
CURRENT
(mA)
ADDRESS CODE
(HEX)
D7
D6
D5
D4
1/16 (min on)
2.5
0x01, 0x02
0
0
0
0
0x0X
2/16
5
0x01, 0x02
0
0
0
1
0x1X
3/16
7.5
0x01, 0x02
0
0
1
0
0x2X
4/16
10
0x01, 0x02
0
0
1
1
0x3X
5/16
12.5
0x01, 0x02
0
1
0
0
0x4X
6/16
15
0x01, 0x02
0
1
0
1
0x5X
7/16
17.5
0x01, 0x02
0
1
1
0
0x6X
8/16
20
0x01, 0x02
0
1
1
1
9/16
22.5
0x01, 0x02
1
0
0
0
10/16
25
0x01, 0x02
1
0
0
1
0x9X
11/16
27.5
0x01, 0x02
1
0
1
0
0xAX
12/16
30
0x01, 0x02
1
0
1
1
0xBX
13/16
32.5
0x01, 0x02
1
1
0
0
0xCX
14/16
35
0x01, 0x02
1
1
0
1
0xDX
15/16
37.5
0x01, 0x02
1
1
1
0
0xEX
15/16 (max on)
37.5
0x01, 0x02
1
1
1
1
0xFX
D3
D2
D1
See Table 23.
______________________________________________________________________________________
D0
HEX
CODE
0x7X
0x8X
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
Computing Power Dissipation
The upper limit for power dissipation (PD) for the
MAX6953 is determined from the following equation:
So TA = +107°C. Thus, the part can be operated safely
at a maximum package temperature of +85°C.
Power Supplies
The MAX6953 operates from a single 2.7V to 5.5V
power supply. Bypass the power supply to GND with a
0.1µF capacitor as close to the device as possible. Add
a 47µF capacitor if the MAX6953 is not close to the
board's input bulk decoupling capacitor.
Board Layout
When designing a board, use the following guidelines:
1) The R SET connection to the ISET pin is a highimpedance node, and sensitive to layout. Place
R SET right next to the ISET pin and route R SET
directly to these pins with very short tracks.
2) Ensure that the track from the ground end of RSET
routes directly to GND pin 19 (PDIP package) or
GND pin 17 (SSOP package), and that this track is
not used as part of any other ground connection.
Chip Information
TRANSISTOR COUNT: 44,078
PROCESS: CMOS
PD = (V+ ✕ 15mA) + (V+ - VLED) (DUTY ✕ ISEG ✕ N)
where:
V+ = supply voltage
Duty = duty cycle set by intensity register
N = number of segments driven (worst case is 10)
VLED = LED forward voltage
ISEG = segment current set by RSET
PD = power dissipation, in mW if currents are in mA
Dissipation example:
ISEG = 40mA, N = 10, Duty = 15 / 16, VLED
= 2.4V at 40mA, V+ = 3.6V
PD = 3.6V (15mA) + (3.6V - 2.4V)
(15 / 16 ✕ 40mA ✕ 10) = 0.504W
Thus, for a 36-pin SSOP package (TJA = 1 / 0.0118 =
+85°C/W from operating ratings), the maximum allowed
ambient temperature TA is given by:
TJ(MAX) = TA + (PD ✕ TJA) = +150°C =
TA + (0.504 ✕ +85°C/W)
______________________________________________________________________________________
21
MAX6953
Low-Voltage Operation
The MAX6953 works over the 2.7V to 5.5V supply
range. The minimum useful supply voltage is determined by the forward-voltage drop of the LEDs at the
peak current ISEG, plus the 0.6V headroom required by
the driver output stages. The MAX6953 correctly regulates ISEG with a supply voltage above this minimum
voltage. If the supply drops below this minimum voltage, the driver output stages may brown out, and be
unable to regulate the current correctly. As the supply
voltage drops further, the LED segment drive current
becomes effectively limited by the output driver's onresistance, and the LED drive current drops. The characteristics of each individual LED in a 5 ✕ 7 matrix digit
are well matched, so the result is that the display intensity dims uniformly as supply voltage drops out of regulation and beyond. The MAX6953 operates down to 2V
supply voltage (although most displays are very dim at
this voltage), providing that the MAX6953 is powered
up initially to at least 2.7V to trigger the device's internal
reset, and also that the I2C interface is constrained to
100kbps.
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5
Matrix LED Display Driver
✕
7
MAX6953
Pin Configurations
TOP VIEW
O0
40
1
O23
O0
1
36 O23
2
35 O22
34 O21
O1
2
39
O22
O1
O2
3
38
O21
O2
3
GND
4
37
V+
GND
4
33 V+
5
32 V+
MAX6953
GND
5
36
V+
GND
GND
6
35
V+
O3
6
30 O19
MAX6953
31 O20
7
34
O20
O4
7
O4
8
33
O19
O5
8
29 O18
O5
9
32
O18
O6
9
28 O17
27 O16
O3
O6
10
31
O17
O7 10
O7
11
30
O16
O8 11
26 O15
O8
12
29
O15
O9 12
25 O14
O10 13
24 O13
O9
13
28
O14
O10
14
27
O13
O11 14
23 O12
22 SCL
21 SDA
15
26
O12
ISET 15
N.C. 16
25
N.C.
AD1 16
17
24
SCL
GND 17
20 AD0
23
SDA
BLINK 18
19 OSC
O11
ISET
AD1
18
GND
19
22
AD0
BLINK
20
21
OSC
SSOP
PDIP
22
______________________________________________________________________________________
2-Wire Interfaced, 2.7V to 5.5V, 4-Digit 5 ✕ 7
Matrix LED Display Driver
SSOP.EPS
36
E
DIM
A
A1
B
C
e
E
H
L
D
H
INCHES
MILLIMETERS
MAX
MIN
0.104
0.096
0.011
0.004
0.017
0.012
0.009
0.013
0.0315 BSC
0.291
0.299
0.398
0.414
0.020
0.040
0.598
0.612
MAX
MIN
2.65
2.44
0.29
0.10
0.44
0.30
0.23
0.32
0.80 BSC
7.40
7.60
10.11
10.51
0.51
15.20
1.02
15.55
1
TOP VIEW
D
A1
e
A
B
C
0 -8
L
FRONT VIEW
SIDE VIEW
PROPRIETARY INFORMATION
TITLE:
PACKAGE OUTLINE, 36L SSOP, 0.80 MM PITCH
APPROVAL
DOCUMENT CONTROL NO.
21-0040
REV.
E
1
1
Maxim cannot assume responsibility for use of any circuitry other than circuitry entirely embodied in a Maxim product. No circuit patent licenses are
implied. Maxim reserves the right to change the circuitry and specifications without notice at any time.
23 ____________________Maxim Integrated Products, 120 San Gabriel Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 408-737-7600
© 2002 Maxim Integrated Products
Printed USA
is a registered trademark of Maxim Integrated Products.
MAX6953
Package Information
(The package drawing(s) in this data sheet may not reflect the most current specifications. For the latest package outline information,
go to www.maxim-ic.com/packages.)