Electronic – TCA9555 Analog I/O

analogi2cmicrocontroller

I understand that the TCA955 is an I/O extender that communicates via a I2C bus. What I can't figure out is whether this chip will take analog inputs as well as digital inputs. I'm trying to add more analog pins to a micro controller, so if this won't work, can you recommend something that will.

Best Answer

What @ThePhoton said.

TCA9555 is a purely digital I/O expander.

Not having enough analog inputs on a μC is a frequent problem. Here are some of the solutions:

  1. Choose a bigger μC with more A/D channels.
  2. External A/D. There are lots of external A/D with I2C interface. AD7998, for example. The choice would depend on the number of channels and resolution bits that you require. You can get additional benefits from an external A/D, such as: more resolution bits than in the μC's A/D, differential channels.
  3. Analog multiplexor (analog mux) in front of a μC channel. CD4051 is a classic one. I've had success with ADG728, which can be controlled through I2C.

1. and 2. tend to be more common than 3. Usually, if you can add an extra IC for the analog mux, you might as well add an external A/D instead of the mux.

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