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Application Note: CoolRunner™ CPLDs

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CoolRunner CPLD I2C Bus Controller
Implementation
XAPP333 (v1.7) December 24, 2002

Summary This document details the VHDL implementation of an I2C controller in a Xilinx CoolRunner™
256-macrocell CPLD. CoolRunner CPLDs are the lowest power CPLDs available, making this
the perfect target device for an I2C controller. To obtain the VHDL code described in this
document, go to section VHDL Code Download, page 19 for instructions. This design fits both
XPLA3 and CoolRunner-II CPLDs. For the CoolRunner-II CPLD version, please refer to
XAPP385, CoolRunner-II CPLD I2C Bus Controller Implementation.

Introduction The I2C bus is a popular serial, two-wire interface used in many systems because of its low
overhead. The two-wire interface minimizes interconnections so ICs have fewer pins, and the
number of traces required on printed circuit boards is reduced. Capable of 100 KHz operation,
each device connected to the bus is software addressable by a unique address with a simple
Master/Slave protocol.
The CoolRunner I2C Controller design contains an asynchronous microcontroller (µC) interface
and provides I2C Master/Slave capability. It is intended to be used with a microcontroller (µC)
or microprocessor (µP) as shown in Figure 1.

SDA
CoolRunner I2C Bus Controller SCL

Address
Data I2C Master/
Microcontroller Microcontroller Slave
Control Interface Interface

X315_01_091999

Figure 1: CoolRunner I2C Bus Controller

I2C Background This section will describe the main protocol of the I2C bus. For more details and timing
diagrams, please refer to the I2C specification.
The I2C bus consists of two wires, serial data (SDA) and serial clock (SCL), which carry
information between the devices connected to the bus. The number of devices connected to
the same bus is limited only by a maximum bus capacitance of 400 pF. Both the SDA and SCL
lines are bidirectional lines, connected to a positive supply voltage via a pull-up resistor. When

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trademarks and registered trademarks are the property of their respective owners. All specifications are subject to change without notice.
NOTICE OF DISCLAIMER: Xilinx is providing this design, code, or information "as is." By providing the design, code, or information as one possible implementation of this fea-
ture, application, or standard, Xilinx makes no representation that this implementation is free from any claims of infringement. You are responsible for obtaining any rights you
may require for your implementation. Xilinx expressly disclaims any warranty whatsoever with respect to the adequacy of the implementation, including but not limited to any war-
ranties or representations that this implementation is free from claims of infringement and any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

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the bus is free, both lines are High. The output stages of devices connected to the bus must
have an open-drain or open-collector in order to perform the wired-AND function.
Each device on the bus has a unique address and can operate as either a transmitter or
receiver. In addition, devices can also be configured as Masters or Slaves. A Master is the
device which initiates a data transfer on the bus and generates the clock signals to permit that
transfer. Any other device that is being addressed is considered a Slave. The I2C protocol
defines an arbitration procedure that insures that if more than one Master simultaneously tries
to control the bus, only one is allowed to do so and the message is not corrupted. The
arbitration and clock synchronization procedures defined in the I2C specification are supported
by the CoolRunner I2C Controller.
Data transfers on the I2C bus are initiated with a START condition and are terminated with a
STOP condition. Normal data on the SDA line must be stable during the High period of the
clock. The High or Low state of the data line can only change when SCL is Low. The START
condition is a unique case and is defined by a High-to-Low transition on the SDA line while SCL
is High. Likewise, the STOP condition is a unique case and is defined by a Low-to-High
transition on the SDA line while SCL is High. The definitions of data, START, and STOP insure
that the START and STOP conditions will never be confused as data. This is shown in Figure 2.

SDA MSB

SCL 1 2 3 7 8 9

S P
Start ACK Stop
Condition Condition
x315_10_101599

Figure 2: Data Transfer on the I2C Bus

Each data packet on the I2C bus consists of eight bits of data followed by an acknowledge bit
so one complete data byte transfer requires nine clock pulses. Data is transferred with the most
significant bit first (MSB). The transmitter releases the SDA line during the acknowledge bit and
the receiver of the data transfer must drive the SDA line low during the acknowledge bit to
acknowledge receipt of the data. If a Slave-receiver does not drive the SDA line Low during the
acknowledge bit, this indicates that the Slave-receiver was unable to accept the data and the
Master can then generate a STOP condition to abort the transfer. If the Master-receiver does
not generate an acknowledge, this indicates to the Slave-transmitter that this byte was the last
byte of the transfer.
Standard communication on the bus between a Master and a Slave is composed of four parts:
START, Slave address, data transfer, and STOP. The I2C protocol defines a data transfer
format for both 7-bit and 10-bit addressing. The implementation of the I2C controller in the Xilinx
CoolRunner CPLD supports the seven-bit address format. After the START condition, a Slave
address is sent. This address is seven bits long followed by an eighth-bit which is the read/write
bit. A "1" indicates a request for data (read) and a "0" indicates a data transmission (write). Only
the Slave with the calling address that matches the address transmitted by the Master
responds by sending back an acknowledge bit by pulling the SDA line Low on the ninth clock.
Once successful Slave addressing is achieved, the data transfer can proceed byte-by-byte as
specified by the read/write bit. The Master can terminate the communication by generating a
STOP signal to free the bus. However, the Master may generate a START signal without
generating a STOP signal first. This is called a repeated START.

CoolRunner I2C The CoolRunner CPLD implementation of the I2C Controller supports the following features:
Controller • Microcontroller interface

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• Master or Slave operation

• Multi-master operation
• Software selectable acknowledge bit
• Arbitration lost interrupt with automatic mode switching from Master to Slave
• Calling address identification interrupt with automatic mode switching from Master to
Slave
• START and STOP signal generation/detection
• Repeated START signal generation
• Acknowledge bit generation/detection
• Bus busy detection
• 100 KHz operation

Signal The I/O signals of the CoolRunner I2C controller are described in Table 1. Pin numbers have
Descriptions not been assigned to this design, this can be done to meet the system requirements of the
designer.

Table 1: CoolRunner I2C Controller Signal Description

Name Direction Description
SDA Bidirectional I2C Serial Data.
SCL Bidirectional I2C Serial Clock.
ADDR_BUS[23:0] Input µC Address Bus.
DATA_BUS[7:0] Bidirectional µC Data Bus.
AS Input Address Strobe. Active Low µC handshake signal
indicating that the address present on the address
bus is valid.
DS Input Data Strobe. Active Low µC handshake signal
indicating that the data present on the data bus is
valid or that the µC is no longer driving the data bus
and the I2C Controller can place data on the data
bus.
R_W Input Read/Write. "1" indicates a read, "0" indicates a
write.
DTACK Output Data Transfer Acknowledge. Active Low µC
handshake signal indicating that the I2C Controller
has placed valid data on the data bus for a read cycle
or that the I2C Controller has received the data on
the bus for a write cycle.

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Table 1: CoolRunner I2C Controller Signal Description

IRQ Output Interrupt Request. Active Low.
MCF Output Data Transferring Bit. While one byte of data is
being transferred, this bit is cleared. It is set by the
falling edge of the ninth clock of a byte transfer. This
bit is used to signal the completion of a byte transfer
to the µC.
CLK Input Clock. This clock is input from the system. The
constants used in generating a 100 KHz SCL signal
assumes the frequency to be 1.832 MHz. Different
clock frequencies can be used, but the constants in
the VHDL source code must be recalculated.

Block Diagram The block diagram of the CoolRunner I2C Controller, shown in Figure 3 was broken into two
major blocks, the µC interface and the I2C interface.
ADDR_BUS[23:0]

DATA_BUS[7:0]

DTACK

R_W
MCF

IRQ

DS

AS
µC Interface

ADDR_DECODE/Bus Interface
RESET

Status Register Control Register Address Register Data Register

MBSR MBCR MADR MBDR
SYS_CLK

I2C Status Address I2C Header I2C Data

Register Compare Register Register

START/
STOP
Arbitration and Main State Machine SCL
START/STOP Generation
Detection

I2C Interface
SDA
SCL

X315_02_101599

Figure 3: CoolRunner I2C Controller

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Microcontroller The µC interface for the I2C controller design supports an asynchronous byte-wide bus
Logic protocol. This protocol is the method in which the µC reads and writes the registers in the
design and is shown in Figure 4.

Microcontroller I2C Controller

Address the Device
1. Set R/W to indicate direction of data transfer
2. Place Address on A23:A1
3. Assert Address Strobe (AS)
4. Place data on D7:D0 (if Write)
5. Assert Data Strobe (DS) Input the Data
1. Decode Address
2. Latch data on D7:D0 (if Write)
or place data on D7:D0 (if Read)
Terminate Transfer 3. Assert Data Transfer Acknowledge (DTACK)

1. Latch data (if Read)

2. Negate DS
3. Negate AS
4. Remove data from bus (if Write) Terminates the Cycle
1. Remove data from D7:D0 (if Read)
Start Next Cycle 2. Negate DTACK

X315_11_101799

Figure 4: µC Read/Write Protocol

Address Decode/Bus Interface Logic

The µC bus protocol is implemented in the CoolRunner I2C Controller in the state machine
shown in Figure 5.

RESET
Asserted

IDLE

AS Asserted
RESET Negated
ADDRESS_MATCH DS
Negated Negated

ADDR

DS Asserted
ADDRESS_MATCH Asserted

AS Negated
DS Negated DATA_TRS

AS Asserted
DS Asserted

ASSERT_DTACK

X315_03_010500

Figure 5: µC Bus Interface State Machine

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In the first cycle, the µC places the address on the address bus, sets the read/write line to the
correct state, and asserts address strobe (AS) and data strobe (DS). Address strobe indicates
that the address present on the address bus is valid. If this is a write cycle, the µC also places
the data on the data bus and DS indicates that valid data is present on the data bus. If this is a
read cycle, the µC 3-states the data bus and DS indicates that the CoolRunner I2C Controller
can place data on the data bus.
Upon the assertion of AS, the CoolRunner I2C Controller transitions to the ADDR state to
decode the address and determine if it is the device being addressed. The enables for the
internal registers are set in this state. If the CoolRunner I2C Controller is being addressed and
DS is asserted, the CoolRunner I2C controller progresses to the DATA_TRS state. If this is a
read cycle, the requested data is placed on the bus and if this is a write cycle, the data from the
data bus is latched in the addressed register. The CoolRunner I2C Controller automatically
progresses to the ASSERT_DTACK state and asserts DTACK indicating that the data
requested is ready if a read cycle or that the data has been received if a write cycle.
Upon the assertion of DTACK, the µC either removes data from the bus if this is a write cycle,
or latches the data present on the bus if this is a read cycle. The read/write line is set to read
and AS and DS are negated to indicate that the data transfer is complete. The negation of AS
and DS causes the CoolRunner I2C Controller to negate DTACK and transition to the IDLE
state.

CoolRunner I2C Controller Registers

The base address used for address decoding is set in the VHDL code via the constant
BASE_ADDRESS. The base address is the upper 16 bits of the address bus. The lower
address bits determine which register is being accessed.
The registers supported in the CoolRunner I2C Controller are described in the Table 2. The µC
interface logic of the CoolRunner I2C Controller handles the reading and writing of these
registers by the µC and supplies and/or retrieves these bits to/from the I2C interface logic.

Table 2: I2C Controller Registers

Address Register Description
MBASE + $8Dh MADR I2C Address Register
MBASE + $8Fh MBCR I2C Control Register
MBASE + $93h MBSR I2C Status Register
MBASE + $95h MBDR I2C Data I/O Register

Address Register (MADR)

This field contains the specific Slave address to be used by the I2C Controller. This register is
read/write. (Table 3).

Table 3: Address Register Bits

Bit
Location Name µC Access Description
7-1 Slave Address Read/Write Address used by the I2C controller when
in Slave mode.
0 - - Unused

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Control Register (MBCR)

This register contains the bits to configure the I2C controller. (Table 4).

Table 4: Control Register Bits

Bit
Location Name µC Access Description
7 MEN Read/Write I2C Controller Enable. This bit must be set before
any other MBCR bits have any effect
"1" enables the I2C controller
"0" resets and disables the I2C controller
6 MIEN Read/Write Interrupt Enable.
"1" enables interrupts. An interrupt occurs if MIF bit
in the status register is also set
"0" disable interrupts but does not clear any
currently pending interrupts
5 MSTA Read/Write Master/Slave Mode Select. When the µC changes
this bit from "0" to "1", the I2C controller generates
a START condition in Master mode. When this bit is
cleared, a STOP condition is generated and the I2C
controller switches to Slave mode. If this bit is
cleared, however, because arbitration for the bus
has been lost, a STOP condition is not generated.
4 MTX Read/Write Transmit/Receive Mode Select. This bit selects
the direction of Master/Slave transfers.
"1" selects an I2C Master transmit
"0" selects an I2C Master receive
3 TXAK Read/Write Transmit Acknowledge Enable. This bit specifies
the value driven onto the SDA line during
acknowledge cycles for both Master and Slave
receivers
"1" - ACK bit = "1" - no acknowledge
"0" - ACK bit = "0" - acknowledge
Since Master receivers indicate the end of data
reception by not acknowledging the last byte of the
transfer, this bit is the means for the µC to end a
Master receiver transfer.
2 RSTA Read/Write Repeated Start. Writing a "1" to this bit generates
a repeated START condition on the bus if the I2C
controller is the current bus Master. This bit is
always read as "0". Attempting a repeated START
at the wrong time if the bus is owned by another
Master results in a loss of arbitration.
1-0 Reserved

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Status Register (MBSR)

This register contains the status of the I2C controller. This status register is read-only with the
exception of the MIF and MAL bits, which are software clearable. All bits are cleared upon reset
except the MCF and RXAK bits. (Table 5).

Table 5: Status Register Bits

Bit
Location Name µC Access Description
7 MCF Read Data Transferring Bit. While one byte of data is
being transferred, this bit is cleared. It is set by the
rising edge of SCL during the acknowledge cycle of
the transfer and is only High for this SCL clock
period.
"1" transfer is complete
"0" transfer in progress
Note that in the CoolRunner I2C controller, this bit is
also an output pin so that a register read cycle is not
required to determine that a transfer is complete.
6 MAAS Read Addressed as Slave Bit. When the address on the
I2C bus matches the Slave address in the MADR
register, the I2C controller is being addressed as a
Slave and switches to Slave mode.
5 MBB Read Bus Busy Bit. This bit indicates the status of the I2C
bus. This bit is set when a START condition is
detected and cleared when a STOP condition is
detected.
"1" indicates the bus is busy
"0" indicates the bus is idle
4 MAL Read Arbitration Lost Bit. This bit is set by hardware
Software when arbitration for the I2C bus is lost. This bit must
Clearable be cleared by the µC software writing a "0" to this bit.
3 Reserved

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Table 5: Status Register Bits (Continued)

Bit
Location Name µC Access Description
2 SRW Read Slave Read/Write Bit. When the I2C controller has
been addressed as a Slave (MAAS is set), this bit
indicates the value of the read/write bit sent by the
Master. This bit is only valid when a complete
transfer has occurred and no other transfers have
been initiated.
"1" indicates Master reading from Slave
"0" indicates Master writing to Slave
1 MIF Read Interrupt Bit. This bit is set when an interrupt is
Software pending, which causes a processor interrupt request
Clearable if MIEN is set. This bit must be cleared by the µC
software writing a "0" to this bit in the interrupt
service routine.
0 RXAK Read Received Acknowledge Bit. This bit reflects the
value of the SDA signal during the acknowledge
cycle of the transfer.
"1" indicates that no acknowledge was received
"0" indicates that an acknowledge was received

Data Register (MBDR)

This register contains data to/from the I2C bus. Physically, this register is implemented by two
byte-wide registers at the same address, one for the I2C transmit data and one for the I2C
received data. This eliminates any possible contention between the µC and the CoolRunner
I2C Controller. Since these registers are at the same address they appear as the same register
to the µC and will continue to be described as such. In transmit mode, data written into this
register is output on the I2C bus, in receive mode, this register contains the data received from
the I2C bus. Note that in receive mode, it is assumed that the µC will be able to read this
register during the next I2C transfer. The received I2C data is placed in this register after each
complete transfer, the I2C interface logic does not wait for an indication from the µC that this
register has been read before proceeding with the next transfer. (Table 6)

Table 6: I2C Data Register Bit

Bit
Location Name µC Access Description
7-0 D7:D0 Read/Write I2C Data

I2C Interface The I2C bus interface logic consists of several different processes as seen in Figure 3. Control
Logic bits from the µC interface registers determine the behavior of these processes.
Arbitration
Arbitration of the I2C bus is lost in the following circumstances:
• The SDA signal is sampled as a "0" when the Master outputs a "1" during an address or
data transmit cycle
• The SDA signal is sampled as a "0" when the Master outputs a "1" during the
acknowledge bit of a data receive cycle
• A start cycle is attempted when the bus is busy

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• A repeated start cycle is requested in Slave mode

• A STOP condition is detected when the Master did not request it
If the CoolRunner I2C Controller is in Master mode, the outgoing SDA signal is compared with
the incoming SDA signal to determine if control of the bus has been lost. The SDA signal is
checked only when SCL is High during all cycles of the data transfer except for acknowledge
cycles to insure that START and STOP conditions are not generated at the wrong time. If the
outgoing SDA signal and the incoming SDA signals differ, then arbitration is lost and the MAL
bit is set. At this point, the CoolRunner I2C Controller switches to Slave mode and resets the
MSTA bit.
The CoolRunner I2C design will not generate a START condition while the bus is busy,
however, the MAL bit will be set if the µC requests a START or repeated START while the bus
is busy. The MAL bit is also set if a STOP condition is detected when this Master did not
generate it.
If arbitration is lost during a byte transfer, SCL continues to be generated until the byte transfer
is complete.

START/STOP Detection
This process monitors the SDA and SCL signals on the I2C bus for START and STOP
conditions. When a START condition is detected, the Bus Busy bit is set. This bit stays set until
a STOP condition is detected. The signals, DETECT_START and DETECT_STOP are
generated by this process for use by other processes in the logic. Note that this logic detects
the START and STOP conditions even when the CoolRunner I2C Controller is the generator of
these conditions.

Generation of SCL, SDA, START and STOP Conditions

This process generates the SCL and SDA signals output on the I2C bus when in Master mode.
The clock frequency of the SCL signal is ~100 KHz and is determined by dividing down the
input clock. The number of input clock cycles required for generation of a 100 KHz SCL signal
is set by the constant CNT_100 KHZ and is currently calculated for a system clock of 1.832
MHz. This constant can easily be modified by a designer based on the clock available in the
target system. Likewise, the constants START_HOLD and DATA_HOLD contain the number of
system clock cycles required to meet the I2C requirements on hold time for the SDA lines after
generating a START condition and after outputting data.

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The state machine that generates SCL and SDA when in Master mode is shown in Figure 6.
Note that SCL and SDA are held at the default levels if the bus is busy. This state machine
generates the controls for the system clock counter.

RST
GEN_START = 0

IDLE

GEN_START = 1

CLK_CNT < START_HOLD

REP_START = 1 START
CLK_CNT = HIGH_CNT/2
CLK_CNT = START_HOLD
ARB_LOST = 1
BIT_CNT > 7
CLK_CNT = TBUF
SCL_LOW_EDGE

CLK_CNT < LOW_CNT

SCL_LOW

CLK_CNT = LOW_CNT
CLK_CNT < TBUF
CLK_CNT = HIGH_CNT
STOP_WAIT
SCL_INT = 0

SCL_HI_EDGE
GEN_STOP = 1
CLK_CNT = HIGH_CNT/2 SCL_INT = 1

CLK_CNT < HIGH_CNT

SCL_HI

X315_04_071000

Figure 6: SCL, SDA, START, and STOP Generation State Machine

The internal SDA signal output from this design is either the SDA signal generated by this state
machine for START and STOP conditions or the data from the MBDR register when the
CoolRunner I2C Controller is in transmit mode. Note that both SCL and SDA are open-collector
outputs, therefore, they are only driven to a "0". When a "1" is to be output on these signals, the
CoolRunner I2C Controller 3-states their output buffers. The logic in the design will set internal
SDA and SCL signals to "1" or "0". These internal signals actually control the output enable of
the 3-state buffer for these outputs.
In the IDLE state, SCL and SDA are 3-stated, allowing any Master to control the bus. Once a
request has entered to generate a start condition, the CoolRunner I2C Controller is in Master
mode, and the bus is not busy, the state machine transitions to the START state.
The START state holds SCL High, but drives SDA Low to generate a START condition. The
system clock counter is started and the state machine stays in this state until the required hold
time is met. At this point, the next state is SCL_LOW_EDGE.
The SCL_LOW_EDGE state simply creates a falling edge on SCL and resets the system clock
counter. On the next clock edge, the state machine moves to state SCL_LOW. In this state, the
SCL line is held Low and the system clock counter begins counting. If the REP_START signal

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is asserted then the SDA signal will be set High, if the GEN_STOP signal is asserted, SDA will
be set Low.
When the SCL low time has been reached, the state machine will transition to the IDLE state if
arbitration has been lost and the byte transfer is complete to insure that SCL continues until the
end of the transfer. Otherwise the next state is the SCL_HI_EDGE state.
The SCL_HI_EDGE state generates a rising edge on SCL by setting SCL to "1". Note,
however, that the state machine will not transition to the SCL_HI state until the sampled SCL
signal is also High to obey the clock synchronization protocol of the I2C specification. Clock
synchronization is performed using the wired-AND connection of the SCL line. The SCL line will
be held Low by the device with the longest low period. Devices with shorter low periods enter
a high wait state until all devices have released the SCL line and it goes High. Therefore the
SCL_HI_EDGE state operates as the high wait state as the SCL clock is synchronized.
The SCL_HI state then starts the system clock counter to count the high time for the SCL
signal. If a repeated START or a STOP condition has been requested, the state machine will
transition to the appropriate state after half of the SCL high time so that the SDA line can
transition as required. If neither of these conditions has been requested, then the state machine
transitions to the SCL_LOW_EDGE state when the SCL high time has been achieved.
The STOP_WAIT state is used to insure that the hold time requirement after a STOP condition
is met.

I 2C Interface Main State Machine

The main state machine for the I2C Interface logic is shown in Figure 7. This state machine is
the same for both Slave and Master modes. In each state, the mode is checked to determine
the proper output values and next state conditions. This allows for immediate switching from

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Master to Slave mode if arbitration is lost or if the CoolRunner I2C Controller is addressed as a
Slave.

RESET
Asserted
IDLE

DETECT_START = 1

BIT_CNT < 8

HEADER

DETECT_START = 1 BIT_CNT = 8 DETECT_START = 1

Master Rcv
SDA = 0 ACK_HEADER Master Xmit
SDA = 0
Slave Rcv
Slave Xmit
ADDR_MATCH = 1
ADDR_MATCH = 1

RCV_DATA XMIT_DATA
Master
DETECT_STOP = 1 SDA = 1 DETECT_STOP = 1 SDA = 0
BIT_CNT = 8 BIT_CNT = 8

ACK_DATA WAIT_ACK

SDA = 1

STOP

X315_05_071000

Figure 7: I2C Interface Main State Machine

This state machine utilizes and controls a counter that counts the I2C bits that have been
received. This count is stored in the signal BIT_CNT. This state machine also controls two shift
registers, one that stores the I2C header that has been received and another that stores the I2C
data that has been received or is to be transmitted.
Note:
This state machine and the associated counters and shift registers are clocked on the falling edge of
the incoming SCL clock. If the load is heavy on the SCL line, the rise time of the SCL signal may be
very slow which can cause susceptibility to noise for some systems. This can be particularly
dangerous on a clock signal. The designer is strongly encouraged to investigate the signal integrity of
the SCL line and if necessary, use external buffers for the SCL signal.
When a START signal has been detected, the state machine transitions from the IDLE state to
the HEADER state. The START signal detection circuit monitors the incoming SDA and SCL
lines to detect the START condition. The START condition can be generated by the
CoolRunner I2C controller or another Master—either source will transition the state machine to
the HEADER state.
The HEADER state is the state where the I2C header is transmitted on the I2C bus from the
MBDR register if in Master mode. In this state, the incoming I2C data is captured in the I2C
Header shift register. In Master mode, the I2C Header shift register will contain the data that
was just transmitted by this design. When all eight bits of the I2C header have been shifted in,
the state machine transitions to the ACK_HEADER state.

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In the ACK_HEADER state, the CoolRunner I2C design samples the SDA line if in Master
mode to determine whether the addressed I2C Slave acknowledged the header. If the
addressed Slave does not acknowledge the header, the state machine will transition to the
STOP state which signals the SCL/START/STOP generator to generate a STOP. If the
addressed Slave has acknowledged the address, then the LSB of the I2C header is used to
determine if this is a transmit or receive operation and the state machine transitions to the
appropriate state to either receive data, RCV_DATA, or to transmit data, XMIT_DATA.
The I2C Header shift register is constantly compared with the I2C address set in the MADR
register. If these values match in the ACK_HEADER state, the CoolRunner I2C Controller has
been addressed as a Slave and the mode immediately switches to Slave mode. The MAAS bit
is then set in the MBSR status register. The SDA line will be driven as set in the TXAK register
to acknowledge the header to the current I2C bus Master. Again, the LSB of the I2C header is
used to determine the direction of the data transfer and the appropriate state is chosen.
The RCV_DATA state shifts the incoming I2C data into the I2C shift register for transfer to the
µC. When the whole data byte has been received, the state machine transitions to the
ACK_DATA state and the value of the TXAK register is output on the SDA line to acknowledge
the data transfer. Note that in Master mode, the indication that the Slave has transmitted the
required number of data bytes is to not acknowledge the last byte of data. The µC must negate
the TXAK bit to prohibit the ACK of the last data byte. The state machine exits this pair of states
when a STOP condition has been detected, otherwise, the transition between these two states
continues. In Master mode, the µC requests a STOP condition by negating the MSTA bit.
The XMIT_DATA state shifts the data from the I2C data register to the SDA line. When the
entire byte has been output, the state machine transitions to the WAIT_ACK state. If an
acknowledge is received, the state machine goes back to the XMIT_DATA to transmit the next
byte of data. This pattern continues until either a STOP condition is detected, or an
acknowledge is not received for a data byte.
Note that the data transfer states of this state machine assume that the µC can keep up with
the rate at which data is received or transmitted. If interrupts are enabled, an interrupt is
generated at the completion of each byte transfer. The MCF bit is set as well providing the
same indication. Data is transferred to/from the I2C data register to/from the µC data register
during the acknowledge cycle of the data transfer. The state machine does not wait for an
indication that the µC has read the received data or that new data has been written for
transmission. The designer should be aware of the effective data rate of the µC to insure that
this is not an issue.
The STOP state signals the SCL/START/STOP generator to generate a STOP condition if the
CoolRunner I2C design is in Master mode. The next state is always the IDLE state and the I2C
activity is completed.

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Operational The flow of the interface between the µC and the CoolRunner I2C Controller is detailed in the
Flow Diagrams following flow charts. These flow charts are meant to be a guide for utilizing the CoolRunner I2C
Controller in a µC system.

Initialization
Before the CoolRunner I2C Controller can be utilized, certain bits and registers must be
initialized as shown in Figure 8.

BEGIN

Enable I2C Interface

Logic by Setting MEN

Define I2C Slave

Address to Respond
to in MADR

Modify MBCR to
Enable Interrupts

END

X315_06_101599

Figure 8: CoolRunner I2C Controller Initialization Flow Chart

Master Transmit/Receive
The flow charts for transmitting data and receiving data while I2C bus Master are shown in
Figure 9 and Figure 10. The major difference between transmitting and receiving is the
additional step in the Master Receive flow chart of turning off the acknowledge bit on the
second to last data word.

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BEGIN

Bus Busy? Yes

(MBB = 1)

No
Write I2C Header
in MBDR

Set MSTA in MBCR

to Generate START

Transfer
No
Complete?
(MCF = 1)

Yes
Write Data
to MBDR

Transfer
No
Complete?
(MCF = 1)

Yes

No
Last Word?

Yes
Negate MSTA in MBCR
to Generate STOP

END

X315_07_091999

Figure 9: Master Transmit Flow Chart

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BEGIN

Bus Busy? Yes

(MBB = 1)

No
Write I2C Header
in MBDR

Set MSTA in MBCR

to Generate START

Transfer
No
Complete?
(MCF = 1)

Yes
Read Data
from MBDR

Transfer
No
Complete?
(MCF = 1)

Yes

No
Last Word - 1?

Yes
Set TXAK in MBCR
to Turn Off ACK

Yes
Read Data from
MBDR

Transfer
No
Complete?
(MCF = 1)

Yes
Negate MSTA in MBCR
to Generate STOP

END
X315_08_071000

Figure 10: Master Receive Flow Chart

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Slave Flow Chart

The flow chart for receiving or transmitting data in Slave mode is shown in Figure 11. If in
receive mode, the first read from the MBDR register is a dummy read because data has not yet
been received. Since the CoolRunner I2C Controller is in Slave mode, the only way to know
that the transaction is complete is to check that the bus is busy and that the Addressed as
Slave bit is still set.

BEGIN

Addressed No

as Slave?

Yes
Check SRW Bit in
MSBR for Xmit/Rcv

Read/Write
Data
in MBDR

Transfer
No
Complete?
(MCF = 1)

Yes

Yes
Bus Busy?
MAAS = 1?

No

END

X315_09_071000

Figure 11: Slave/Transmitter Flow Chart

CoolRunner The design of the CoolRunner I2C Controller was implemented in VHDL and targeted to a 256
XPLA3 CPLD macrocell CoolRunner CPLD in a 144-pin TQFP package (XCR3256XL-10TQ144C) using
Xilinx Project Navigator. (Xilinx Project Navigator software is available free-of-charge from the
Implementation Xilinx website: www.xilinx.com/products/software/webpowered.htm.).
Note:
Since the system clock frequency was 1.832 MHz, the speed of the design was not critical and any
speed grade part could have been used.
Note:
The I2C SCL line is used as a clock input into the CoolRunner I2C Controller. If there are many loads
on the I2C bus, the rise time of the SCL line can be quite slow. The CoolRunner CPLD for this design
requires a rise time no greater than 100 ns, therefore, the designer is strongly encouraged to examine
the characteristics of the SCL signal in the I2C system. If the rise time of the I2C signals are greater
than 100 ns, external buffers can be used between the actual I2C bus connections and the
CoolRunner CPLD.

The I2C design utilization in an XPLA3 256-macrocell device is shown in Table 7. This
utilization was achieved using certain fitter parameters, actual results may vary. As shown,

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there is plenty of room remaining in the device for the implementation of other logic in the
system.

Table 7: CoolRunner XPLA3 256-Macrocell Utilization

Resource Available Used Utilization
Macrocells 256 124 48%
P-terms 896 326 36%
Registers Used 256 110 43%
I/O Pins 116 42 36%
Function Block 640 289 45%
Inputs Used

Design Verification
The Xilinx Project Navigator software package outputs a timing VHDL model of the fitted
design. This post-fit VHDL was simulated with the original VHDL test benches to insure design
functionality. Also, the CoolRunner I2C Controller design was simulated with an independently
generated VHDL model of an I2C Slave design to verify that the interface specifications were
implemented correctly. Please note that all verification of this design has been done through
simulations.

VHDL Code VHDL source code and test benches are available for this design. THE DESIGN IS PROVIDED
Download TO YOU "AS IS". XILINX MAKES AND YOU RECEIVE NO WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS,
EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, AND XILINX SPECIFICALLY
DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT,
OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. This design has not been verified on
hardware (as opposed to simulations), and it should be used only as an example design, not as
a fully functional core. XILINX does not warrant the performance, functionality, or operation of
this Design will meet your requirements, or that the operation of the Design will be
uninterrupted or error free, or that defects in the Design will be corrected. Furthermore, XILINX
does not warrant or make any representations regarding use or the results of the use of the
Design in terms of correctness, accuracy, reliability or otherwise.
XAPP333 - http://www.xilinx.com/products/xaw/coolvhdlq.htm

Disclaimer I2C is a registered trademark of Philips Electronics N.V.. Xilinx provides this reference design
as one possible implementation of this standard and claims no rights to this interface. To use
this reference design, you must contact Philips to obtain any necessary rights associated with
this interface.

Conclusion This document has detailed the design of an I2C Controller design for a CoolRunner XPLA3
CPLD. Though the design has been extensively verified in simulations, Xilinx assumes no
responsibility for the accuracy or the functionality of this design.

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Revision The following table shows the revision history for this document.
History
Date Version Revision
01/05/00 1.0 Initial Xilinx release.
03/24/00 1.2 Added VHDL disclaimer and code link.
05/02/00 1.3 Added I2C disclaimer.
07/21/00 1.4 Corrected document errors and repeated start condition
11/07/00 1.5 Updated disclaimer for HDL code.
10/01/02 1.6 Minor revisions
12/24/02 1.7 Updated resource usage.

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