Reply by PeteS February 21, 20062006-02-21
Geoffrey wrote:
> Hi Everyone > > In the case of a simple configuration comprising a CMOS microprocessor > plus one external CMOS SRAM, it may well happen that the processor's > external bus interface becomes inactive for long periods (for instance, > when the uP is accessing code and data in internal memory). > > In this case, the bus is high impedance, and could, in principle, float > to a voltage mid-way between the power rails. This would cause both p- > and n-channel devices of any CMOS input buffer connected to the bus to > partially conduct, resulting in increased dissipation and possible > device damage. Are devices designed to be connected to data buses > somehow protected against this problem, or should the bus be pulled up > or down with resistors? > > TIA > Geoff
For data busses, this is not an issue (the RAM DQ pins are tristated unless accessed, specifically because they are expected to be on floating circuits), but would be an issue for control and address, which are standard inputs on the RAM. I have had this problem on a *very* old microcontroller (CMD 65151 / 65150) which would tristate the address bus outputs when not accessing externally. The only time a modern controller / processor should tristate the address and control bus is if it is capable of granting the bus to another bus master and actually does so, but I don't know what processor you are using, which would be a help. To get around this at low speeds (up to perhaps 4MHz) use pullups or pulldowns (doesn't really matter which, usually except for the control pins which should be pulled to their inactive state) or use bus drivers with bus hold circuitry (as someone already mentioned but is more expensive and more complicated). Cheers PeteS
Reply by February 21, 20062006-02-21
Geoffrey wrote:
> Hi Everyone > > In the case of a simple configuration comprising a CMOS microprocessor > plus one external CMOS SRAM, it may well happen that the processor's > external bus interface becomes inactive for long periods (for instance, > when the uP is accessing code and data in internal memory). > > In this case, the bus is high impedance, and could, in principle, float > to a voltage mid-way between the power rails. This would cause both p- > and n-channel devices of any CMOS input buffer connected to the bus to > partially conduct, resulting in increased dissipation and possible > device damage. Are devices designed to be connected to data buses > somehow protected against this problem, or should the bus be pulled up > or down with resistors? > > TIA > Geoff
A typical micro does not tristate the busses unless it gets a buss request from another bus driver, ie a dma device, so the problem does not arise.
Reply by Neil February 21, 20062006-02-21
Geoffrey wrote:
> Hi Everyone > > In the case of a simple configuration comprising a CMOS microprocessor > plus one external CMOS SRAM, it may well happen that the processor's > external bus interface becomes inactive for long periods (for instance, > when the uP is accessing code and data in internal memory). > > In this case, the bus is high impedance, and could, in principle, float > to a voltage mid-way between the power rails. This would cause both p- > and n-channel devices of any CMOS input buffer connected to the bus to > partially conduct, resulting in increased dissipation and possible > device damage. Are devices designed to be connected to data buses > somehow protected against this problem, or should the bus be pulled up > or down with resistors? > > TIA > Geoff >
Look at the data sheets. Chips designed for a bus should work on one. Pull ups may slow down the bus. What CPU or is this a general question?
Reply by Allan Herriman February 20, 20062006-02-20
On 20 Feb 2006 09:08:52 -0800, "Geoffrey" <gmortimer@ferrari.it>
wrote:

>Hi Everyone > >In the case of a simple configuration comprising a CMOS microprocessor >plus one external CMOS SRAM, it may well happen that the processor's >external bus interface becomes inactive for long periods (for instance, >when the uP is accessing code and data in internal memory). > >In this case, the bus is high impedance, and could, in principle, float >to a voltage mid-way between the power rails. This would cause both p- >and n-channel devices of any CMOS input buffer connected to the bus to >partially conduct, resulting in increased dissipation and possible >device damage. Are devices designed to be connected to data buses >somehow protected against this problem, or should the bus be pulled up >or down with resistors?
Another option is to use "keepers" or "bus holds" instead of pullups or pulldowns. One problem with pull up or down resistors is that the resistor must be weak with respect to the driving logic. This leads to slow rise or fall times when the driver is Hi-Z, and the signal stays in the transition region for a relatively long time. A keeper is just a non-inverting CMOS buffer with a very weak output that is tied to its input. If the input is high, it pulls up. If the input is low, it pulls down. The net result is that the signal stays at the voltage (high or low) that it had when the strong driver went Hi-Z. Of course, you don't buy a "keeper" as a standalone component, but some logic families (e.g. LVT) offer them as options on bus buffers, etc. Since you possibly already have a buffer chip on this data bus, it might be possible to add keepers by just changing a part number. Regards, Allan
Reply by Geoffrey February 20, 20062006-02-20
That's what I'm assuming.

Reply by Tim Wescott February 20, 20062006-02-20
Geoffrey wrote:

> Hi Everyone > > In the case of a simple configuration comprising a CMOS microprocessor > plus one external CMOS SRAM, it may well happen that the processor's > external bus interface becomes inactive for long periods (for instance, > when the uP is accessing code and data in internal memory). > > In this case, the bus is high impedance, and could, in principle, float > to a voltage mid-way between the power rails. This would cause both p- > and n-channel devices of any CMOS input buffer connected to the bus to > partially conduct, resulting in increased dissipation and possible > device damage. Are devices designed to be connected to data buses > somehow protected against this problem, or should the bus be pulled up > or down with resistors? > > TIA > Geoff >
I was taught that such buses should always have pull ups (or pull downs) on them. Dunno if they're still necessary -- but I bet they are. My first for-money processor board used a 68HC11F part, with expansion bus. Some of the control lines were open-drain, which I didn't catch until _after_ the board was done and I'd spent 2 weeks of debugging. Gee did I feel stupid. Gee, haven't I been diligent ever since about pull ups. -- Tim Wescott Wescott Design Services http://www.wescottdesign.com Posting from Google? See http://cfaj.freeshell.org/google/
Reply by larwe February 20, 20062006-02-20
Geoffrey wrote:

> plus one external CMOS SRAM, it may well happen that the processor's > external bus interface becomes inactive for long periods (for instance, > when the uP is accessing code and data in internal memory).
During this condition, the select and write/read strobes on the appropriate memory device are also not asserted, right?
Reply by Geoffrey February 20, 20062006-02-20
Hi Everyone

In the case of a simple configuration comprising a CMOS microprocessor
plus one external CMOS SRAM, it may well happen that the processor's
external bus interface becomes inactive for long periods (for instance,
when the uP is accessing code and data in internal memory).

In this case, the bus is high impedance, and could, in principle, float
to a voltage mid-way between the power rails. This would cause both p-
and n-channel devices of any CMOS input buffer connected to the bus to
partially conduct, resulting in increased dissipation and possible
device damage. Are devices designed to be connected to data buses
somehow protected against this problem, or should the bus be pulled up
or down with resistors?

TIA
Geoff