Embedded Perspectives
I3C
9 articles tagged with I3C.
I3C FAQ for Firmware Teams: What the Bus Is, What Changes, and What You Need on the Bench
MIPI Alliance describes I3C as the successor to I2C, with legacy compatibility so that I3C and I2C devices can coexist on the same bus, a two-wire interface that supports in-band interrupts to reduce pin count, plus multi-controller support and dynamic addressing. This FAQ answers the questions firmware teams actually ask before adopting it.
Running the Binho Supernova as an I3C Target: Emulating a Device Against Your Own Controller
Binho specifies the Supernova's I3C role as Controller or Target, which means the same adapter can stand in as the device under test rather than only driving one. That second direction is how a team validates its own I3C controller, its ENTDAA implementation and its interrupt handling, before the target silicon exists.
Binho Mission Control 3 (Public Preview): Point-and-Click I2C, SPI, I3C, and GPIO
Binho Mission Control 3 is in Public Preview: a ground-up rebuild that drives I2C, SPI, I3C, and GPIO from one workbench in a browser tab or native app, with a visual memory programmer, free for existing Supernova and Pulsar customers. Available in India from GSAS.
Binho's I3C Basic Protocol Analyzer Plugin for Saleae Logic, and How It Pairs With the Supernova
Binho publishes a licensed I3C Basic protocol analyzer plugin for Saleae Logic that decodes spec v1.0 through v1.2 at 12.5 MHz in SDR and HDR-DDR, covering CCCs, In-Band Interrupts and Hot-Join. It is a paid plugin under Flex or Node-Locked licensing, and it is a different tool from the Supernova exerciser: one watches the bus, the other drives it.
Tutorial: Your First I3C Transaction with the Binho Supernova
The shortest useful path into MIPI I3C is three steps: initialise the bus, run ENTDAA so the controller assigns a dynamic address to your target, then perform one read. This tutorial walks that sequence on the Binho Supernova using Python, and everything else in the specification builds from there.
MIPI I3C Adoption in Indian Semiconductor Design Centers
MIPI Alliance lists I3C v1.0 as a 2016 release, and the design centres in Bengaluru and Hyderabad that build sensor hubs, camera interface modules and PMICs are where its adoption in India is concentrated. The practical constraint is rarely the specification; it is having bench instrumentation that can drive an I3C bus interactively during bring-up.
I3C Sensor Bring-Up with the Binho Supernova: Bus Scanning, Dynamic Addressing, CCC Commands, and IBI
I3C sensor bring-up is not an I2C bus scan with extra steps. Before the first register read you have to reset and run dynamic address assignment, read back each target's Provisioned ID, BCR and DCR, and configure events with CCCs. This guide walks that sequence on the Binho Supernova, which Binho specifies as an I3C Controller or Target at up to 12.5 MHz.
Binho Supernova: A Full MIPI I3C Exerciser for Firmware Teams
Binho specifies the Supernova for MIPI I3C spec versions v1.0, v1.1.1 and v1.2, up to 12.5 MHz, in SDR mode and HDR-DDR, with In-Band Interrupts, Hot-Join and all Common Command Codes, at 0.8 V to 3.3 V, and with an I3C role of Controller or Target. That combination is what makes interactive I3C bring-up practical on a bench rather than only on an FPGA prototype.
Binho Nova vs Supernova vs Pulsar: Which USB Host Adapter Is Right for You?
On Binho's published specifications: the Nova is the first-generation adapter for I2C, SPI, UART and 1-Wire; the Supernova is the MIPI I3C instrument, specified as Controller or Target at 12.5 MHz with SDR and HDR-DDR; the Pulsar adds half-duplex RS-485 and programmable downstream power. CAN-FD and 1-Wire on the Pulsar are still listed by Binho as coming soon.