By leveraging a 1-Wire protocol to interface with I2C and SPI-compatible sensors, the DS28E18 reduces complexity by connecting devices using only two wires compared to competitive solutions that require four wires for I2C or six for SPI.

Nowadays, most designers use serial interfaces to connect remote sensors in industrial and remote monitoring applications. However, the most popular protocols are costly and complex because they require up to five external switch extenders to reach devices at distances as long as 100 meters. In addition, some of the interfaces widely deployed today require six cables for connecting multiple extended sensors to a host microcontroller.

The DS28E18 enables both power and communications on a single wire, using Maxim Integrated’s 1-Wire protocol to link with I2C or SPI peripheral devices over 100 meters with only two wires. The solution eliminates up to five extender and switch ICs, significantly reducing connection costs and software complexity. In addition, only one programmable I/O port from the host microcontroller is necessary to operate a network with 10 to 20 nodes.

Maxim Integrated