8.4.2 Connection Circuitry

Once the connection circuitry is activated, the functionality of the SDAIN and SDAOUT pins is identical. A low forced on either pin at any time results in both pin voltages being low. For proper operation, logic low input voltages should be no higher than 0.4 V with respect to the ground pin voltage of the TCA4311A. SDAIN and SDAOUT enter a logic high state only when all devices on both SDAIN and SDAOUT release high. The same is true for SCLIN and SCLOUT. This important feature ensures that clock stretching, clock synchronization, arbitration and the acknowledge protocol always work, regardless of how the devices in the system are tied to the TCA4311A.

Another key feature of the connection circuitry is that it provides bidirectional buffering, keeping the backplane and card capacitances isolated. Because of this isolation, the waveforms on the backplane busses look slightly different than the corresponding card bus waveforms, as described here.