PCA9531: 8-bit I2C-bus LED dimmer

The PCA9531 is an 8-bit I²C-bus and SMBus I/O expander optimized for dimming LEDs in 256 discrete steps for Red/Green/Blue (RGB) color mixing and back light applications.

The PCA9531 contains an internal oscillator with two user programmable blink rates and duty cycles coupled to the output PWM. The LED brightness is controlled by setting the blink rate high enough (> 100 Hz) that the blinking cannot be seen and then using the duty cycle to vary the amount of time the LED is on and thus the average current through the LED.

The initial setup sequence programs the two blink rates/duty cycles for each individual PWM. From then on, only one command from the bus master is required to turn individual LEDs ON, OFF, BLINK RATE 1 or BLINK RATE 2. Based on the programmed frequency and duty cycle, BLINK RATE 1 and BLINK RATE 2 will cause the LEDs to appear at a different brightness or blink at periods up to 1.69 second. The open-drain outputs directly drive the LEDs with maximum output sink current of 25 mA per bit and 100 mA per package.

To blink LEDs at periods greater than 1.69 second the bus master (MCU, MPU, DSP, chip set, etc.) must send repeated commands to turn the LED on and off as is currently done when using normal I/O expanders like the NXP Semiconductors PCF8574 or PCA9554. Any bits not used for controlling the LEDs can be used for General Purpose parallel Input/Output (GPIO) expansion, which provides a simple solution when additional I/O is needed for ACPI power switches, sensors, push-buttons, alarm monitoring, fans, etc.

The active LOW hardware reset pin (RESET) and Power-On Reset (POR) initializes the registers to their default state causing the bits to be set HIGH (LED off).

Three hardware address pins on the PCA9531 allow eight devices to operate on the same bus.

PCA9531: Product Block Diagram
sot629-1_3d
Data Sheets (1)
Name/DescriptionModified Date
8-bit I2C-bus LED dimmer (REV 6.0) PDF (156.0 kB) PCA953119 Feb 2009
Application Notes (5)
Name/DescriptionModified Date
Level shifting techniques in I2C-bus design (REV 1.0) PDF (52.0 kB) AN1044120 Jun 2007
How to use the SC18IM700 to control any I2C-bus device (REV 1.0) PDF (75.0 kB) AN1039705 Dec 2005
LED dimmer demoboard (REV 1.0) PDF (392.0 kB) AN1031511 Jan 2005
PCA9564 - I2C-bus controller (REV 1.0) PDF (352.0 kB) AN1014822 Nov 2004
PCA9564 Evaluation Board (REV 1.0) PDF (2.0 MB) AN1014919 Aug 2004
Users Guides (4)
Name/DescriptionModified Date
I2C-bus specification and user manual (REV 6.0) PDF (1.4 MB) UM1020428 Apr 2014
I2C-bus specification and user manual (REV 5.0) PDF (1.6 MB) UM10204_JA03 Apr 2013
PCA9633 demonstration board OM6282 (REV 1.0) PDF (337.0 kB) UM1031715 Dec 2008
I2C Demonstration Board 2005-1 Quick Start Guide (REV 1.0) PDF (261.0 kB) UM1020613 Jun 2006
Brochures (5)
Name/DescriptionModified Date
NXP® I2C-bus solutions 2014: Smart, simple solutions for the 12 most common design concerns (REV 1.0) PDF (3.5 MB) 7501754001 Aug 2014
LED controllers: Voltage-switch drivers, constant-current drivers, and Flash LED drivers (REV 1.0) PDF (2.7 MB) 7501758803 Jul 2014
Development Tools for ARM-based microcontrollers (REV 2.1) PDF (374.0 kB) 7501738818 Apr 2014
Create smarter, more efficient white goods; An industry-leading portfolio of cost-effective, power-saving solutions for... (REV 1.0) PDF (1.1 MB) 7501654301 Jun 2008
LED dimming with GPIO expansion; NXP® 2/4/8/16-bit I2C/SMBus LED dimmers PCA9530/31/32/33 (REV 1.0) PDF (212.0 kB) 7501607301 Jun 2007
Package Information (3)
Name/DescriptionModified Date
plastic small outline package; 16 leads; body width 3.9 mm (REV 1.0) PDF (192.0 kB) SOT109-108 Feb 2016
plastic thin shrink small outline package; 16 leads; body width 4.4 mm (REV 1.0) PDF (300.0 kB) SOT403-108 Feb 2016
plastic thermal enhanced very thin quad flat package; no leads; 16 terminals; body 4 x 4 x 0.85 mm (REV 1.0) PDF (200.0 kB) SOT629-108 Feb 2016
Packing (3)
Name/DescriptionModified Date
SO16; Reel pack; SMD, 13" Q1/T1 Standard product orientation Orderable part number ending ,118 or J Ordering... (REV 4.0) PDF (210.0 kB) SOT109-1_11824 Apr 2013
HVQFN16; Reel pack; SMD, 13" Q1/T1 Standard product orientation Orderable part number ending ,118 or... (REV 1.0) PDF (259.0 kB) SOT629-1_11817 Apr 2013
TSSOP16; Reel pack; SMD, 13" Q1/T1 Standard product orientation Orderable part number ending ,118 or... (REV 1.0) PDF (218.0 kB) SOT403-1_11808 Apr 2013
Supporting Information (3)
Name/DescriptionModified Date
Footprint for reflow soldering (REV 1.0) PDF (9.0 kB) SO-SOJ-REFLOW08 Oct 2009
Footprint for wave soldering (REV 1.0) PDF (8.0 kB) SO-SOJ-WAVE08 Oct 2009
Footprint for wave soldering (REV 1.0) PDF (16.0 kB) SSOP-TSSOP-VSO-WAVE08 Oct 2009
Ordering Information
ProductStatusPackage versionOperating Temperature (Cel)PWMsReset input pinI2C-bus (kHz)Operating voltage (VDC)Max Sink Current per bit (mA)No of AddressesMax Sink Current, per package (mA)Number of bits
PCA9531PWActiveSOT403-1-40~852 (160 Hz to 1.6 sec)yes4002.3~5.52581008
PCA9531BSActiveSOT629-1-40~852 (160 Hz to 1.6 sec)yes4002.3~5.52581008
PCA9531DActiveSOT109-1-40~852 (160 Hz to 1.6 sec)yes4002.3~5.52581008
8-bit I2C-bus LED dimmer PCA9531
Level shifting techniques in I2C-bus design pca9685pw
How to use the SC18IM700 to control any I2C-bus device PCA9531
LED dimmer demoboard PCA9533
PCA9564 - I2C-bus controller PCA9531
PCA9564 Evaluation Board PMBTA92
I2C-bus specification and user manual pca9685pw
I2C-bus specification and user manual pca9685pw
PCA9633 demonstration board OM6282 pca9685pw
I2C Demonstration Board 2005-1 Quick Start Guide pca9685pw
NXP® I2C-bus solutions 2014: Smart, simple solutions for the 12 most common design concerns pca9685pw
LED controllers: Voltage-switch drivers, constant-current drivers, and Flash LED drivers pca9685pw
Development Tools for ARM-based microcontrollers PCA9531
Create smarter, more efficient white goods; An industry-leading portfolio of cost-effective, power-saving solutions for... PMEG6010CE_AUTOMOTIVE
LED dimming with GPIO expansion; NXP® 2/4/8/16-bit I2C/SMBus LED dimmers PCA9530/31/32/33 PCA9551
plastic small outline package; 16 leads; body width 3.9 mm NPIC6C596A_Q100
Footprint for reflow soldering NPIC6C596A_Q100
Footprint for wave soldering NPIC6C596A_Q100
SO16; Reel pack; SMD, 13" Q1/T1 Standard product orientation Orderable part number ending ,118 or J Ordering... NPIC6C596A_Q100
SOT403-1 LPC812M101JDH16
SSOP-TSSOP-VSO-WAVE LPC1114FDH28
Reel 13" Q1/T1 LPC812M101JDH16
plastic thermal enhanced very thin quad flat package; no leads; 16 terminals; body 4 x 4 x 0.85 mm PCA9633
HVQFN16; Reel pack; SMD, 13" Q1/T1 Standard product orientation Orderable part number ending ,118 or... PCA9633
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