19-4258; Rev 0; 8/08

MAX9591 Evaluation Kit

General Description Features

Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591
The MAX9591 evaluation kit (EV kit) demonstrates the ♦ 14 8-Bit Programmable Reference Voltages (DAC
MAX9591 reference-voltage generator for gamma cor- Outputs)
rection in TFT-LCD panels, such as those found in high- ♦ Four Static Buffered Reference Voltages
resolution TVs, high-end monitors, or for general (Reference Outputs)
industrial reference-voltage generation. The MAX9591
EV kit provides 14 programmable reference-voltage ♦ 400mA Peak Current on Reference Outputs and
outputs (DAC outputs) and four static buffered refer- DAC Outputs 1, 7, 8, and 14
ence-voltage outputs (reference outputs). The EV kit ♦ 200mA Peak Current on DAC Outputs 2–6 and
uses a 9V to 20V DC power supply for powering the 9–13
application circuit. ♦ 9V to 20V DC Power-Supply Operation
The EV kit features a USB-to-I 2 C interface circuit. ♦ USB-Powered USB-to-I2C Interface Circuit
Windows® 2000/XP/Vista®-compatible software, with a
graphical user interface (GUI), is available for exercis- ♦ Windows 2000/XP/Vista (32-Bit)-Compatible
ing the MAX9591 features. The EV kit can also connect Software
to a user-supplied I2C interface circuit for stand-alone ♦ Lead-Free and RoHS Compliant
MAX9591 operation. ♦ Proven PCB Layout
The MAX9591 EV kit can also be used to evaluate the ♦ Fully Assembled and Tested
MAX9590ETU+.

Ordering Information
PART TYPE
MAX9591EVKIT+ EV Kit
+Denotes lead-free and RoHS compliant.

Component List
DESIGNATION QTY DESCRIPTION DESIGNATION QTY DESCRIPTION

0.1μF ±10%, 16V X7R ceramic 22pF ±5%, 50V C0G ceramic
C1, C3–C10, C17,
capacitors (0603) capacitors (0603)
C21, C22, C24, 14 C18, C19 2
Murata GRM188R71C104K or Murata GRM1885C1H220J or
C25
TDK C1608X7R1C104K TDK C1608C0G1H220J

10μF ±10%, 10V X5R ceramic 3300pF ±10%, 50V X7R ceramic
C2, C13, C15 3 capacitors (0805) capacitor (0603)
C20 1
Murata GRM219R61A106K Murata GRM188R71H332K or
TDK C1608X7R1H332K
10pF ±5%, 50V C0G ceramic
capacitors (0603) Not installed, ceramic capacitors
C11, C12 2 C27–C44 0
Murata GRM1885C1H100J or (0603)
TDK C1608C0G1H100J
10μF ±20%, 25V X5R ceramic
1μF ±10%, 10V X5R ceramic C45, C48, C51 3 capacitors (1210)
C14, C16, C23, capacitors (0603) Murata GRM32DR61E106M
4
C26 Murata GRM188R61A105K or
TDK C1608X5R1A105K

Windows and Windows Vista are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

________________________________________________________________ Maxim Integrated Products 1

For pricing, delivery, and ordering information, please contact Maxim Direct at 1-888-629-4642,
or visit Maxim’s website at www.maxim-ic.com.
 MAX9591 Evaluation Kit
Component List (continued)
Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591

DESIGNATION QTY DESCRIPTION DESIGNATION QTY DESCRIPTION

0.1μF ±10%, 25V X7R ceramic R39 1 1.21k
±1% resistor (0603)
C46, C47, C49, capacitors (0603) R42, R43 2 1k
±5% resistors (0603)
4
C50 Murata GRM188R71E104K or USB type-B right-angle female
TDK C1608X7R1E104K USB 1
receptacle
Green LED (0603) Reference-voltage generator
D1 1
Panasonic LNJ314G8TRA U1 1 (38 TQFN-EP*)
Not installed, ferrite-bead Maxim MAX9591ETU+
FB1 0
inductor (0603)
Low-power 16-bit microcontroller
Not installed, 40-pin dual-row U2 1 (68 QFN-EP*)
J1 0
(2 x 20) header Maxim MAXQ2000-RAX+
JU1–JU4 0 Not installed, 2-pin headers 93C46 3-wire 16-bit EEPROM
U3 1
JU5 1 3-pin header (8 SO)
JU6 1 5-pin header U4 1 UART-to-USB converter (32 TQFP)
OUT_REFL_H, 3.3V regulator (5 SC70)
OUT_REFL_L, U5 1 Maxim MAX8511EXK33+T
Not installed, small PCB test
OUT_REFU_H, 0 (Top Mark: AEI)
points
OUT_REFU_L,
OUT1–OUT14 2.5V regulator (5 SC70)
R1 1 0
±5% resistor (0603) U6 1 Maxim MAX8511EXK25+T
(Top Mark: ADV)
R2 1 220
±5% resistor (0603)
R3 1 10k
±5% resistor (0603) Dual bidirectional level
R4, R9–R12 5 2.2k
±5% resistors (0603) translators (8 TDFN-EP*)
U7, U8 2
Maxim MAX3394EETA+T
R5 1 1.5k
±5% resistor (0603)
(Top Mark: APE)
R6, R7 2 27
±5% resistors (0603)
Y1 1 16MHz crystal
R8 0 Not installed, resistor (0402)
Y2 1 6MHz crystal
R13–R16,
0 Not installed, resistors (0603) — 2 Shunts (JU5, JU6)
R17–R36, R44
— 1 PCB: MAX9591 Evaluation Kit+
R37, R41 2 100
±1% resistors (0603)
*EP = Exposed pad.
R38, R40 2 4.32k
±1% resistors (0603)

Component Suppliers
SUPPLIER PHONE WEBSITE
Murata Electronics North America, Inc. 770-436-1300 www.murata-northamerica.com
Panasonic Corp. 800-344-2112 www.panasonic.com
TDK Corp. 847-803-6100 www.component.tdk.com
Note: Indicate that you are using the MAX9591 when contacting these component suppliers.

2 _______________________________________________________________________________________
 MAX9591 Evaluation Kit
MAX9591 EV Kit Files

Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591
FILES DESCRIPTION
INSTALL.EXE Installs the EV kit files on your computer
MAX9591.EXE Application program
FTD2XX.INF USB device driver file
UNINST.INI Uninstalls the EV kit software
USB_Driver_Help.PDF USB driver installation help file

Quick Start driver installation, Windows might show a warning

message indicating that the device driver Maxim
Required Equipment uses does not contain a digital signature. This is not
Before beginning, the following equipment is needed: an error condition and it is safe to proceed with
• MAX9591 EV kit (USB cable included) installation. Refer to the USB_Driver_Help.PDF doc-
ument included with the software if there are any
• A user-supplied Windows 2000/XP/Vista PC with a problems during this step.
spare USB port
5) Once the software and hardware installation is com-
• 9V to 20V DC power supply at 500mA plete, disconnect the USB cable from the EV kit.
• One digital voltmeter (DVM) 6) Verify that shunts are installed on:
Note: In the following sections, software-related items • Jumper JU5: Pins 1-2 (on-board 3.3V digital power
are identified by bolding. Text in bold refers to items supply)
directly from the EV kit software. Text in bold and under-
lined refers to items from the Windows operating system. • Jumper JU6: Pins 1-2 (MAX9591 write address =
0xE8)
Procedure 7) Connect the USB cable to the EV kit.
The MAX9591 EV kit is fully assembled and tested.
Follow the steps below to verify board operation: 8) Connect the DVM negative terminal to the AGND
PCB pad next to the REFL_L PCB pad.
1) Visit www.maxim-ic.com/evkitsoftware to down-
load the latest version of the EV kit software, 9) Connect a voltage probe to the DVM positive terminal
9591Rxx.ZIP. Save the EV kit software to a tempo- for later use.
rary folder and uncompress the ZIP file. 10) Set the power supply to 15V and disable the power-
2) Install the EV kit software on your computer by run- supply output.
ning the INSTALL.EXE program inside the tempo- 11) Connect the power-supply positive terminal to the
rary folder. The program files are copied and icons AVDD PCB pad and the negative terminal to the
are created in the Windows Start | Programs menu. AGND PCB pad next to AVDD.
3) Connect the USB cable from the PC to the EV kit 12) Enable the power-supply output.
board. A New Hardware Found window pops up 13) Start the MAX9591 EV kit software by opening its
when installing the USB driver for the first time. If icon in the Start | Programs menu. The EV kit soft-
you do not see a window that is similar to the one ware main window appears, as shown in Figure 1.
described above after 30s, remove the USB cable
from the board and reconnect it. Administrator privi- 14) Use the DVM voltage probe to measure the refer-
leges are required to install the USB device driver ence input voltages on the REFU_H, REFU_L,
on Windows. REFL_H and REFL_L PCB pads, and type those val-
ues into the corresponding edit boxes of the
4) Follow the directions of the Add New Hardware Reference Voltages (V) group box.
Wizard to install the USB device driver. Choose the
Search for the best driver for your device option. 15) Press the Quick Start button.
Specify the location of the device driver to be 16) Use the DVM voltage probe to verify that the DAC
C:\Program Files\MAX9591 (default installation output voltages are close to the voltages shown in
directory) using the Browse button. During device the Output (V) edit boxes for the respective channel.

_______________________________________________________________________________________ 3
 MAX9591 Evaluation Kit
Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591

Figure 1. MAX9591 Evaluation Software Main Window

Detailed Description of Software 1) Select the Bank A radio button in the Output Bank
The MAX9591 evaluation kit (EV kit) software main win- Select group box. Select the Bank A Register
dow is shown in Figure 1. The GUI software automati- Settings tab.
cally detects the MAX9591 device address and 2) Select the Burst radio button in the Register
displays it in the I2C Address Setting drop-down list Addressing Mode group box.
and in the software status bar. The DAC output volt-
3) Modify any of the DAC channel’s register values.
ages in the Upper DAC Channels/Lower DAC
See the Output Register Values section for more
Channels group boxes are calculated using the upper
information.
and lower reference input voltages on PCB pads
REFU_H, REFU_L, REFL_H, and REFL_L. The reference 4) Press the Load All Values To Registers button.
input voltages MUST be measured at the appropriate 5) Select the Bank B radio button in the Output Bank
PCB pads and the values entered in the respective Select group box. Select the Bank B Register
Reference Voltages (V) edit boxes for the DAC output Settings tab. Repeat steps 3 and 4.
calculations to be correct.
The Quick Start button loads all bank A and bank B
Upon IC startup, the DAC outputs wake up in high- registers with a predefined set of values.
impedance mode. To exit high-impedance mode, click
the Quick Start button or perform the following steps:

4 _______________________________________________________________________________________
 MAX9591 Evaluation Kit
Register banks A and B are selectable using the radio Output Register Values

Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591
buttons in the Output Bank Select group box. Register Each DAC channel’s register value can be set in three
values are modified and loaded to registers using the different ways within the Upper DAC Channels/Lower
buttons, edit boxes, and scrollbars of the Bank _ DAC Channels group boxes by:
Register Settings tabs where _ is either A or B. 1) Moving the channel’s scrollbar.
I2C Address Setting 2) Typing register values directly into the channel’s
The MAX9591’s I2C slave address is displayed in the Reg Value edit box (decimal 8-bit equivalent).
status bar of the software window and the I2C Address 3) Typing the expected output voltage in the chan-
Setting drop-down list. If an address is manually nel’s Output (V) edit box. The software uses a reg-
selected in the drop-down list, the software verifies the ister value that generates a voltage closest to the
address and changes the address displayed appropri- desired voltage value.
ately. If no acknowledge is received from the EV kit, a
pop-up window is opened directing the user to properly When a register value is changed, the corresponding
set jumper JU6 on the EV kit. If the Auto Detect field changes its color to red. A user should synchro-
Address checkbox is checked, the software automati- nize the GUI fields and actual device registers by
cally detects the I2C address of the MAX9591. pressing either the channel’s Load button (in single
mode) or the Load All Values To Registers button (in
Upper and Lower DAC Output Voltages burst mode).
The upper and lower DAC output voltages are generat- The Load All Reg Values From File button is used to
ed using an on-board resistor-divider network. The user load all the register values and reference voltages from
can also apply external references to the REFU_H, a text file. The Save All Reg Values To File button is
REFU_L, REFL_H, and REFL_L, and AGND PCB pads. used to save all the register values and reference volt-
The voltages on these four pads MUST be captured and ages on the current GUI to a user-named text file.
typed into the appropriate edit boxes in the Reference
Voltages (V) group box for the calculated DAC output Register read/write operations can take place regard-
voltages shown in the Upper DAC Channels/Lower less of the output bank setting; for example, the user
DAC Channels group boxes to be correct. can change bank B registers when bank A is buffered
to the outputs.
The transfer function for the upper DAC channels is:
Register Addressing Mode
D The Burst and Single radio buttons in the Register
VOUT = REFU_L + × (REFU_H - REFU_L)
256 Addressing Mode group box set the MAX9591 soft-
ware operation mode.
The transfer function for the lower DAC channels is:
When the Burst radio button is selected, all registers
D for a single bank are updated using the Load All
VOUT = REFL_L + × (REFL_H - REFL_L)
256 Values To Registers or Load All Reg Values From
File buttons. The individual register’s Load buttons are
In both equations, D is the decimal register value. Refer disabled.
to the MAX9591 IC data sheet for more details.
When the Single radio button is selected, single regis-
When the evaluation software is run for the first time, the ter values are updated using the individual register’s
reference input-voltage values in the Reference Load buttons. The Load All Values To Registers and
Voltages (V) group box are loaded from an initialization Load All Reg Values From File buttons are disabled.
file (REF.INI). When the program is closed, the current
values are logged in to the initialization file. The next Register Mode I2C Activity
time the program is run, the latest values are loaded The Register Mode I2C Activity group box is used for
automatically. the convenience of debugging when the Single radio
button is selected. When an individual register is writ-
Output Bank Select ten, the bits sent to the MAX9591 through the I2C inter-
The Bank A, Bank B, and A, B Alternating radio but- face are displayed.
tons in the Output Bank Select group box choose the
set of reference voltages buffered to the outputs
between bank A, bank B, or alternating between banks
A and B, with 1s hold time for each bank.

_______________________________________________________________________________________ 5
 MAX9591 Evaluation Kit
Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591

Figure 2. Advanced I2C Users Interface Window | 2-Wire Interface Tab

Advanced User Interface Detailed Description of Hardware

A serial interface can be used by advanced users by The MAX9591 evaluation kit (EV kit) demonstrates the
selecting Options | Interface (Advanced Users) from MAX9591 reference-voltage generator in a 38-pin
the menu bar. TQFN surface-mount package with an exposed pad.
Click on the 2-wire interface tab shown in Figure 2. EV kit applications include gamma correction in TFT-
Press the Hunt for active listeners button to obtain the LCD panels, such as those found in high-resolution
current MAX9591 slave address in the Target Device TVs, high-end monitors, or for general industrial refer-
Address combo box. In the General commands tab, ence-voltage generation. The MAX9591 EV kit provides
select 1 – SMBusWriteByte(addr,cmd,data8) from the 14 programmable reference-voltage outputs (DAC out-
Command (SMBus Protocols, Raw Block Read/Write, puts) and four static buffered reference-voltage outputs
(DAC reference outputs) using four input reference volt-
EEPROM Read/Write) drop-down list. Enter the desired
ages (DAC reference inputs).
values into the Command byte and Data Out combo
boxes and then press the Execute button. To monitor the MAX9591 EV kit’s 14 DAC outputs
(OUT1–OUT14) and four reference outputs (OUT_REFU_H,
OUT_REFU_L, OUT_REFL_H, and OUT_REFL_L), use

6 _______________________________________________________________________________________
 MAX9591 Evaluation Kit
header J1 or the labeled test points. Reference outputs MAX9591 Slave Address Description

Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591
OUT_REFU_H, OUT_REFU_L, OUT_REFL_H, OUT_REFL_L, The MAX9591 I2C slave address can be set by jumper
and DAC outputs OUT1, OUT7, OUT8, and OUT14 pro- JU6. The slave address can be set to one of four dif-
vide 400mA of peak current. DAC outputs OUT2–OUT6 ferent addresses. See Table 2 for slave address
and OUT9–OUT13 provide 200mA of peak current. Stay configuration.
within the MAX9591 IC’s power rating. Refer to the
MAX9591 IC data sheet for more information. Stand-Alone User-Supplied
I2C Communication
The on-board resistor-divider network (R37–R41) gener-
The EV kit can be used in stand-alone operation to
ates the reference inputs (REFU_H, REFU_L, REFL_H,
interface with a user’s I2C system without using a PC.
and REFL_L). The user can also apply external refer-
To use the MAX9591 EV kit with a user-supplied I2C
ence voltages to the REFU_H, REFU_L, REFL_H, and
interface, perform the following steps:
REFL_L PCB pads after removing R37–R41.
1) Viewing Figure 6, cut the SDA, SCL, STD_REG, and
The EV kit uses a 9V to 20V DC power supply, connected
BANK_SEL traces immediately to the left of the cor-
across the AVDD and AGND PCB pads, for powering the
responding PCB pad.
EV kit application circuit. The EV kit might require up to
500mA of supply current depending on output loading. 2) Disconnect the USB cable from the EV kit.
3) Move jumper JU5 shunt to pins 2-3.
Digital Supply Configuration
The MAX9591 EV kit provides two options to power the 4) Connect the positive terminal of a user-supplied 2.7V
MAX9591 digital supply input (DVDD). DVDD can oper- to 5.5V DC power supply to the DVDD PCB pad and
ate from the 3.3V supply generated by the USB-to-I2C the negative terminal to the nearby DGND PCB pad.
interface circuit or from a user-supplied 2.7V to 5.5V 5) Install 2.2kΩ 0603 surface-mount resistors at loca-
DC power supply connected across the DVDD and tions R35 and R36 to pull up user-supplied signals
DGND PCB pads. See Table 1 to configure DVDD SDA and SCL to DVDD if needed.
using jumper JU5. 6) Connect the user-supplied I2C interface signals,
Caution: Always ensure that DVDD is powered before general-purpose output (GPO) control signals, and
AVDD. signal ground return to the EV kit PCB pads, as
shown in Table 3.

Table 1. Digital Supply Configuration (Jumper JU5)

SHUNT POSITION DVDD PIN CONNECTION DVDD POWER I2C COMMUNICATION
1-2* 3.3V On-board On-board
2-3 DVDD PCB pad User supplied (DVDD range: 3.3V to 5.5V**) On-board
2-3 DVDD PCB pad User supplied (DVDD range: 2.7V to 5.5V) User supplied***
*Default position.
**Minimum DVDD is limited to 3.3V by the USB-to-I2C interface circuit 3.3V logic level.
***Disconnect the USB cable from the EV kit.

Table 2. Slave Address Description Table 3. User-Supplied I2C Interface

(Jumper JU6) USER-SUPPLIED
SIGNAL EV KIT PCB PAD
MAX9591 ADDRESS SIGNAL
SHUNT A0 PIN
(HEX) SDA I2C data SDA
POSITION CONNECTION
WRITE READ SCL I2C clock SCL
1-2* GND 0xE8 0xE9 GPO Control signal STD_REG
1-3 DVDD 0xEA 0xEB GPO Control signal BANK_SEL
1-4 SCL 0xEC 0xED Signal ground
GND DGND
1-5 SDA 0xEE 0xEF return
*Default position.

_______________________________________________________________________________________ 7
 MAX9591 Evaluation Kit
Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591

Figure 3a. MAX9591 EV Kit Schematic—Application Circuit (Sheet 1 of 2)

8 _______________________________________________________________________________________
 MAX9591 Evaluation Kit

Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591

Figure 3b. MAX9591 EV Kit Schematic—USB-to-I2C Circuit (Sheet 2 of 2)

_______________________________________________________________________________________ 9
 MAX9591 Evaluation Kit
Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591

Figure 4. MAX9591 EV Kit Component Placement Guide—Component Side

Figure 5. MAX9591 EV Kit PCB Layout—Component Side

10 ______________________________________________________________________________________
 MAX9591 Evaluation Kit

Evaluates: MAX9590/MAX9591
Figure 6. MAX9591 EV Kit PCB Layout—Solder Side

Maxim cannot assume responsibility for use of any circuitry other than circuitry entirely embodied in a Maxim product. No circuit patent licenses are
implied. Maxim reserves the right to change the circuitry and specifications without notice at any time.

Maxim Integrated Products, 120 San Gabriel Drive, Sunnyvale, CA 94086 408-737-7600 ____________________ 11
© 2008 Maxim Integrated Products is a registered trademark of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.
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Authorized Distributor

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MAX9591EVKIT+