Basics of The Spi Communication Protocol

2.
The master switches the SS/CS pin to a low voltage state, which activates the slave:
BASICS OF THE SPI COMMUNICATION

PROTOCOL
When you connect a microcontroller to a sensor, display, or other

module, do you ever think about how the two devices talk to each
other? What exactly are they saying? How are they able
to understand each other?
Communication between electronic devices is like communication

between humans. Both sides need to speak the same language.
In electronics, these languages are called communication protocols.
Luckily for us, there are only a few communication
protocols we need to know when building most DIY electronics
projects. In this series of articles, we will discuss the basics of the
three most common protocols: Serial Peripheral Interface
(SPI), Inter-Integrated Circuit (I2C), and Universal Asynchronous
Receiver/Transmitter (UART) driven communication.
2. The master switches the SS/CS pin to a low voltage state, which activates the slave:
First, we’ll begin with some basic concepts about electronic

communication, then explain in detail how SPI works. In the next
article, we’ll discuss UART driven communication, and in the third
article, we’ll dive into I2C.
SPI, I2C, and UART are quite a bit slower than protocols like USB,
Ethernet, Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi, but they’re a lot more simple and use less
hardware and system resources. SPI, I2C, and UART are ideal for
communication between microcontrollers and between microcontrollers and
sensors where large amounts of high speed data don’t need to be
transferred.
SERIAL VS. PARALLEL COMMUNICATION
Electronic devices talk to each other by sending bits of data
through wires physically connected between devices. A bit is like
a letter in a word, except instead of the 26 letters (in the English
alphabet), a bit is binary and can only be a 1 or 0. Bits are
transferred from one device to another by quick changes in
voltage. In a system operating at 5 V, a 0 bit is communicated as
a short pulse of 0 V, and a 1 bit is communicated by a short pulse
of 5 V.
The bits of data can be transmitted either in parallel or serial form.
In parallel communication, the bits of data are sent all at the same
time, each through a separate wire. The following diagram shows
the parallel transmission of the letter “C” in binary (01000011):
In serial communication, the bits are sent one by one through a

single wire. The following diagram shows the serial transmission
of the letter “C” in binary (01000011):
INTRODUCTION TO SPI COMMUNICATION

SPI is a common communication protocol used by many different
devices. For example, SD card modules, RFID card reader
modules, and 2.4 GHz wireless transmitter/receivers all use SPI
to communicate with microcontrollers.
One unique benefit of SPI is the fact that data can be
transferred without interruption. Any number of bits can be sent or
received in a continuous stream. With I2C and UART, data is sent
in packets, limited to a specific number of bits. Start and stop
conditions define the beginning and end of each packet, so the
data is interrupted during transmission.
Devices communicating via SPI are in a master-slave relationship. The

master is the controlling device (usually a microcontroller), while the slave
(usually a sensor, display, or memory chip) takes instruction from the
master. The simplest configuration of SPI is a single master, single slave
system, but one master can control more than one slave (more on this
below).
MOSI (Master Output/Slave Input) – Line for the master to send data to the slave.
MISO (Master Input/Slave Output) – Line for the slave to send data to the master
SCLK (Clock) – Line for the clock signal.

SS/CS (Slave Select/Chip Select) – Line for the master to select which slave to send data to.
In practice, the number of slaves is limited by the load capacitance of the system, which reduces the
ability of the master to accurately switch between voltage levels.
HOW SPI WORKS

THE CLOCK
The clock signal synchronizes the output of data bits from the master to the
sampling of bits by the slave. One bit of data is transferred in each clock
cycle, so the speed of data transfer is determined by the frequency of the
clock signal. SPI communication is always initiated by the master since the
master configures and generates the clock signal.
Any communication protocol where devices share a clock signal is known

as synchronous. SPI is a synchronous communication protocol. There are
also asynchronous methods that don’t use a clock signal. For example, in
UART communication, both sides are set to a pre-configured baud rate that
dictates the speed and timing of data transmission.
The clock signal in SPI can be modified using the properties of clock
polarity and clock phase. These two properties work together to define when
the bits are output and when they are sampled. Clock polarity can be set by
the master to allow for bits to be output and sampled on either the rising or
falling edge of the clock cycle. Clock phase can be set for output and
sampling to occur on either the first edge or second edge of the clock cycle,
regardless of whether it is rising or falling.
SLAVE SELECT
The master can choose which slave it wants to talk to by setting the slave’s
CS/SS line to a low voltage level. In the idle, non-transmitting state, the
slave select line is kept at a high voltage level. Multiple CS/SS pins may be
available on the master, which allows for multiple slaves to be wired in
parallel. If only one CS/SS pin is present, multiple slaves can be wired to
the master by daisy-chaining.
MULTIPLE SLAVES
SPI can be set up to operate with a single master and a single slave, and it
can be set up with multiple slaves controlled by a single master. There are
two ways to connect multiple slaves to the master. If the master has
multiple slave select pins, the slaves can be wired in parallel like this:
If only one slave select pin is available, the slaves can be daisy-chained like this:
MOSI AND MISO

The master sends data to the slave bit by bit, in serial through the MOSI line. The slave
receives the data sent from the master at the MOSI pin. Data sent from the master to the
slave is usually sent with the most significant bit first.
The slave can also send data back to the master through the MISO line in serial. The data
sent from the slave back to the master is usually sent with the least significant bit first.
STEPS OF SPI DATA TRANSMISSION

1. The master outputs the clock signal:
3. The master sends the data one bit at a time to the slave along the MOSI line. The
slave reads the bits as they are received:
4. If a response is needed, the slave returns data one bit at a time to the master
along the MISO line. The master reads the bits as they are received:
ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SPI

There are some advantages and disadvantages to using SPI, and if given the choice
between different communication protocols, you should know when to use SPI according to
the requirements of your project:
ADVANTAGES
 No start and stop bits, so the data can be streamed continuously without interruption
 No complicated slave addressing system like I2C
 Higher data transfer rate than I2C (almost twice as fast)
 Separate MISO and MOSI lines, so data can be sent and received at the same time
DISADVANTAGES
 Uses four wires (I2C and UARTs use two)
 No acknowledgement that the data has been successfully received (I2C has this)
 No form of error checking like the parity bit in UART
 Only allows for a single master
Hopefully this article has given you a better understanding of SPI. Continue on to part two of
this series to learn about UART driven communication, or to part three where we discuss
the I2C protocol

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BASICS OF THE SPI COMMUNICATION

When you connect a microcontroller to a sensor, display, or other

Communication between electronic devices is like communication

First, we’ll begin with some basic concepts about electronic

In serial communication, the bits are sent one by one through a

INTRODUCTION TO SPI COMMUNICATION

Devices communicating via SPI are in a master-slave relationship. The

SCLK (Clock) – Line for the clock signal.

HOW SPI WORKS

Any communication protocol where devices share a clock signal is known

MOSI AND MISO

STEPS OF SPI DATA TRANSMISSION

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES OF SPI

 No complicated slave addressing system like I2C

 Higher data transfer rate than I2C (almost twice as fast)

 No form of error checking like the parity bit in UART

 Only allows for a single master

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