The BQ21080 device uses a fully compliant I²C interface to program and read control parameters, status bits, and so on. I²C is a 2-wire serial interface developed by Philips Semiconductor (see I²C-Bus Specification, Version 2.1, January 2000). The bus consists of a data line (SDA) and a clock line (SCL) with pullup structures. When the bus is idle, both SDA and SCL lines are pulled high. All the I²C compatible devices connect to the I²C bus through open drain I/O pins, SDA, and SCL. A controller device, usually a micro-controller or a digital signal processor, controls the bus. The controller is responsible for generating the SCL signal and device addresses. The controller also generates specific conditions that indicate the START and STOP of data transfer. A peripheral device receives and transmits data on the bus under control of the controller device.

The BQ21080 works as a peripheral and supports the following data transfer modes, as defined in the I²C Bus Specification: standard mode (100 kbps) and fast mode (400 kbps). The interface adds flexibility to the battery charge solution, enabling most functions to be programmed to new values depending on the instantaneous application requirements.

Register contents remain intact as long as VBAT or VIN voltages remains above their respective UVLO levels.

The data transfer protocol for standard and fast modes is exactly the same; therefore, they are referred to as the F/S-mode in this document. The BQ21080 device 7-bit address is 0×6A (shifted 8-bit address is 0xD4).