SCPS279 February 2022 TCA9537
PRODUCTION DATA
When the I/Os are used to control LEDs, they are normally connected to VCC through a resistor as shown in Section 9.2. The LED acts as a diode so, when the LED is off, the I/O VIN is about 1.2 V less than VCC. The supply current, ICC, increases as VIN becomes lower than VCC.
Designs needing to minimize current consumption, such as battery power applications, should consider maintaining the I/O pins greater than or equal to VCC when the LED is off. Figure 9-2 shows a high-value resistor in parallel with the LED. Figure 9-3 shows VCC less than the LED supply voltage by at least 1.2 V. Both of these methods maintain the I/O VIN at or above VCC and prevent additional supply-current consumption when the LED is off.