CAT24C32
32-Kb I2C CMOS Serial EEPROM
FEATURES
■ Supports Standard and Fast I2C Protocol 
■ 1.8 V to 5.5 V Supply Voltage Range
■ 32-Byte Page Write Buffer
■ Hardware Write Protection for entire memory
■ Schmitt Triggers and Noise Suppression Filters 
on I2C Bus Inputs (SCL and SDA).
■ Low power CMOS technology
■ 1,000,000 program/erase cycles
■ 100 year data retention
■ Industrial temperature range
■ RoHS-compliant 8-pin PDIP, SOIC, TSSOP and 
TDFN packages
DEVICE DESCRIPTION
The  CAT24C32  is  a  32-Kb  CMOS  Serial  EEPROM 
devices, internally organized as 128 pages of 32 bytes 
each. 
It  features  a  32-byte  page  write  buffer  and  supports 
both the Standard (100 kHz) as well as Fast (400 kHz) 
I2C protocol. 
External address pins make it possible to address up to 
eight CAT24C32 devices on the same bus.
For Ordering Information details, see page 15.
PIN CONFIGURATION
FUNCTIONAL SYMBOL
PDIP (L)
SOIC (W)
TSSOP (Y)
TDFN (ZD2, VP2)
A0
A1
A2
VSS
1
2
3
4
8
7
6
5
VCC
WP
SCL
SDA
VCC
SCL
A2, A1, A0
CAT24C32
SDA
For the location of Pin 1, please consult the 
corresponding package drawing.
WP
PIN FUNCTIONS
A0, A1, A2
SDA
SCL
WP
VCC
VSS
Device Address
Serial Data
Serial Clock
Write Protect
Power Supply
Ground
VSS
*  The Green & Gold seal identifi es RoHS-compliant packaging, using NiPdAu 
pre-plated lead frames.
© 2007 by Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc. 
Characteristics subject to change without notice
1
Doc. No. 1101, Rev. G
CAT24C32
    ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS(1)                         
Storage Temperature
Voltage on Any Pin with Respect to Ground(2)
   RELIABILITY CHARACTERISTICS(3)
Symbol Parameter
(4) Endurance
NEND
TDR
Data Retention
-65°C to +150°C
-0.5 V to +6.5 V
Min
1,000,000
100
Units
Program/ Erase Cycles
Years
D.C. OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS
 = 1.8 V to 5.5 V, T  = -40°C to 85°C, unless otherwise specifi ed.
 = 1.8 V to 5.5 V, TA
VCC = 1.8 V to 5.5 V, TA
A = -40°C to 85°C, unless otherwise specifi ed.
A
Symbol Parameter
Test Conditions
Min
Max
Units
Read Current
ICCR
ICCW Write Current
ISB
IL
I/O Pin Leakage
Standby Current
VIL
VIH
VOL1
VOL2
Input Low Voltage
Input High Voltage
Output Low Voltage
Output Low Voltage
Read, fSCL = 400 kHz
SCL = 400 kHz
SCL
Write, fSCL = 400 kHz
SCL = 400 kHz
SCL
All I/O Pins at GND or VCC
Pin at GND or VCC
1
1
1
1
-0.5
VCC x 0.3
VCC x 0.7 VCC + 0.5
VCC ≥ 2.5 V, IOL = 3.0 mA
OL = 3.0 mA
OL
VCC < 2.5 V, IOL = 1.0 mA
OL = 1.0 mA
OL
0.4
0.2
mA
mA
μA
μA
V
V
V
V
  PIN IMPEDANCE CHARACTERISTICS
 = 1.8 V to 5.5 V, T  = -40°C to 85°C, unless otherwise specifi ed.
 = 1.8 V to 5.5 V, TA
VCC = 1.8 V to 5.5 V, TA
A = -40°C to 85°C, unless otherwise specifi ed.
A
Symbol Parameter
(3)
(3)
CIN
CIN
IWP
SDA I/O Pin Capacitance
Input Capacitance (other pins)
(5) WP Input  Current
Conditions
VIN = 0 V
VIN = 0 V
VIN < VIH
VIN > VIH
Max
Units
8
6
100
1
pF
pF
μA
Note:
(1)   Stresses above those listed under “Absolute Maximum Ratings” may cause permanent damage to the device. These are stress ratings only, 
and functional operation of the device at these or any other conditions outside of those listed in the operational sections of this specifi cation 
is not implied. Exposure to any absolute maximum rating for extended periods may affect device performance and reliability.
(2)   The DC input voltage on any pin should not be lower than -0.5 V or higher than VCC + 0.5 V. During transitions, the voltage on any pin may 
undershoot to no less than -1.5 V or overshoot to no more than VCC + 1.5 V, for periods of less than 20 ns.
(3)   These parameters are tested initially and after a design or process change that affects the parameter according to appropriate AEC-Q100 
and JEDEC test methods.
(4)   Page Mode, VCC = 5 V, 25°C
(5)  When not driven, the WP pin is pulled down to GND internally. For improved noise immunity, the internal pull-down is relatively strong; 
therefore the external driver must be able to supply the pull-down current when attempting to drive the input HIGH. To conserve power, as 
the input level exceeds the trip point of the CMOS input buffer (~ 0.5 x VCC), the strong pull-down reverts to a weak current source.
Doc. No. 1101, Rev. G
2
© 2007 by Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc.
Characteristics subject to change without notice
  A.C. CHARACTERISTICS(1)
 = 1.8 V to 5.5 V, T  = -40°C to 85°C.
 = 1.8 V to 5.5 V, TA
VCC = 1.8 V to 5.5 V, TA
A = -40°C to 85°C.
A
Symbol
FSCL
tHD:STA
tLOW
tHIGH
tSU:STA
tHD:DAT
tSU:DAT
tR
(2)
tF
tSU:STO
tBUF
tAA
tDH
(2)
Ti
tSU:WP
tHD:WP
tWR
(2, 3)
tPU
Parameter
Clock Frequency
START Condition Hold Time
Low Period of SCL Clock
High Period of SCL Clock
START Condition Setup Time
Data In Hold Time
Data In Setup Time
SDA and SCL Rise Time
SDA and SCL Fall Time
STOP Condition Setup Time
Bus Free Time Between STOP and START 
SCL Low to Data Out Valid
Data Out Hold Time
Noise Pulse Filtered at SCL and SDA Inputs
WP Setup Time
WP Hold Time
Write Cycle Time
Power-up to Ready Mode
CAT24C32
Max
400
Units
kHz
μs
μs
μs
μs
μs
ns
ns
ns
μs
μs
μs
ns
ns
μs
μs
ms
ms
300
300
0.9
100
5
1
Standard
Fast
Min
0.6
1.3
0.6
0.6
0
100
0.6
1.3
100
0
2.5
Min
4
4.7
4
4.7
0
250
4
4.7
100
0
2.5
Max
100
1000
300
3.5
100
5
1
Note:
(1)  Test conditions according to “A.C. Test Conditions” table.
(2)  Tested initially and after a design or process change that affects this parameter.
(3)  tPU is the delay between the time VCC is stable and the device is ready to accept commands.
  A.C. TEST CONDITIONS
0.2 x VCC to 0.8 x VCC
Input Levels
Input Rise and Fall Times ≤ 50 ns
Input Reference Levels
Output Reference Levels
Output Load
0.3 x VCC, 0.7 x VCC
0.5 x VCC
Current Source: IOL = 3 mA (V
OL = 3 mA (V
OL
CC ≥ 2.5 V); IOL = 1 mA (V
OL = 1 mA (V
OL
CC < 2.5 V); CL = 100 pF
L = 100 pF
L
© 2007 by Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc.
Characteristics subject to change without notice
3
Doc No.  1101, Rev. G
CAT24C32
   POWER-ON RESET (POR)
FUNCTIONAL DESCRIPTION
Each CAT24C32 incorporates Power-On Reset (POR) 
circuitry which protects the internal logic against powering 
up  in  the  wrong  state. The  device  will  power  up  into 
Standby mode after VCC exceeds the POR trigger level 
and will power down into Reset mode when VCC drops 
below  the  POR  trigger  level.  This  bi-directional  POR 
behavior protects the device against ‘brown-out’ failure 
following a temporary loss of power.
PIN DESCRIPTION
SCL: The Serial Clock input pin accepts the clock signal 
generated by the Master.
SDA: The Serial Data I/O pin accepts input data and 
delivers output data. In transmit mode, this pin is open 
drain.  Data  is  acquired  on  the  positive  edge,  and  is 
delivered on the negative edge of SCL.
A0, A1 and A2: The Address inputs set the device ad-
dress that must be matched by the corresponding Slave 
address bits. The Address inputs are hard-wired HIGH 
or  LOW  allowing  for  up  to  eight  devices  to  be  used 
(cascaded) on the same bus. When left fl oating, these 
pins are pulled LOW internally.
WP:  When  pulled  HIGH,  the  Write  Protect  input  pin 
inhibits all write operations. When left fl oating, this pin 
is pulled LOW internally.
The  CAT24C32  supports  the  Inter-Integrated  Circuit 
(I2C) Bus protocol. The protocol relies on the use of a 
Master device, which provides the clock and directs bus 
traffi c, and Slave devices which execute requests. The 
CAT24C32  operates  as  a  Slave  device.  Both  Master 
and Slave can transmit or receive, but only the Master 
can assign those roles.
 I2C BUS PROTOCOL
The 2-wire I2C bus consists of two lines, SCL and SDA, 
connected to the VCC supply via pull-up resistors. The 
Master provides the clock to the SCL line, and either the 
Master or the Slaves drive the SDA line. A ‘0’ is transmitted 
by pulling a line LOW and a ‘1’ by letting it stay HIGH. 
Data transfer may be initiated only when the bus is not 
busy (see A.C. Characteristics). During data transfer, 
SDA must remain stable while SCL is HIGH.
START/STOP Condition
An SDA transition while SCL is HIGH creates a START 
or STOP condition (Figure 1). The START consists of a 
HIGH to LOW SDA transition, while SCL is HIGH. Absent 
the START, a Slave will not respond to the Master. The 
STOP completes all commands, and consists of a LOW 
to HIGH SDA transition, while SCL is HIGH.
 Device Addressing
The  Master  addresses  a  Slave  by  creating  a  START 
condition and then broadcasting an 8-bit Slave address. 
For the CAT24C32, the fi rst four bits of the Slave address 
are set to 1010 (Ah); the next three bits, A2, A1 and A0, 
must match the logic state of the similarly named input 
pins. The R/W
pins. The R/W
pins. The R/
 bit tells the Slave whether the Master 
W bit tells the Slave whether the Master 
W
intends to read (1) or write (0) data (Figure 2).
 Acknowledge
During the 9th clock cycle following every byte sent to 
the bus, the transmitter releases the SDA line, allow-
ing  the  receiver  to  respond. The  receiver  then  either 
acknowledges (ACK) by pulling SDA LOW, or does not 
acknowledge (NoACK) by letting SDA stay HIGH (Figure 
3). Bus timing is illustrated in Figure 4.
Doc. No. 1101, Rev. G
4
© 2007 by Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc.
Characteristics subject to change without notice
CAT24C32
Figure 1.  Start/Stop Timing
SCL
SDA
START
CONDITION
STOP
CONDITION
Figure 2.  Slave Address Bits
1
0
1
0
A2
A1
A0 R/W
DEVICE ADDRESS 
Figure 3.  Acknowledge Timing
BUS RELEASE DELAY (TRANSMITTER)
BUS RELEASE DELAY (RECEIVER)
1
8
9
SCL FROM
MASTER
DATA OUTPUT
FROM TRANSMITTER
DATA OUTPUT
FROM RECEIVER
START
ACK DELAY (≤ tAA)
ACK SETUP (≥ tSU:DAT)
Figure 4.  Bus Timing
SCL
tSU:STA
SDA IN
SDA OUT
tF
tHIGH
tR
tLOW
tLOW
tHD:DAT
tHD:STA
tSU:DAT
tAA
tDH
tSU:STO
tBUF
© 2007 by Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc.
Characteristics subject to change without notice
5
Doc No.  1101, Rev. G
CAT24C32
WRITE OPERATIONS
Byte Write
To write data to memory, the Master creates a START 
condition on the bus and then broadcasts a Slave ad-
dress with the R/W
dress with the R/W
dress with the R/
 bit set to  ‘0’.  The Master then sends 
W bit set to  ‘0’.  The Master then sends 
W
two address bytes and a data byte and concludes the 
session by creating a STOP condition on the bus. The 
Slave responds with ACK after every byte sent by the 
Master (Figure 5). The STOP starts the internal Write 
cycle, and while this operation is in progress (tWR), the 
SDA output is tri-stated and the Slave does not acknowl-
edge the Master (Figure 6).
Page Write
The  Byte  Write  operation  can  be  expanded  to  Page 
Write, by sending more than one data byte to the Slave 
before issuing the STOP condition (Figure 7). Up to 32 
distinct data bytes can be loaded into the internal Page 
Write  Buffer  starting  at  the  address  provided  by  the 
Master. The page address is latched, and as long as the 
Master keeps sending data, the internal byte address is 
incremented up to the end of page, where it then wraps 
around (within the page). New data can therefore replace 
data loaded earlier. Following the STOP, data loaded 
during the Page Write session will be written to memory 
in a single internal Write cycle (tWR).
Acknowledge Polling
As soon (and as long) as internal Write is in progress, 
the Slave will not acknowledge the Master. This feature 
enables the Master to immediately follow-up with a new 
Read or Write request, rather than wait for the maximum 
specifi ed Write time (tWR) to elapse. Upon receiving a 
NoACK response from the Slave, the Master simply re-
peats the request until the Slave responds with ACK.
Hardware Write Protection
With the WP pin held HIGH, the entire memory is protected 
against Write operations. If the WP pin is left fl oating or 
is grounded, it has no impact on the Write operation. The 
state of the WP pin is strobed on the last falling edge 
of SCL immediately preceding the 1st data byte (Figure 
8). If the WP pin is HIGH during the strobe interval, the 
Slave will not acknowledge the data byte and the Write 
request will be rejected.
Delivery State
The  CAT24C32  is  shipped  erased,  i.e.,  all  bytes  are 
FFh.
Doc. No. 1101, Rev. G
6
© 2007 by Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc.
Characteristics subject to change without notice
CAT24C32
Figure 5.  Byte Write Sequence
BUS ACTIVITY:
MASTER
S
T
A
R
T
S
SLAVE
SLAVE
ADDRESS
ADDRESS
BYTE
a15 ÷ a8
* *
**
DATA
BYTE
a7 ÷ a0
DATA
BYTE
d7 ÷ d0
A
C
K
A
C
K
A
C
K
S
T
O
P
P
A
C
K
* a15 ÷ a12 are don't care bits.
Figure 6.  Write Cycle Timing
SCL
SDA
8th Bit
Byte n
ACK
tWR
STOP
CONDITION
START
CONDITION
ADDRESS
Figure 7.  Page Write Sequence
SLAVE
ADDRESS
ADDRESS
BYTE
ADDRESS
BYTE
DATA
BYTE
n 
DATA
BYTE
n+1 
DATA
BYTE
n+P 
A
C
K
A
C
K
A
C
K
A
C
K
A
C
K
S
T
O
P
P
A
C
K
BUS ACTIVITY:
MASTER
S
T
A
R
T
S
SLAVE
n = 1
P ≤ 31
  Figure 8. WP Timing
SCL
A
C
K
1
ADDRESS
BYTE 
DATA
BYTE
8
9
1
8
d0
SDA
a7
a0
d7
tSU:WP
WP
tHD:WP
© 2007 by Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc.
Characteristics subject to change without notice
7
Doc No.  1101, Rev. G
CAT24C32
READ OPERATIONS
Immediate Read
To read data from memory, the Master creates a START 
condition on the bus and then broadcasts a Slave ad-
dress with the R/W
dress with the R/W
dress with the R/
 bit set to ‘1’.  The Slave responds with 
W bit set to ‘1’.  The Slave responds with 
W
ACK and starts shifting out data residing at the current 
address. After receiving the data, the Master responds 
with NoACK and terminates the session by creating a 
STOP condition on the bus (Figure 9). The Slave then 
returns to Standby mode.
Selective Read
To read data residing at a specifi c address, the selected 
address must fi rst be loaded into the internal address 
register. This is done by starting a Byte Write sequence, 
whereby the Master creates a START condition, then 
broadcasts a Slave address with the R/W bit set to ‘0’ 
and then sends two address bytes to the Slave. Rather 
than completing the Byte Write sequence by sending 
data, the Master then creates a START condition and 
broadcasts a Slave address with the R/W
broadcasts a Slave address with the R/W
broadcasts a Slave address with the R/
 bit set to ‘1’. 
W bit set to ‘1’. 
W
The Slave responds with ACK after every byte sent by the 
Master and then sends out data residing at the selected 
address. After receiving the data, the Master responds 
with NoACK and then terminates the session by creating 
a STOP condition on the bus (Figure 10).
Sequential Read
If,  after  receiving  data  sent  by  the  Slave,  the  Master 
responds with ACK, then the Slave will continue transmit-
ting until the Master responds with NoACK followed by 
STOP (Figure 11). During Sequential Read the internal 
byte address is automatically incremented up to the end 
of memory, where it then wraps around to the beginning 
of memory.
Doc. No. 1101, Rev. G
8
© 2007 by Catalyst Semiconductor, Inc.
Characteristics subject to change without notice