what 5V tolearant IO pads means?

[kannu789]

5 V tolerant Io pads

hi,
can any one tell me what 5V tolearant IO pads means. i am currently working on LPC2148 which works on 3.3V Vcc with its maximum Vcc being 3.6V. But the chip also has 5V volts tolerant IO pads. Does dat mean i can connect the IO pins with 5V without damaging the IC. any kind of help will be appreciated.
thanks in advance
kan

 

[Colbhaidh]

Re: 5 V tolerant Io pads

Yes. 5V tolerant IOs use floating NWells allowing the chip to see 5V inputs without damage.
It may not imply that your IO can drive an external 5V signal however.

 

[kannu789]

Re: 5 V tolerant Io pads

thanks a lot
but can you tell me whether i can interface serial to parallel IC (operating at 5V)
directly with LPC2148 (working at 3.3V with 5 V tolerant IO pads) without damaging the microcontroller. please it will be a great help to me.