Current sinking serial communication

Abstract

Current sinking serial communication. At least one example is a packaged semiconductor product comprising: an input terminal electrically accessible on an exterior surface; an output terminal electrically accessible on an exterior surface; a digital memory disposed within the packaged semiconductor product and configured to store a digital word; a functional circuit coupled to the input terminal, the output terminal, and the digital memory, the functional circuit configured to perform a control function with respect to a signal on the input terminal, and the control function modifiable based on the digital word; a sense circuit coupled to the output terminal, the sense circuit configured to extract binary data provided as current pulses drawn through the output terminal; and a serial receiver coupled to the sense circuit, the serial receiver configured to accumulate the binary data into an updated digital word, and store the updated digital word to the digital memory.