In the past, I've always buffered digital signals from the outside world coming into my circuit with a typical inverting or non-inverting buffer IC. I'd then wire the output of the buffer directly to a digital input pin on my uC. I'm speaking only about digital signals, not analog.
I'm trying to justify why the buffer IC is better than, say, an appropriately sized resistor. Even for transient voltage spikes (negative or positive), a large enough resistor will prevent any real current spikes from damaging the microcontroller. So what's the argument for using buffer IC's and not just a resistor?
Note: I'm excluding special cases, like high-speed switching.
Thanks!
-Dan
I'm trying to justify why the buffer IC is better than, say, an appropriately sized resistor. Even for transient voltage spikes (negative or positive), a large enough resistor will prevent any real current spikes from damaging the microcontroller. So what's the argument for using buffer IC's and not just a resistor?
Note: I'm excluding special cases, like high-speed switching.
Thanks!
-Dan