Description

Although every effort is made to provide detailed information in product data sheets to inform the design engineer of the expected performance and assist in the proper application of the device, it is unlikely that every question will be anticipated. An example of this situation is the topic of unused pins. If after reviewing the capabilities of a part, it been determined that a certain feature of a device is not needed, then it is likely there will be remaining unused pins. The design engineer will want to know what the recommendation is for these unused pins. Should they be left open, tied to ground, or pulled high? This paper reviews why these are important questions and uses actual customer questions handled by the TI applications staff as examples.