[PATCH 1/2] dt-bindings: i2c: Add NXP PCA9641 I2C bus master arbiter

From: Shiv Prakash Gupta

Date: Tue Sep 08 2026 - 09:00:51 EST


Add device tree binding schema for the NXP PCA9641 2-to-1 I2C bus
master arbiter.

The PCA9641 arbitrates between two upstream I2C masters competing for a
single downstream slave bus using a lock/grant ownership model. The
binding supports an optional 'interrupts' property for interrupt-assisted
arbitration.

Signed-off-by: Shiv Prakash Gupta <shivprakash.gupta@xxxxxxx>
---
.../devicetree/bindings/i2c/nxp,pca9641.yaml | 109 ++++++++++++++++++
1 file changed, 109 insertions(+)
create mode 100644 Documentation/devicetree/bindings/i2c/nxp,pca9641.yaml

diff --git a/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/i2c/nxp,pca9641.yaml b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/i2c/nxp,pca9641.yaml
new file mode 100644
index 000000000000..649a3f6d1776
--- /dev/null
+++ b/Documentation/devicetree/bindings/i2c/nxp,pca9641.yaml
@@ -0,0 +1,109 @@
+# SPDX-License-Identifier: GPL-2.0-only OR BSD-2-Clause
+%YAML 1.2
+---
+$id: http://devicetree.org/schemas/i2c/nxp,pca9641.yaml#
+$schema: http://devicetree.org/meta-schemas/core.yaml#
+
+title: NXP PCA9641 2-to-1 I2C bus master arbiter
+
+maintainers:
+ - Shiv Prakash Gupta <shivprakash.gupta@xxxxxxx>
+
+description: |
+ The PCA9641 is a 2-to-1 I2C bus master arbiter that manages two upstream
+ I2C masters competing for a single downstream slave bus. It uses a
+ lock/grant ownership model: a master requests the downstream bus by setting
+ LOCK_REQ, waits for the arbiter to assert LOCK_GRANT, then explicitly
+ connects to the bus via BUS_CONNECT before issuing transactions.
+
+ Key features compared to the PCA9541:
+ - Lock/grant ownership model (LOCK_REQ + LOCK_GRANT bits in CONTR register)
+ - BUS_CONNECT bit must be set explicitly after receiving LOCK_GRANT
+ - Reserve Time register (RT): guarantees bus ownership for 1-255 ms
+ - INT0 and INT1 interrupt outputs (one per upstream master) and INT_IN
+ interrupt input that propagates downstream slave interrupts upstream
+ - 16-bit shared mailbox (MB_LO + MB_HI) for inter-master communication
+ - ID register (read-only, value 0x38) to distinguish from PCA9541
+ - Four address pins (AD0-AD3) allowing up to 112 unique I2C addresses
+
+properties:
+ compatible:
+ const: nxp,pca9641
+
+ reg:
+ maxItems: 1
+ description:
+ 7-bit I2C slave address of the PCA9641 on the upstream bus. The address
+ is set by hardware pins AD0-AD3 at power-on or hardware reset.
+
+ interrupts:
+ maxItems: 1
+ description:
+ Optional interrupt from the INT0 or INT1 output pin. When provided the
+ driver uses interrupt-assisted arbitration (waits on LOCK_GRANT interrupt)
+ instead of polling the CONTR register. Either INT0 or INT1 can be
+ connected depending on which upstream master port is used.
+
+ i2c-arb:
+ type: object
+ $ref: /schemas/i2c/i2c-controller.yaml
+ unevaluatedProperties: false
+ description:
+ I2C bus node representing the downstream slave bus controlled by the
+ PCA9641. Downstream slave devices are declared as child nodes here.
+
+required:
+ - compatible
+ - reg
+ - i2c-arb
+
+additionalProperties: false
+
+examples:
+ - |
+ /* Minimal example: polling mode (no interrupt wiring) */
+ i2c {
+ #address-cells = <1>;
+ #size-cells = <0>;
+
+ i2c-arbiter@74 {
+ compatible = "nxp,pca9641";
+ reg = <0x74>;
+
+ i2c-arb {
+ #address-cells = <1>;
+ #size-cells = <0>;
+
+ eeprom@50 {
+ compatible = "atmel,24c32";
+ reg = <0x50>;
+ };
+ };
+ };
+ };
+
+ - |
+ /* Interrupt mode: INT0 wired to SoC GPIO */
+ #include <dt-bindings/interrupt-controller/irq.h>
+
+ i2c {
+ #address-cells = <1>;
+ #size-cells = <0>;
+
+ i2c-arbiter@70 {
+ compatible = "nxp,pca9641";
+ reg = <0x70>;
+ interrupt-parent = <&gpio1>;
+ interrupts = <5 IRQ_TYPE_EDGE_FALLING>;
+
+ i2c-arb {
+ #address-cells = <1>;
+ #size-cells = <0>;
+
+ temperature-sensor@48 {
+ compatible = "national,lm75";
+ reg = <0x48>;
+ };
+ };
+ };
+ };
--
2.34.1