Data Sheet
ICM-20948
Document Number: DS-000189  Page 30 of 89 
Revision: 1.3 
To write the internal ICM-20948 registers, the master transmits the start condition (S), followed by the I
2
C address and 
the write bit (0). At the 9
th
 clock cycle (when the clock is high), the ICM-20948 acknowledges the transfer. Then the 
master puts the register address (RA) on the bus. After the ICM-20948 acknowledges the reception of the register 
address, the master puts the register data onto the bus. This is followed by the ACK signal, and data transfer may be 
concluded by the stop condition (P). To write multiple bytes after the last ACK signal, the master can continue 
outputting data rather than transmitting a stop signal. In this case, the ICM-20948 automatically increments the 
register address and loads the data to the appropriate register. The following figures show single and two-byte write 
sequences.  
Single-Byte Write Sequence 
Burst Write Sequence 
To read the internal ICM-20948 registers, the master sends a start condition, followed by the I
2
C address and a write 
bit, and then the register address that is going to be read. Upon receiving the ACK signal from the ICM-20948, the 
master transmits a start signal followed by the slave address and read bit. As a result, the ICM-20948 sends an ACK 
signal and the data. The communication ends with a not acknowledge (NACK) signal and a stop bit from master. The 
NACK condition is defined such that the SDA line remains high at the 9
th
 clock cycle. The following figures show single 
and two-byte read sequences. 
Single-Byte Read Sequence 
Burst Read Sequence 
6.4  I
2
C TERMS 
SIGNAL  DESCRIPTION 
S 
Start Condition: SDA goes from high to low while SCL is high 
AD 
Slave I
2
C address 
W 
Write bit (0) 
R 
Read bit (1) 
ACK 
Acknowledge: SDA line is low while the SCL line is high at the 9
th
 clock cycle 
NACK 
Not-Acknowledge: SDA line stays high at the 9
th
 clock cycle 
RA 
ICM-20948 internal register address 
DATA 
Transmit or received data 
P 
Stop condition: SDA going from low to high while SCL is high 
Table 15. I
2
C Terms 
Master  S  AD+W    RA    DATA    P 
Slave      ACK    ACK    ACK   
Master  S  AD+W    RA    DATA    DATA    P 
Slave      ACK    ACK    ACK    ACK   
Master  S  AD+W    RA    S  AD+R      NACK  P 
Slave      ACK    ACK      ACK  DATA     
Master  S  AD+W    RA    S  AD+R      ACK    NACK  P 
Slave      ACK    ACK      ACK  DATA    DATA     










