I have a 3.3V digital output coming from the DLP-2232H and at the other end, the device either accepts 1.2V or 1.8V but not 3.3V. The TXB0108 level shifter accepts a wide range of voltages and is bidirectional, meaning it can take a 3.3V signal and translate it to a lower voltage or the other way around depending on your application.
It has 8-bits or 8 channels for your voltage translation. I only needed 4 but the additional pins are there should I need them for later expansion. There is a OE (Output Enable) pin which is supplied by VCCA, meaning if you want the outputs turned on, set it to VCCA, otherwise just drive it low.
The VCCA and VCCB pins require a 0.1uF ceramic bypass capacitors. It is a pretty straightforward setup. A 50kOhm resistor is required if pull-up/pull-down is required.
I tested it with a cheap sample from Shopee. Once I have determined it is working with my application on the breadboard, I purchased the parts from Element14.
I had drawn a schematic and layout using KiCAD. The available part package from Element14 was a WSON package type. I had never hand soldered this package type before. However, it was not too difficult. It is possible to solder it using 1mm solder and 1mm bend conical tip. However, maybe a smaller, less than 1mm sized tip and solder wire would have worked better. I had several boards to solder, the heatgun method worked as well.
Update 26/08/2023 - One of the boards soldered using the heatgun method had a problematic pin. I had to touch up with solder every time there is an issue. I suspect the problem to be the materials and methods I used. I did not have fresh solder paste, so instead I added solder to the pads along with some flux. Then placed the level shifter on the pads and used the heatgun to melt the solder.
Another board soldered using 1mm solder tip did not have such issue. I might try again on a spare board if I have fresh solder paste.
Another update is related to the VCCB voltage. Previously I tested a situation where VCCB is equal to VCCA and was still able to run my application. However, my application ran into issues after a few days of testing. My tests run for several hours, so it was quite a surprise that a new issue surfaced.
The level shifter seems to be drawing current from another supply. This issue disappeared once I increased the VCCB supply (relative to VCCA).
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