CAN Repeater Inhibit Time

Inhibit time for EMS CAN repeaters

Our CAN repeaters are offered with a parameter called inhibit time. It is important to choose the correct value for this parameter that the repeater will work as expected in a dedicated system. We recommend to set it to 10-20% of the bit time. The background is explained in the following.

If the CAN signal goes from recessive to dominant on one side of the repeater it is propagated to the other side and here the signal also changes to dominant. If the first signal goes back to recessive, there is still a dominant level on the other side, it is hold dominant by the capacitance of the cable. In this moment the repeater cannot decide, if this dominant signal on the second side is the old signal and will fade out or if it is a new signal originated by a node on the second side and should be propagated. This effect can occur e.g. during the arbitration phase of the CAN protocol. The consequence is that at this moment for a short period of time a back transmission of the dominant signal has to be omitted.

The following table should give an overview about commonly used values: