Microchip Introduces its First Turnkey Touch Controllers for Buttons, Sliders and Wheels with Parallel Sensing

As appliance and equipment manufacturers look for ways to reduce system costs, many are replacing displays with Human Machine Interfaces (HMIs) using high-end decoration and illuminated capacitive-touch buttons, sliders and wheels. These interfaces often require a large number of touch sensors which can increase acquisition time and reduce the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) when using conventional controllers. To address these challenges, Microchip Technology has expanded its turnkey capacitive-touch family with the launch of MTCH3380P and MTCH3240P controllers, helping manufacturers create visually appealing, display-free HMIs at lower system cost and with less design complexity. The first in Microchip’s touch turnkey controller portfolio to incorporate parallel sensing for buttons, sliders and wheels, the devices support IEC/UL 60730 Class B functional safety certification and operation up to 105°C, making them well suited for home appliance, outdoor and industrial applications.

By acquiring data from multiple sensors simultaneously, the MTCH3380P and MTCH3240P can support a large number of buttons, sliders and wheels while maintaining fast response times, a high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and reliable touch detection in noisy operating environments. This performance is enabled by 12 on-chip analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) operating in parallel. The MTCH3380P supports up to 38 sensors in self-capacitance mode and 64 sensors in mutual-capacitance mode, while the MTCH3240P supports up to 24 and 32 sensors, respectively, without the acquisition-time penalties often associated with high sensor counts (more info).

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