Microchip introduces a new capacitive touch controller to accelerate automobile touch screen EMI certification

To address the electromagnetic interference (EMI) and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) issues facing touch screen developers in automobiles, Microchip Technology inc. announced the launch of three new maXTouch® touch screen controllers and additional optimization services.New type of TD series of touch controller using new difference interaction signal collection technology, can significantly improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of touch screen, even when it is covered in thick glass or plastic can still work normally, but also support the driver gloves multi-touch operations, to support the 4.5 mm thick polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) material.

For 9 - to 13-inch car touch screens, Microchip has introduced low-cost models based on MXT1067TD, MXT1189TD and MXT1665TD, which form part of its touchscreen controller line along with the recent MXT449TD, MXT641TD, MXT2113TD and MXT2912TD, which support 20-inch touch screens.Each Microchip product is designed to meet the growing functional safety needs of the customer and to meet the requirements of automotive SPICE level 3 capability and ISO 26262 automotive safety integrity level (ASIL) B.

TD series products have unique waveform shaping function, which can optimize the electromagnetic radiation performance of touch controller by EMI optimization tool.With the support of product experts at Microchip's global application design center, the tool helps developers enter user-defined rf limitations and adjust the shape of the transmitted pulse waveform used for touch sensor acquisition.

Wave shaping can deduce the firmware through the tool parameters to achieve, can help design personnel positioning basic pulse frequency, and other automotive applications (such as remote control without key entrance guard system) coordinate with each other, then add the parameters of the generated to the maXTouch configuration file, maXTouch configuration file will design customized touch controller parameters for the user.While implementing the required EMI/EMC performance, the above process reduces the experimental operation of setting different configurations, which can save designers hours or even weeks of valuable EMC testing time.

Microchip man-machine interface, vice President of business Fanie Duvenhage, said: "our products are greatly simplified the design method of car touch screen design time is shortened, help developers in different models in different size, different use cases, under the condition of different material and thickness of the cover, still can enjoy the same design environment and product features.Microchip's products are supported by eight dedicated application and sensor design centers around the world, and can be customized to help customers with a variety of configurations, such as screen size and aspect ratio, display types and vendors, and complete stack architecture.

Microchip offers the most extensive range of touch-screen controllers on the market, which are mainly used in automotive central control display panels and navigation systems, as well as industrial applications such as automation and manufacturing sites.

The development tools

Microchip provides an evaluation kit for each device in the new maXTouch touch touch controller family.The kits were numbered atevk-mxt1067tdat-a (I2C), atevk-mxt1189tdat-a (I2C), atevk-mxt1189tdat-c (SPI), atevk-mxt1665tdat-a (I2C) and atevk-mxt1665tdat-c (SPI).Each kit contains a printed circuit board (PCB) with the maXTouch touch controller, a touch sensor mounted on a transparent glass panel, a flat printed circuit (FPC) connected to the sensor, a bridging PCB to connect the kit to the host via USB, and cables, software, and documentation.All components are compatible with MaxTouch Studio and form a complete software development environment to support the evaluation of the MaxTouch touch touch controller.

MaXTouch EMI optimization services will be part of Microchip's global application design center system support.

Supply and pricing

MXT1067TD, MXT1189TD and MXT1665TD products are available now and can offer samples and bulk products packaged in TQFP128 (MXT1067TD only) and LQFP144, subject to demand quotation.For more information, contact Microchip sales representatives, authorized distributors worldwide or visit the Microchip website.To purchase an evaluation kit, visit the Microchip direct marketing website or contact a Microchip authorized distributor.