Integrated Touch and Slide Controller - AT42QT2160 - Atmel

Atmel recently announced the availability of product samples of AT42QT2160, a single chip touch key and slider controller which able to control up to 16 individual touch keys and one slider (constructed from 2 to 8 keys) with up to 8 bit resolution (0 .. 255). AT42QT2160 can also controls up to 11 LEDs through a PWM output function. Based on Atmel’s QMatrix and QSlide technologies, the AT42QT2160 provides a wide range of host programmable input/output configurations with very low power requirements. AT42QT2160 is ideal for use as a small control panel processor on battery driven consumer devices such as mobile phones, digital cameras, digital pictures frames, personal media players, PDAs and handheld gaming devices.

Atmel AT42QT2160 - Touch, Slide and LED Controller

Key benefits of Atmel AT42QT2160 Touch and Slide Controller:

• Up to 16 Independent Touch Channels
• 1 Slider Control with Up to 8 Bit (0 to 255) Resolution
• 11 Programmable Interface Lines – 3 Can Be Configured as Inputs or Outputs, 8 are Outputs Only
• All Output Signals Can Be Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) to Provide Intensity Control of LEDs
• Host Programmability through an I2C compatible Interface
• Very Low Power Operation (< 1.0 μA @ 1.8V in Sleep Mode)

The AT42QT2160 Touch and Slide Control Panel IC is based on Quantum Research Group’s (acquired by Atmel in March 2008) charge-transfer technology. These include QTouch controllers for single and multiple touch buttons, touch sliders and touch wheels, together with QMatrix devices for higher density matrix key panels.

The QMatrix technology employs transverse charge-transfer sensing electrode designs which can be made very compact and are easily wired. Charge is forced from an emitting electrode into the overlying panel dielectric, and then collected on a receiver electrode. This directs the charge into a sampling capacitor which is then converted directly to digital form, without the use of amplifiers.

Features of AT42QT2160 Touch and Slide Control Panel IC:

• Up to 16 keys, and one slider (constructed from 2 to 8 keys)
• Number of I/O lines: 11 (3 dedicated - configurable for input or output, 8 shared - output only), PWM control for LED driving
• Spread-spectrum charge-transfer (transverse mode) technology.
• Slider design: 2 to 8 keys placed in sequence, same design as keys
• Key outline sizes: 6 mm x 6 mm or larger (panel thickness dependent); widely different sizes and shapes possible
• Key spacings: 8 mm or wider, center to center (panel thickness dependent)
• Electrode design: two-part electrode shapes (drive-receive); wide variety of possible layouts
• PCB layers required: one layer (with jumpers), two layers (no jumpers)
• Electrode materials: PCB, FPCB, silver or carbon on film, ITO on film
• Panel materials: plastic, glass, composites, painted surfaces (low particle density metallic paints possible)
• Panel thickness: up to 3 mm glass, 2.5 mm plastic (key size dependent)
• Adjacent metal: compatible with grounded metal immediately next to keys
• Key sensitivity: individually settable via simple commands over I2C-compatible interface
• Signal processing: self-calibration, auto drift compensation, noise filtering, Adjacent Key Suppression technology
• Interface: I2C-compatible slave mode (100kHz)
• Technologies:
  • AKS (Adjacent Key Suppression)
  • QMatrix (charge-transfer method)
  • QSlide (charge-transfer method)
• Applications: laptop, mobile, consumer appliances, PC peripheral etc.
• Operating voltage: 1.8 V to 5.5 V
• Package: 28-pin 4 x 4 mm MLF RoHS compliant

Atmel AT42QT2160 Touch and Slide Controller Circuit

The AT42QT2160 has 3 GPIOs with PWM capability and a further 8 shared ports that provide additional standard outputs for the host without adding cost or using an extra I/O expansion device with PWM capability.

AT42QT2160 Touch and Slide Controler provides a system Multi-Input Wake-up (MIWU) function which when pre-defined input signals levels are reached, can trigger a reaction from the host via 2-wire interface (I2C compatible), or using a dedicated output pin.

Touch button sensor electrodes, of arbitrary size (>6 x 6 mm) and shape, are usually formed from copper pads on the printed circuit board or a flexible circuit. The touch surface can be made from glass up to 3mm in thickness or plastic, up to 2.5mm thick.

Atmel AT42QT2160 Touch and Slide Controller IC in 4×4 mm MLF Package

Atmel also offers EVK2160A demonstration/evaluation board for AT42QT2160 Touch and Slide Controller. EVK2160A demonstration board has an on-board AT42QT2160 which is connected to 5028 controller via I2C. The EVK2160A works stand-alone but can also be connected to a PC.

Atmel EVK2160A - AT42QT2160 Touch and Slide Controller Development Kit

Samples of the AT42QT2160 Touch and Slide Control IC are available now in a 28-pin QFN package (4 x 4mm). Pricing for the part is $0.98 each for quantities of 100K units/year.

References:

• http://atmel.com/dyn/resources/press/at42qt2160_7_7.html PR
• http://www.qprox.com/products/Page-16051/AT42QT2160.html
• http://www.qprox.com/assets/Downloadablefile/AT42QT2160_DS-16657.pdf (AT42QT2160 datasheet, 1.3 MB)