Microchip Debuts One-Stop Touch Controller Supporting Simultaneous Buttons, Sliders and Wheels
Microchip Debuts First One-Stop Touch Controller Supporting Simultaneous Button, Slider and Wheel Sensing
— MTCH3380P and MTCH3240P controllers enable fast, robust touch acquisition for complex human machine interfaces, including display-free designs
Appliance and equipment manufacturers are seeking ways to reduce system costs, and a growing number are adopting premium decorative and backlit capacitive touch buttons, sliders and wheels to build human machine interfaces (HMIs) as replacements for traditional displays. These interfaces often require a large number of touch sensors; with traditional controllers, an excessive sensor count can lead to increased acquisition time and degraded signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). To address these challenges, Microchip Technology Inc. has expanded its one-stop capacitive touch product family with the MTCH3380P and MTCH3240P touch controllers, helping manufacturers create sleek display-free human machine interfaces with lower system cost and simplified design. These devices are the first in Microchip's one-stop touch controller family to support simultaneous button, slider and wheel sensing, meet IEC/UL 60730 Class B functional safety certification requirements, and operate at temperatures up to 105°C, making them ideal for home appliances, outdoor equipment and industrial applications.
By acquiring data from multiple sensors simultaneously, the MTCH3380P and MTCH3240P support a large number of buttons, sliders and wheels while maintaining fast response, high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and stable touch detection performance in high-noise operating environments. This performance is enabled by 12 built-in analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) running in parallel. The MTCH3380P supports up to 38 sensors in self-capacitance mode and up to 64 sensors in mutual-capacitance mode; the MTCH3240P supports up to 24 and 32 sensors respectively, while avoiding the increased acquisition time typically associated with high sensor counts.
Enhanced touch sensitivity and noise immunity enable reliable touch detection even with thicker overlay materials or when users wear gloves. These features are particularly important for home appliance applications such as ovens, cooktops, refrigerators and washing machines, where humid environments and glove operation are common. In addition, these capabilities are equally valuable in outdoor applications such as EV charging stations, parking meters and self-service kiosks, where durable protective covers are required and reliable operation under cold conditions must be ensured.
Giovanni Fontana, Senior Director of Microchip's Human Machine Interface business unit, said: "Manufacturers want to create intuitive and attractive user interfaces while reducing system cost. As display-free human machine interfaces integrate more and more touch functions, maintaining touch response speed and reliability becomes increasingly difficult. Microchip's MTCH3380P and MTCH3240P controllers address the touch sensing challenges faced by display-free interfaces by providing fast touch acquisition capability and high SNR, helping devices achieve fast response and reliable operation even in demanding application environments."
The MTCH3380P and MTCH3240P devices support customers in completing IEC 60730 Class B functional safety certification on their own, helping manufacturers meet relevant regulatory requirements. Microchip's complete touch ecosystem and one-stop controllers provide hardware, software and a full set of development resources to shorten design, evaluation and testing cycles. Supporting resources include the mTouch® Studio development environment and evaluation hardware, along with Linux® and Zephyr® host drivers. For more information on Microchip's full family of one-stop capacitive touch controllers, please visit the official website.
In quantities of 10,000 units, the MTCH3380P is priced starting at $1.06 each and the MTCH3240P starting at $0.80 each. Customers can purchase directly through Microchip's direct sales website or contact a Microchip sales representative or authorized worldwide distributor.
About Microchip Technology Inc.
Microchip Technology Inc. is a leading provider of smart, connected and secure embedded control solutions. Its easy-to-use development tools and comprehensive product portfolio enable customers to create optimal designs which reduce risk while lowering total system cost and time to market. Microchip is headquartered in Chandler, Arizona, and provides outstanding technical support along with reliable delivery and quality for solutions in the industrial, automotive, consumer, aerospace and defense, communications and computing markets. For more information, visit the company's website at www.microchip.com.