CapSense Technology
AN64846 - Getting Started with CapSense
®
Doc. No. 001-64846 Rev. *X
15
2.3 CapSense Sensing Technology
This section explains the self-capacitance measurement method implemented in CapSense devices.
2.3.1 Capacitance Conversion
The CapSense hardware converts the sensor capacitance into a digital count, called raw count. The raw count is
interpreted as either a TOUCH or NO TOUCH state for the sensor, as
shows. The numerical value of the
raw count is the digital representation of the sensor capacitance, and increases as the capacitance increases as
explained in Section
. The raw count is directly proportional to the average current drawn out by the sensor
capacitance, which increases when the sensor capacitance increases. Sensitivity is a measure of how much the output
will change for a given change on the input. The sensitivity of the CapSense sensor has units of counts-per-pF.
Figure 2-11. Sensing Algorithm Output
2.3.2 CapSense with Sigma Delta Modulator (CSD)
Cypress’s CSD method shown in
uses a switched capacitor circuit on the front end of the system to convert
the sensor capacitance (C
P
) to an equivalent resistor (see
. A Sigma-Delta modulator then converts the
current measured through the equivalent resistor into a digital count. When a finger (C
F
) is on the sensor, the
capacitance increases and the equivalent resistance decreases. This causes an increase in current through the resistor,
which the Sigma-Delta modulator balances by controlling the Modulation IDAC, resulting in an increase in the digital
count. The Sigma Delta converter maintains the voltage of Analog Mux Bus (AMUXBUS) at a constant V
REF
(typically
1.2 V) with the help of a CMOD capacitor. An external resistor (R
S
) in-series with the sensor along with the AMUXBUS
resistance (R
bus
) helps to improve noise immunity. The recommended value for R
S
is 560
Ω.
Figure 2-12. CSD Block Diagram
C
P
i
sensor
Sigma-Delta
Converter
Sense Clock
CMOD
HI-Z
Input
SW1
SW2
CSD
GND
= External Connection
AMUX
Bus
Rbus
Vref
2.2nF/X7R/5V
Modulation
IDAC
R
S
C
F
Compensation
IDAC
Modulator Clock
GND
Raw Count Output