CapSense Technology
AN64846 - Getting Started with CapSense
®
Doc. No. 001-64846 Rev. *X
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Figure 2-20. Several types of Widgets
Button Sensor
Slider Sensor
Proximity Sensor
2.6.1 Buttons (Zero-Dimensional Sensors)
CapSense buttons replace mechanical buttons in a wide variety of applications such as home appliances, medical
devices, white goods, lighting controls and many other products. It is the simplest type of CapSense widget, consisting
of a single sensor. A CapSense button gives one of two possible output states: active (finger is present) or inactive
(finger is not present). These two states are also called ON and OFF states, respectively. To get higher reliability, lower
cost, and appealing industrial design, use CapSense buttons instead of mechanical buttons.
2.6.1.1 Simple Buttons
The simplest capacitive sensor consists of a copper pad connected to a CapSense controller pin with a trace. A button
is defined as the combination of the copper sensor pad and the nonconductive overlay material. The button is
surrounded by a grounded copper hatch separated by an annular gap. Each button requires one I/O pin of the
CapSense controller.
Figure 2-21. Typical Simple Buttons
2.6.1.2 Matrix Buttons
In applications requiring a high number of buttons such as a calculator keypad or a QWERTY keyboard, capacitive
sensors can be arranged in a matrix, as
shows. This allows a design to have more buttons than there are
I/O pins on the CapSense controller when using a self-capacitance method.
Figure 2-22. Typical Matrix Buttons
A matrix button design consists of two groups of capacitive sensors: Row sensors and Column sensors. When a button
is touched, it can be resolved by identifying the row and column sensors that are both in the TOUCH state. The number
of buttons supported by the matrix is equal to the product of the number of rows and the number of columns.
𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑀𝑎𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑥 𝑏𝑢𝑡𝑡𝑜𝑛𝑠 = 𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑜𝑤 𝑆𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑠 ×𝑁𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝐶𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑚𝑛 𝑆𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑜𝑟𝑠
Equation 12
Using a matrix button design can significantly reduce the number of I/O pins required. For example, the matrix in
implements 12 buttons, but requires only seven I/O pins for sensors. Additional dedicated pins need to be assigned
to external components, depending on the sensing method selected.