
5.1 Electrode design
5.1.1 Electrode design for self-cap mode
Usually the electrode size is around 5 - 15 mm. A larger size of the electrode is appropriate for thicker overlays. To maximize the
area of the electrodes from the capacitor plates, it is recommended that the size of the electrode be similar to a human finger (10
× 10 mm is considered a good size). To prevent charges from accumulating at the tips, try to avoid sharp corners when designing
touch electrodes.
Figure 24. Electrode shapes for self-mode
5.1.2 Electrode design for mutual-cap mode
Mutual key is used to connect the TX and RX channels of TSI. It detects whether the key is pressed by sensing the change of
mutual inductance capacitance between RX and TX. When designing the pattern of the mutual key, note that when the finger
touches the key, the electric field between RX and TX can be affected to the greatest extent.
is the recommended mutual key shape. The electrode of TX wraps the electrode of RX, which can prevent RX from being
affected by noise. The number of finger has much impact on the touch sensitivity. In general, more fingers result in stronger noise
immunity but less touch sensitivity. Customer must select the right finger numbers for the thickness of touch overlay. For example,
if the touch overlay is 3 mm in thickness, four fingers are the best choice. If the touch overlay is 2 mm in thickness, five fingers
are OK.
Figure 25. Electrode shapes for mutual mode
5.2 PCB trace routing
The following are recommendations for correctly routing the traces of capacitive electrodes.
• Width — Keep traces width as thin as possible. 5 - 7 mil trace is recommended. A 5-mil trace has half the capacitive
coupling with the planes compared to a 10 mil trace.
NXP Semiconductors
Hardware design guide
KE17Z Dual TSI User Guide, Rev. 0, 05 May 2022
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