Date: 01/11/2011

Resistive touch screen controller ICs with pinch and stretch recognition

Semtech Corp has announced the, the SX8674/75/76/77/78 multi-touch resistive touchscreen controllers which bring pinch and stretch gesture recognition to the Semtech 4D-Touch platform. Semtech says it is the first to provide standard resistive panels with proximity sensing and Multi-touch support giving manufactures the opportunity to upgrade their existing platforms with the popular zoom-in/zoom-out gesture in picture viewer, internet browsing, and gaming applications.

The proprietary touch-sensing circuitry in the SX867X devices is capable of supporting various common multi-touch gestures such as pinch, stretch and rotation on any 4-wire analog resistive touch screen. Immersion Corp. has certified the SX8677 and SX8678 as optimal motor drivers for its TouchSense 3000 software suite of haptic waveforms available to all customers via an Immersion license.

Key Features of SX8651/53/74/75/76/77/78
Low-power operation
SX8651/53: 1.65V to 3.7V
SX8674/75/76/77/78: 2.3V to 3.6V
30uA @ 2.3V 8ksps
0.4uA shut-down current
4/5-wire touchscreen interface with programmable digital filtering/averaging
Multi-touch gesture support on regular 4-wire resistive touchscreen
Fully integrated, programmable proximity sensing (SX8674/76/77) with greater than 5cm detection distance
Built-in haptics driver for LRA and ERM (SX8674/75/77/78)
On-chip ESD protection up to ±15kV
Ultra small footprint of 4mm x 4mm or smaller
Dedicated hardware reset pin
400kHz I²C interface / SPI (SX8653)

"Multi-touch gesture support is a very popular way to improve the user experience of many consumer electronic devices, and the SX867X devices allow manufacturers to deliver that functionality along with proximity detection and haptics control in a single tiny footprint," said Sam Massih, Product Line Director, Consumer Analog Products for Semtech. "Coupled that with the ultra low power consumption and robust on-chip ESD protection, these complete touch sensing devices will enable OEMs to enhance the user experience in their next generation consumer products without adding any significant cost to the enabling electronics or panels."

The SX8674/75/76/77/78 which are all offered in space-saving 2.07mm x 2.07mm 19-WLCSP as well as 4mm x 4mm 20-QFN packages while the touch only version SX8651 and SX8653 come in a small 1.46mm x 1.96mm 12- WLCSP and 3mm x 3mmm 12-DFN (4mm x 3mm 14-DFN for SX8653). Semtech guarantees all of these devices to operate over the extended (-40°C to +85°C) temperature range.

Applications as per Semtech include:
Automotive: A/V Module
Cell Phone/Smart Phone: Touchscreen controller
MP3 Player: Touchscreen controller
Digital Camera: Touchscreen controller
Notebook PC, Tablet PC, Netbook PC: Touch controller
Laser Printer: Touchscreen controller

Pricing and Availability: The SX8651/53/74/75/76/77/78 are available in production quantities and come in WLCSP and QFN/DFN packages. Per unit pricing (10,000-unit volume) ranges from $0.88 for the SX8651 to $1.62 for the SX8677.

For more information visit: www.semtech.com