Date: 11/08/2010

Actuator controller for piezo and polymer actuators in touch enabled devices from Maxim

Maxim has released the MAX11836, a TacTouch haptic actuator controller for single-/multilayer piezo actuators and electroactive polymers (EAPs) in touch-enabled devices. The MAX11836 adds drive/sense circuitry for connecting up to four external force-sense resistors (FSRs) to measure touch pressure. FSRs with a capacitive touch-screen controller (C-TSC) helps avoid false touches. The MAX11836 is suitalbe for cell phones, portable media players, digital photo frames, multifunction printers, digital still/video cameras, point-of-sale (POS) terminals, e-readers, tablet PCs, and notebooks.

The MAX11836 features built-in storage of user-defined haptic patterns, playout logic, output-configurable DC-DC conversion, and output drivers for highly capacitive loads. This integration enables the device to drive a wide range of haptic actuators, such as single- or multilayer piezo actuators. The device's internal boost converter supports actuators from 10V to 250V.

Maxim claims While other solutions require the host processor to store the haptic waveforms and perform playout in real time to a discrete DC-DC conversion/driver circuit, the MAX11836 only requires a low-voltage supply and a serial I²C interface to the host processor. The host processor downloads user-defined haptic patterns at power-up through the serial interface. During operation, playout from on-chip memory is triggered in one of three ways: through a serial interface command, through the built-in touch-detect function, or through a proprietary single-wire link (MAX11835) that is compatible with other Maxim products. This single-wire interface determines the trigger instant and identifies which waveform from up to sixteen patterns can be simultaneously stored in on-chip memory.
Compared to other solutions, the benefit of Maxim's haptic solutions is a near-zero-latency haptic output, as there is no delay added due to the operating system running on the host processor. This provides a natural touch feeling, even when the user is typing fast on a multitouch touch-screen keyboard, says Maxim.

Package: Ultra-small, 1.6mm x 1.6mm, 25-bump wafer-level package (WLP).

Price: Starts at US$1.65

Availability: Now