Cypress Semiconductor introduced a Gen4 TrueTouch controller targeted at the tablet and ultrabook market. The CY8CTMA1036 device has 65 sense-I/Os, enabling it to deliver flawless touchscreen performance for screens up to 12 inches. CY8CTMA1036 uses a 32-bit ARM Cortex core, and offers 65 sensing I/O channels with support for up to 1036 nodes on the screen, 35 percent more than any other single-chip solution. Additional sensing channels are essential for greater accuracy, linearity, support for smaller sized fingers and the ability to resolve multiple fingers close together.

The touchscreen IC delivers built-in 10V Tx to drive the touch panel at 10V. Gen4’s Display Armor offers immunity to noise from every type of display, even noisy low-cost displays such as ACVCOM LCDs. This allows touchscreen designers to make their products thinner by removing the air gap between the display and the sensor, and also less expensive by removing the shield layer in the sensor. Display Armor allows Gen4 to operate seamlessly with direct lamination, on-cell and in-cell stackups, regardless of the display chemistry.

The platform offers an active power consumption of 2mW, and a deep sleep mode that draws 1.8 Microwatt with wake-up via address match on the COM port. Shortened battery life is a common issue for smartphones and other portable touchscreen devices. The product family boasts the refresh rate of 400Hz, and has the ability to scan a capacitive touch panel at 1,000Hz.

It offers waterproofing functionality that allows products to meet IP-67 standards; 1-mm stylus support for Asian character sets and accurate handwriting capture; and hover sensing to provide mouseover-like features and true fingernail or thick-glove support in mobile devices. Cypress’s ability to switch dynamically between self-capacitive and mutual-capacitive sensing methods in application enables these differentiating features.