Touchscreen controllers support displays up to 10.1in

Atmel Corp. has announced additional devices to expand its maXTouch U series of touchscreen controllers. According to the company, the devices enable virtually any touchscreen from 1.2in to 10.1in to deliver remarkable touch performance and ultra-low power in various form factors.

The six devices leverage the company's proprietary picoPower technology. Designers can now build innovative thin and flexible touchscreen designs using single layer, on-cell and hybrid in-cell touchscreens with intelligent wake-up gestures and buttons, said Atmel. The latest solutions support touchscreens for applications ranging from wearables to entry-level smartphones, super phones and tablets on a full range of stack-ups including on-cell and hybrid in-cell.

Atmel maXTouch U series

With the proliferation of touchscreens over the last five years, there has been a continued need to develop touchscreens with extremely high touch performance, ultra-low power and more sophisticated industrial designs with thinner screens. Furthermore, the anticipated growth of the wearables market has created a demand for extremely small touchscreen controllers with ultra-low power consumption in tiny packaging.

Atmel's portfolio of maXTouch U series addresses all the requirements for next-generation touchscreens and is built from the ground up with the company's proven ultra-low power MCU and leading touch technology. The portfolio of devices support differentiated features for a variety of touchscreen applications including 1mm passive stylus, water rejection with stylus operation, multi-finger glove touch, up to 20mm hover and ultra-low power modes.

According to the company, the mXT735U is the perfect device for the entry level tablet delivering robust moisture support and excellent noise immunity for touchscreens up to 10.1in. The mXT640U supports touchscreens up to 6in. This device supports 1mm passive stylus support and thin stack support including 0.4mm cover lens for GFF stack, up to 25mm hover detection and moisture resistance. The mXT416U delivers extremely high touch performance including 2.5mm passive stylus, excellent moisture support, noise immunity and up to 30mm large finger touch detection.

In addition, the mXT336U is targeted for mid-range smartphone applications, delivering a perfect balance between performance and form factor. The mXT308U is targeted for low-end smartphone applications emphasising simplicity and robustness. The mXT144U is designed specifically for wearable applications. It features picoPower with 10μW in deep sleep mode and is the smallest hybrid sensing touchscreen controller packaged in a 2.5mm x 2.6mm WLCSP.

All maXTouch U devices are sampling. Production quantities for the mXT735U, mXT640U and mXT416U will be available in 3Q15, and early 4Q15 for the mXT336U, mXT308 and mXT144U.