Combo Handles Touch And Proximity Tasks

Oct. 21, 2009

Silicon Labs is making capacitive touch and promixity tasks easier to implement with its QuickSense portfolio. This includes the Si1120 infrared sensor and the C8051Fxx/C8051F8xx 8-bit microcontrollers. The micros include a 10-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) along with a capacitive sense unit for capacitive touch applications. The IR sensor is a high-sensitivity photodiode that can detect reflections up to 50 cm away. It can be combined with 850-nm IR LEDs in a linear fashion to implement a touchless slider. An L-shape demo board using three LEDs and one Si1120 provides 3D position and movement gesture sensing. The hardware/software combination has a fast response time and can shift modes quickly, allowing very low-power operation by switching to a high-accuracy mode when an object comes within range. The QuickSense Studio software handles sensing chores, including ambient light sensing.

Silicon Labs

www.silabs.com

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