In-house ICs now available starting with a high-sensitivity capacitive sensor IC

Alps Alpine announced the commencement of external sales of ICs, formerly designed and developed only for internal use of in-house manufactured products, under the company's brand. As a first step, it has developed the HSLCMB series ICs incorporating a capacitance measurement circuit and 32-bit CPU to allow capacitive sensing with higher sensitivity and noise robustness than its conventional products and has commenced domestic and international promotions. The series is ideal for many applications, including touchless operation, automotive touch panels, and liquid-level sensors.

The signal-to-noise ratio is higher than conventional products, permitting for sensing distant objects. Smaller sensor electrodes can cover the same distance.

Even in a noisy environment due to surrounding devices, the signal-to-noise ratio is higher than that of conventional products. Automotive specifications can be fulfilled even in the vehicle cabin full of signals, such as road noise, engine noise, and radio waves.

The IC properly controls the guard electrodes supplied for shielding the parasitic capacitance of the sensor electrodes so that only the capacitance of the target can be sensed.

The sensor ICs that enable new input methods, such as proximity sensing and spatial gesture operation, can fulfil the 'contact-less operation' needs in medical practice areas, public institutions, and manufacturing sites.

Taking advantage of its high noise robustness and sensitivity, the series IC allows a user interface with touchless inputs in the vehicle cabin full of noise sources such as radio waves and motors.

The high sensitivity and noise robustness allowed contactless measurements outside a plastic tank. This needs no mechanical parts inside the tank, contributing to enhanced flexibility in the tank's shape.