Ultra-low power capacitive sensing solution for multi-sense applications

Infineon Technologies AG has released the PSoC 4000T family of MCUs. This new MCU family delivers a best-in-class low-power capacitive sensing solution with outstanding SNR, liquid tolerance, multi-sense capabilities, and the highest reliability and robustness.

These MCUs expand the PSoC 4 product family of Arm Cortex-M0+-based MCUs, providing the company's fifth-generation high-performance CAPSENSE capacitive sensing technology. The current technology generation provides ten times higher SNR performance and ten times lower power consumption than earlier generations and competing solutions.

The solution provides an always-on touch sensing capability that allows HMI operation with low active and standby power consumption to support longer battery life for battery-powered products. Designers can now use a wide range of sensing support from the solution, including proximity, humidity, temperature, and ambient light sensing. The fifth-generation CAPSENSE technology allows interactive user interfaces for applications using proximity gestures, capacitive sliders, capacitive trackpads, small-size touchscreens, wear detection, and liquid-level sensing.

"At Infineon, we are committed to providing innovative and cutting-edge technologies that meet the evolving needs of our customers," said Steven Tateosian, senior vice president, IoT, Compute and Wireless Business Unit of Infineon. "The PSoC 4000T, including our fifth generation CAPSENSE technology, represents a significant leap forward in the evolution of human-machine interfaces and sets a new standard in the industry."

The device family offers an easy upgrade path for PSoC 4000- and PSoC 4000S-based designs to use the advanced fifth-generation CAPSENSE via software and package compatibility. The series targets low-power applications, including wearable, hearable, and smart-connected IoT devices.

The company's ModusToolbox software platform provides a collection of development tools, libraries, and embedded runtime assets for a flexible and comprehensive development experience. It integrates the series in the latest software release. ModusToolbox supports many use cases, including consumer IoT, industrial, smart home, wearable, and other applications.

The family is now offered with 15 variants. To perfectly match customers' needs, the MCU can be ordered in SG-XFWLB-25, PG-USON16, and PG-VQFN-24 packages, with either 24 or 48MHz, 32 or 64kByte Flash, and 4 or 8kByte SRAM.