Microchip announces analog resistive USB touch-screen controller

BANGALORE, INDIA: Microchip Technology Inc. has launched the mTouch AR1100 Analog Resistive USB Touch-Screen Controller. Building upon the AR1000 Analog Resistive Touch-Screen Controller series, the AR1100 controller is a high-performance, USB plug-and-play device that offers advanced calibration capabilities as a USB mouse or single-input digitizer.

The new controller is available as a turnkey chip or board product, supporting all 4-/5-/8-wire touch screens, with free drivers for most major operating systems. The AR1100 is an ideal solution for customers who want a drop-in touch controller to universally support their entire standard resistive-touch portfolio.

Touch input is fast becoming a standard user interface. Resistive touch provides the advantages of easy integration, low total system cost and acceptance of finger, glove or stylus input, to meet the needs of applications such as medical devices, industrial controls, handwriting or signature capture, and other touch-input mechanisms. Additionally, USB communication is the industry standard for attaching peripherals to a computer.

The AR1100 is an easy-to-integrate touch-screen controller that meets all of these needs in a single-chip solution. It also features advanced calibration options for alignment and linearization, enabling superior accuracy for 4-, 5- and 8-wire touch screens, as well as highly accurate button pressing for critical applications with tight spacing.

"Microchip is pleased to announce the advanced capabilities of the AR1100 USB resistive touch-screen controller chip and board products," said Steve Drehobl, vice president of Microchip's Security, Microcontroller & Technology Development Division.

"The AR1100 builds upon the AR1000 series to enable customers to easily integrate low-cost, high-performance resistive touch solutions with the advantages of USB plug and play. Free drivers for most major operating systems enable designers to quickly create low-risk touch interface solutions with the AR1100 for a wide variety of applications across the broad resistive-touch market."

In addition to the AR1100 controller, Microchip announced enhancements to its AR1000 Analog Resistive Touch-Screen Controllers, with new high-volume market pricing, a full suite of drivers including those for the Windows CE, Linux and Android operating systems, and a new minimum operating voltage down to 2.0 V. The AR1000 is a turnkey analog resistive touch controller that targets low-cost embedded applications using I2C, SPI or UART communications.

The AR1100 controller is available in 20-pin SOIC, SSOP and QFN packages today in 10,000-unit quantities. The AR1100 is also available as a board product in production quantities. The mTouch AR1100 Development Kit (part # DV102012) includes an AR1100 production-ready PCB, with a USB cable and a 5-wire analog-resistive touch screen, enabling designers to quickly connect and test this advanced touch-screen controller.