PenMount projected capacitive (PCAP) touch products are industry leaders in noise immunity.  This month, PenMount Bulletin will finish our look at environmental noise immunity with the conducted susceptibility (CS) standard.  Conducted susceptibility testing consists of introducing 150kHz ~ 80MHz noise interference to simulate interference generated by other devices affecting the touch panel through a regular utility power grid.  The test determines where functionality is affected.

Since PCAP touch controller operating frequencies of 150kHz ~ 200kHz fall into the above interference range, if the controller’s anti-noise capabilities are poor, it will be affected by noise.  Commercial specifications must meet the IEC 61000-4-6 conducted susceptibility (CS) standard at 3V and industrial specifications must meet CS 10V.

Every PCAP touch manufacturer must find a suitable solution to mitigate conducted interference and meet relevant standards.  The easiest way to do this is to increase operating voltage.  Every time drive voltage is doubled, noise interference is halved.  Currently, the controllers that claim to meet CS 10V employ drive voltages of 35V.  However, increasing drive voltage comes with inherent disadvantages.  The most obvious is a reduction of EMI properties in relation to causing interference in other systems.  Second, the paired touch panel must be specially produced to prevent the higher voltage affecting touch panel lifespan.

PenMount utilizes a different solution. PenMount firmware’s proprietary frequency hopping can detect noise frequency and quickly switch to the most suitable frequency hopping mode.  In addition, enabling PenMount’s “enhanced driving” can eliminate higher voltage interference and enabling “enhanced frequency” can broadening the frequency range of noise immunity.

A standard PenMount PCAP control broad with 18V drive paired with standard PenMount Firmware 6.1.0, can pass the IEC 61000-4-6 conducted susceptibility (CS) standard at 15V.  This feature is very useful for our industrial and medical customers who require added noise immunity due to demanding application environments.  In comparison, our peers can only achieve CS 10V or 12V with after-market components.

The PenMount team’s extensive experience in resolving noise interference issues has led to a number of success stories involving industrial and medical motors.  The common characteristics of a working motor are high voltage and square wave interference.  The noise produced by motors normally reach 20V or more and are square wave frequency multipliers that generate difficult to process noise.  PenMount overcame these challenges using our advanced frequency hopping architecture and this solution has been successfully used on CNC motors and reclining medical chairs.

To learn more about PenMount’s industry leading noise immunity, please contact our sales representatives.

You are welcomed to download all of PenMount’s standard product data and drivers directly from our website at: //www.salt.com.tw and //www.PenMount.com.

If you have any suggestions or comments please send e-mail to: salt@salt.com.tw .