Microchip Announces Analog Resistive USB Touchscreen Controller

Provided as a turnkey chip or board product with free drivers supporting most major operating systems

Microchip Technology (Country Manager for Korea: Byung-Don Han), a global specialist in microcontroller, analog, and flash IP solutions, today introduced the mTouch™ AR1100 analog resistive USB touchscreen controller. Based on the AR1000 analog resistive touchscreen controller series, the AR1100 controller is a high-performance USB plug-and-play device that provides advanced calibration features such as a USB mouse or single-input digitizer. This new controller is supplied as a turnkey chip or board product supporting all 4-/5-/8-wire touchscreens, along with free drivers available for most major operating systems (OS). The AR1100 is an ideal solution for customers seeking a drop-in controller that supports the entire standard resistive portfolio.

Touch input is rapidly establishing itself as a standard user interface. Among these, resistive touch technology is characterized by ease of integration and low total system costs. Additionally, it offers the advantage of supporting input whether using bare hands, gloved hands, or a stylus pen, making it suitable for applications such as medical devices, industrial controls, handwriting or signature capture, and other touch input mechanisms. Furthermore, USB communication is the industry standard for connecting computers and peripherals. The AR1100 is a touchscreen controller that addresses all these requirements as a single-chip solution and is easy to integrate. In addition, it features advanced calibration options for alignment and linearization, providing excellent accuracy for 4-/5-/8-wire touchscreens and enabling highly accurate button presses in applications where tight space is a major design challenge.

Steve Drehobl, Vice President of Microchip’s Security, Microcontroller, and Technology Development business unit, stated, “We are pleased to introduce the advanced features of the AR1100 USB resistive touchscreen controller chip and board. Based on the AR1000 series, the AR1100 enables customers to easily integrate low-cost, high-performance resistive touch solutions through the benefits of USB plug-and-play. Additionally, with free drivers supporting most major operating systems included, designers can rapidly create low-failure touch interface solutions for a wide range of applications across the resistive touch market.”

In addition to the AR1100 controller, Microchip also announced the AR1000 analog resistive touchscreen controller, which supports a full suite of drivers including drivers for Windows® CE, Linux, and Android™ operating systems, an operating voltage as low as 2.0V, and a new mass production pricing policy. The new AR1000 is a turnkey analog resistive touch controller aimed at low-cost embedded applications using I2C™, SPI, or UART communication.

supply
The AR1100 controller is currently supplied in 20-pin SOIC, SSOP, and QFN packages based on a quantity of 10,000 units. Additionally, it can be supplied as a board product when ordered in mass production quantities. The mTouch AR1100 Development Kit (part number: DV102012) includes an AR1100 production PCB, a USB cable, and a 5-wire analog resistive touchscreen, enabling designers to quickly connect and test this advanced touchscreen controller. Controller samples are currently available for order at http://www.microchip.com/get/055H , and all products are available for purchase at microchipDIRECT ( http://www.microchip.com/get/2EVP ).
More detailed information is available by contacting a Microchip sales representative or an authorized distributor worldwide, or by visiting the Microchip website ( http://www.microchip.com/get/08XT ). The products mentioned in this press release can be purchased by visiting Microchip Direct or by contacting an authorized Microchip distributor partner.