SNOA961A February   2017  – February 2023 LDC2112 , LDC2114 , LDC3114 , LDC3114-Q1

 

  1.   Inductive Touch System Design Guide for HMI Button Applications
  2. 1Mechanical Design
    1. 1.1 Theory of Operation
    2. 1.2 Button Construction
    3. 1.3 Mechanical Deflection
    4. 1.4 Mechanical Factors that Affect Sensitivity
      1. 1.4.1 Target Material Selection
        1. 1.4.1.1 Material Stiffness
        2. 1.4.1.2 Material Conductivity
      2. 1.4.2 Button Geometry
      3. 1.4.3 Spacing Between Target and Sensor
    5. 1.5 Layer Stacks of Touch Buttons
      1. 1.5.1 Conductive Surface
      2. 1.5.2 Non-Conductive Surface
    6. 1.6 Sensor Mounting Reference
    7. 1.7 Sensor Mounting Techniques
      1. 1.7.1 Adhesive-Based
      2. 1.7.2 Spring-Based
      3. 1.7.3 Slot-Based
    8. 1.8 Mechanical Isolation
  3. 2Sensor Design
    1. 2.1 Overview
      1. 2.1.1 Sensor Electrical Parameters
      2. 2.1.2 Sensor Frequency
      3. 2.1.3 Sensor RP and RS
      4. 2.1.4 Sensor Inductance
      5. 2.1.5 Sensor Capacitance
      6. 2.1.6 Sensor Quality Factor
    2. 2.2 Inductive Touch
    3. 2.3 LDC211x/LDC3114 Design Boundary Conditions
    4. 2.4 Sensor Physical Construction
      1. 2.4.1 Sensor Physical Size
      2. 2.4.2 Sensor Capacitor Position
      3. 2.4.3 Shielding INn traces
      4. 2.4.4 Shielding Capacitance
      5. 2.4.5 CCOM Sizing
      6. 2.4.6 Multi-Layer Design
        1. 2.4.6.1 Sensor Parasitic Capacitance
      7. 2.4.7 Sensor Spacers
      8. 2.4.8 Sensor Stiffener
      9. 2.4.9 Racetrack Inductor Shape
    5. 2.5 Example Sensor
  4. 3Summary
  5. 4Revision History

2.4.7 Sensor Spacers

Maintaining a consistent separation (gap) between the sensor and the target is critical to ensure effective sensing. The system design feature which provides this is the spacer.

GUID-254C44D6-7B61-4452-B01F-7E400379EC72-low.pngFigure 2-10 Spacer Thickness and Width

Typical spacer thicknesses range from 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm, depending on the sensor geometry and sensor electrical parameters. In general, thinner spacers provide better performance, provided the sensor electrical characteristics are within the LDC211x/LDC3114 boundary conditions. Setting the spacer thickness to less than 10% of the coil diameter (for a rectangular or elliptical shaped sensor, 10% of the shorter side) generally provides optimum performance.

GUID-9530C6A1-7916-43C5-B5ED-5C7CE654A61A-low.pngFigure 2-11 Measurement Sensitivity vs Target Distance

Wider spacers may be needed when an adhesive is used to attach the sensor to the target surface, to provide a stronger attachment to the target.