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

Material Conductivity

The higher the conductivity of the target material, the more eddy currents are generated on the surface. This causes a stronger electromagnetic interaction with the sensor. Therefore, the conductivity of the material should be as high as possible, as this produces the largest inductance shift for a given target deflection. SS304 has a conductivity of 1.37x106 S/m, and aluminum has an even higher conductivity of 36.9x106 S/m.

In general, aluminum is an excellent material choice for inductive sensing because aluminum is both flexible and asserts a large inductance change on a sensing coil. Materials such as SS304, while not as optimal a material choice as aluminum, can also be used and provide robust results.