Four-channel capacitance to digital converter facilitates contactless sensing

Aimed facilitating the implementation of contactless capacitive sensing solutions, Texas Instruments’ low-cost FDC1004 high-resolution low-power four-channel capacitance-to-digital converter is now available from Farnell element14. Capacitive sensing with grounded capacitor sensors can be applied to a variety of applications ranging from proximity detection and gesture sensing to material analysis and remote liquid level sensing. The sensor in a capacitive sensing system is any metal or conductor, allowing for low cost and highly flexible system design. Each channel on the FDC1004 has a full scale range of ±15pF and can handle a sensor offset capacitance of up to 100pF, which can be either programmed internally or can be an external capacitor for tracking environmental changes over time and temperature. It has a large offset capacitance capability, which enables the use of remote sensors. The FDC1004 also includes drivers for sensor shields, which can reduce EMI interference and help focus the sensing direction of a capacitive sensor. It is available in a 10-pin WSON package, offering a small footprint, and features an I2C interface for interfacing to an MCU.