Mark Lee
Cypress Semiconductor

Adopting capacitive sensing as an interface technology in high-volume, high-visibility applications such as portable media players and mobile handsets has created demand for this technology in more conventional consumer electronics. This demand has led to significant innovation, and several competitive technologies are available. While these technologies each have their respective differences, the underlying principle is the measurement of capacitance between a plate (the sensor) and its environment. Compared to modules and fixed-function ICs, programmable ICs allow more flexibility in design as custom code is used to develop solutions. PSoC CapSense combines a microcontroller, configurable digital and analog resources, on-board memory, and other features that allow flexibility in capacitive system design. This application note gives an overview of best practices for CapSense design.