Touch Controllers For Large And Curved Car Displays

The touch controllers enable touch on large, curved, and shaped car displays, overcoming challenges from thin designs, many touch electrodes, and display noise.

Automakers are transforming the driving experience with smart cockpit designs incorporating large displays and advanced technologies like OLEDs and microLEDs. However, these innovations create challenges for capacitive touch sensing due to thinner stack-ups and a higher number of touch electrodes. Microchip Technology has introduced the ATMXT3072M1 and ATMXT2496M1 touchscreen controllers to address this, providing reliable touch solutions for automotive HMI designers. 

These single-chip controllers support up to 112 reconfigurable touch channels—or 162 in ultra-wide mode—enabling touch functionality on large, curved, and free-form displays up to 20 inches (16:9) and 34 inches (7:1).

– Advertisement –

On-cell OLED displays, which embed touch electrodes, face challenges like higher capacitive loads and stronger display noise coupling, increasing the risk of false or missed touches. As part of the maXTouch® family, these new controllers use Microchip’s Smart Mutual touch acquisition method and algorithms to improve touch Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) by up to +15 dB over the previous generation.

These touch controllers feature upgradable firmware, which can be updated by the vehicle’s main computer and verified using an integrated authentication feature based on the SHA-512 cryptographic hash function. This ensures secure Over-the-Air (OTA) updates in line with ISO 21434:2021 cybersecurity standards.

The touchscreen controller supports this with dedicated features like the Shape Event Trigger and automated pattern Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), enabling ultra-low-latency haptic control by shifting decision-making and waveform generation from the main processor to the touchscreen controller.

“The size and appearance of automotive cockpit displays can significantly influence a buyer’s perception of the vehicle’s technological sophistication. However, integrating reliable touch functionality into advanced displays can present significant challenges,” said Patrick Johnson, senior corporate vice president overseeing Microchip’s human-machine interface division. “Our ATMXT3072M1 and ATMXT2496M1 touchscreen controllers address these challenges with innovative sensing algorithms for fast and reliable touch performance. This enables automakers to design cutting-edge, visually stunning and user-friendly interfaces that enhance the driving experience and vehicle safety.”