Atmel Outs maXTouch S Series Touchscreen Controllers

It appears that Atmel has just made it possible for multitouch screens to be even more versatile and intuitive, having created the maXTouch S controller line.

Though people may not pay much mind to them directly, all those processors that handle touch commands on today's screens have to come from somewhere.

Atmel is the company that manufactures such things for the majority of items on sale today.

Its newest announcement was made not too long ago, its purpose being to notify the world that there are three new maXTouch S chips in existence now: mXT224S, mXT336S and mXT1664S.

“The introduction of the maXTouch S Series represents a major milestone for Atmel and a fundamental redefinition of how touchscreen design can be accomplished,” said Peter Jones, vice president of the microcontroller and touch business unit, Atmel Corporation.

“Designers of industry-leading touch interface products will no longer have to compromise on touchscreen performance and extreme functionality because of system noise.”

The mXT224S is a 224-node controller made for smartphones, digital cameras and other gadgets with 3.5 to 4.3-inch displays.

Meanwhile, the 336-node mXT336S grants high-precision touch support to larger phones (4.3 to 5.5-inch screens).

Finally, the mXT1664S is a 32-bit solution for tablets and other items (it supports panels with diagonals of 10.1 to 17 inches).

“Freed from previous constraints, design engineers now have a technology platform with which they can unleash their creativity and integrate touch interfaces into a new breed of mobile products that will delight consumers. 2012 will be a very exciting time for Atmel and for the industry as a whole,” stated Jones.

Atmel's latests sensors support the 1mm maXStylus active stylus with multiSense functionality (high precision, simultaneous touch and stylus input).

Finally, since the controllers possess fully parallelized touch sensor scanning, they have the highest report rates in the industry (or so Atmel claims) and overall better finger-tracking precision, linearity and rejection of unwanted touches (improved touch-processing algorithms).

With samples already shipping, mass production should start by the end of the quarter (Q1, 2012). Atmel will demonstrate the chips at CES as well.