Cypress Semiconductor has unveiled what it calls a 'breakthrough' feature for its Gen4 TrueTouch touchscreen controllers that dramatically improves system performance without added cost. It has developed a new proprietary technology based on Gen4’s patent-pending high-voltage Tx drivers.  Tx-Boost extends Gen4’s performance leadership by delivering three times higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) than previously possible.

This has been done without using performance-robbing digital filters or external components, enabling production of the industry’s thinnest handsets and tablets with low material costs. High SNR is key to touchscreen performance.

Cypress claimed Gen4 delivers up to four times the raw SNR than its competition through its internally generated 10V Tx circuitry; whereas competitive offerings require customers to use large, expensive, and noisy external switching regulators to generate high-voltage Tx signaling.

The Tx-Boost feature, available on all TrueTouch Gen4 devices, uses specialized hardware acceleration to triple the already best-in-class SNR of the Gen4 family. This high SNR enables manufacturers to employ sensor-on-lens with direct lamination to displays and in-cell architectures with flawless performance for the thinnest products in the market.

Tx-Boost efficiently parallelizes multiple operations in hardware, without burdening the CPU with costly digital filtering, increasing Gen4’s scan speed, making the world’s fastest touchscreen controller even faster. These parallel operations also further improve Gen4’s power consumption by increasing the amount of idle time during each scan period.

“We understand that touchscreen customers are in highly competitive markets and need constantly improving technology to stay ahead," said Dhwani Vyas, Vice President of Cypress’s User Interface Business Unit.