Capacitive sensing with grounded capacitor sensors is a very low-power, low-cost,
high-resolution contact-less sensing technique that can be applied to a variety of applications
ranging from proximity sensing and gesture recognition 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.
The FDC1004Q is a high-resolution, AEC-Q100 qualified, 4-channel capacitance-to-digital
converter for implementing capacitive sensing solutions. Each channel has a full scale range of ±15
pF and can handle a sensor offset capacitance of up to 100 pF, which can be either programmed
internally or can be an external capacitor for tracking environmental changes over time and
temperature. The large offset capacitance capability allows for the use of remote sensors.
The FDC1004Q also includes shield drivers for sensor shields, which can reduce EMI
interference and help focus the sensing direction of a capacitive sensor. The small footprint of
the FDC1004Q allows for use in space-constrained applications. The FDC1004Q is available in a
10-pin VSSOP package, which allows for optical inspection in production, and features an
I2C interface for interfacing to an MCU.