Azoteq

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Azoteq
Type Privately held company
Industry Electrical engineering
Founded 1998
Founder(s) Frederick Bruwer
Headquarters Paarl, South Africa
Area served Worldwide
Products - Capacitive proximity and touch sensors,
- Intelligent switches
Website www.azoteq.com

Azoteq is a fabless semiconductor company specializing in capacitive proximity and touch solutions as well as intelligent LED switches.

Overview

Azoteq supplies capacitive controllers for proximity and touch buttons, trackpads, trackpads with proximity/touch/click functions and touchscreens. Azoteq also produces controllers for proximity gestures, proximity wake up (allowing mobile applications, such as remote controls, to sleep and save power until proximity is detected) and touch swipe gestures. The touchscreen controllers created by Azoteq can be paired with ITO or PEDOT sensors.[1][2]

ProxSense

ProxSense is a family capacitive controllers produced by Azoteq. The controllers enable proximity and touch sensing with very low power consumption (down to 3 µA). Other features include RF[3] and water immunity, RF noise detection, automatic tuning, AC noise filtering, on-chip regulator, and the integration of external components.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10]

The IQS550 Capacitive Touch Screen Controller was the first device capable of interfacing with PEDOT (conductive polymer film made by Kodak), marking a change in the way touchscreen displays for handsets and tablet devices can be manufactured.[2]

Azoteq also offers CAPacitive Pressure Only (CAPPO) proximity and touch sensors (by adding a metal top layer). The advantages of CAPPO over traditional capacitive sensing are touch detection with gloves, higher RF immunity, elimination of false detections, Braille-friendly touch sensing and water immunity.[11]

LightSense

LightSense is a family of intelligent LED switches produced by Azoteq, as alternatives to electro-mechanical switches. LightSense provides automatic switch-off (time-based), brightness selection, strobe functions and temperature control.[4]

History

Azoteq was founded in 1998, by Dr. Frederick Bruwer. The company's first products were intended for intelligent LED lighting control. Applications for Azoteq's intelligent LED switches include headlamps, flashlights, sport equipment (like Black Diamond Equipment or Princeton Technology), automotive interior lighting, battery-operated toothbrushes etc.[1]

In 2004, the company started to develop the ProxSense capacitive proximity and touch technology and launched the first products in 2009. Azoteq's ProxSense can be found in PC tablets, MP3 players, Blu-Ray players, televisions, remote controls, iPod docking stations, GPS’s and others. Azoteq's ProxSense is the most sensitive and offers the highest signal to noise ratio of any capacitive technology on the market today.[1]

In 2011, Azoteq signed an exclusive global distribution partnership with Mouser Electronics.[12]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lise Beyers (2012-02-02). "Headquarters of leading technology in Paarl". Paarl Post. Retrieved 2013-12-02. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Ismini Scouras (2013-01-31). "Kodak demonstrates power of new transparent conductive films". PrintedElectronicsWorld.com. Retrieved 2013-12-02. 
  3. ↑ "Azoteq Provides Solutions for Cell Phones and Tablet Computers to Meet FCC SAR Regulations". Consumerelectronicsnet.com. 2011-08-01. Retrieved 2013-12-02. 
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Technology: Capacitive Sensors & Sensing". Azoteq. Retrieved 2013-12-02. 
  5. ↑ Ismini Scouras (2011-09-29). "Azoteq IQS243 capacitive sensor controller". EETimes. Retrieved 2013-12-02. 
  6. ↑ Cheok Thng (2012-08-20). "Electrode design in capacitive touch sensor applications". EDN (magazine). Retrieved 2013-12-02. 
  7. ↑ "Azoteq IQS243 capacitive sensor controller". EETimes. 2011-09-29. Retrieved 2013-12-02. 
  8. ↑ J.D. van Wyk, M. Visser, and D.B. Rademeyer (2012-04-10). "A standards-based approach to capacitive-sensor EMC problems". EETimes. Retrieved 2013-12-02. 
  9. ↑ Alwyn Botha. "Develop touch electrodes for non-uniform surfaces". EETimes Asia. Retrieved 2013-12-02. 
  10. ↑ "Azoteq’s projected capacitive touchscreen is multi-touch". Embedded.com. 2013-10-02. Retrieved 2013-12-02. 
  11. ↑ "ProxSense Series - CAPPO Hardware Design". Retrieved 2013-12-04. 
  12. ↑ Julien Happich (2011-11-09). "Mouser and Azoteq team up in exclusive global agreement". EE Times. Retrieved 2013-12-02. 

External links

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