TSC2007
www.ti.com
SBAS405–MARCH 2007
LAYOUT
The following layout suggestions should obtain optimum performance from the TSC2007. However, many
portable applications have conflicting requirements for power, cost, size, and weight. In general, most portable
devices have fairly clean power and grounds because most of the internal components are very low power. This
situation would mean less bypassing for the converter power and less concern regarding grounding. Still, each
situation is unique and the following suggestions should be reviewed carefully.
For optimum performance, care should be taken with the physical layout of the TSC2007 circuitry. The basic
SAR architecture is sensitive to glitches or sudden changes on the power supply, reference, ground
connections, and digital inputs that occur just prior to latching the output of the analog comparator. Therefore,
during any single conversion for an n-bit SAR converter, there are n windows in which large external transient
voltages can easily affect the conversion result. Such glitches might originate from switching power supplies,
nearby digital logic, and high power devices. The degree of error in the digital output depends on the reference
voltage, layout, and the exact timing of the external event. The error can change if the external event changes in
time with respect to the SCL input.
With this in mind, power to the TSC2007 should be clean and well bypassed. A 0.1µF ceramic bypass capacitor
should be placed as close to the device as possible. In addition, a 1µF to 10µF capacitor may also be needed if
the impedance of the connection between VDD/REF and the power supply is high.
A bypass capacitor is generally not needed on the VDD/REF pin because the internal reference is buffered by
an internal op amp. If an external reference voltage originates from an op amp, make sure that it can drive any
bypass capacitor that is used without oscillation.
The TSC2007 architecture offers no inherent rejection of noise or voltage variation in regards to using an
external reference input, which is of particular concern when the reference input is tied to the power supply. Any
noise and ripple from the supply will appear directly in the digital results. While high-frequency noise can be
filtered out, voltage variation due to line frequency (50Hz or 60Hz) can be difficult to remove. Some package
options have pins labeled as VOID. Avoid any active trace going under those pins marked as VOID unless they
are shielded by a ground or power plane.
The GND pin should be connected to a clean ground point. In many cases, this point will be the analog ground.
Avoid connections that are too near the grounding point of a microcontroller or digital signal processor. If
needed, run a ground trace directly from the converter to the power-supply entry or battery connection point. The
ideal layout includes an analog ground plane dedicated to the converter and associated analog circuitry.
In the specific case of use with a resistive touch screen, care should be taken with the connection between the
converter and the touch screen. Since resistive touch screens have fairly low resistance, the interconnection
should be as short and robust as possible. Loose connections can be a source of error when the contact
resistance changes with flexing or vibrations.
As indicated previously, noise can be a major source of error in touch-screen applications (for example,
applications that require a back-lit LCD panel). This electromagnetic interfence (EMI) noise can be coupled
through the LCD panel to the touch screen and cause flickering of the converted ADC data. Several things can
be done to reduce this error, such as using a touch screen with a bottom-side metal layer connected to ground,
which will couple the majority of noise to ground. Additionally, filtering capacitors, from Y+, Y–, X+, and X– to
ground, can also help. Note, however, that the use of these capacitors increases screen settling time and
requires a longer time for panel voltages to stabilize. The resistor value varies depending on the touch screen
sensor used. The PENIRQ pullup resistor (RIRQ) may be adequate for most of sensors.
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