Device/Circuit Mixed-Mode Simulations for Analysis and Design of Projected-Capacitive Touch Sensors

A device/circuit mixed-mode simulation method is proposed to effectively characterize the physical effects of the structure parameters and external noise signals on the sensing performance of projected-capacitive touch sensor devices for physical explanation and optimal design in touch screen applications. With this method, the electrostatic characteristics of the intrinsic capacitive sensor structure were obtained by numerical simulations, and then embedded into the circuit simulation environment to predict the resulted sensing performance. A single-layer mutual capacitance structure sensor device sample was fabricated to verify the simulation method. The related physical mechanisms during the touching procedure were analyzed with the simulation method, which was in agreement with the experimental measurement results.