OREANDA-NEWS. During the ISSCC 2016 (International Solid-State Circuits Conference), Sharp Corporation received an ISSCC 2015 Demonstration Session Certificate of Recognition for a touch-panel system and stylus accessory*5 the company demonstrated at last year's conference. Selected papers presented at the conference receive ISSCC awards in recognition of outstanding achievements in technology and research, based on content exhibited and demonstrated at the conference.

In December 2012, Sharp developed a touch-panel system that employs a unique parallel drive method*6 for detecting and processing multi-point input. This touch-panel system can recognize up to 50 touch points at once. In February 2015, Sharp developed an active stylus*7 with built-in circuitry that links with this touch-panel system. This development enables the touch-panel to recognize individual styluses. Multiple styluses can be used at the same time to write text and draw lines of varying colors and thicknesses on the screen. A paper on this subject was adopted at ISSCC 2015.

During ISSCC 2015, Sharp showed off the touch-panel system using multiple styluses and a 20-inch display. The company demonstrated the system's ability to handle simultaneous handwritten input of text as well as lines of varying colors and thicknesses. It also showed how one stylus could be used to select and erase portions of handwritten text and lines. Sharp's winning of the ISSCC award reflects the positive responses it received for enabling smooth and comfortable handwritten onscreen input.

Sharp will actively promote the touch-panel system for use in a wide variety of applications, including in tablet devices, notebook PCs, and interactive whiteboards. In so doing, Sharp will contribute to the widespread use of touch-panel displays incorporating this new handwritten input system.

Award Received

  • ISSCC 2015 Demonstration Session Certificate of Recognition

Awarded Presentation

  • "A 240 Hz-Reporting-Rate Mutual-Capacitance Touch-Sensing Analog Front-End Enabling Multiple Active/Passive Styluses with 41 dB/32 dB SNR for 0.5 mm Diameter"

ISSCC 2016

?Venue: San Francisco, United States
?Date: January 31 (Sunday) to February 4 (Thursday), 2016
  • *1 This system enables touch operation when installed on liquid crystal displays, etc.
  • *2 ISSCC 2015 Demonstration Session Certificate of Recognition.
  • *3 Sharp also won a Demonstration Session Award for its touch-panel system at ISSCC 2014. (Announced by Sharp on February 24, 2015.)
  • *4 The International Solid-State Circuits Conference is the world's largest international conference on semiconductor technologies and integrated circuits.
  • *5 A conductive pen-shaped instrument used for inputting to touch-panel displays.
  • *6 Sharp's unique method for simultaneously driving the processes of multiple touch sensors. Enables high-sensitivity performance (S/N rate) compared to standard sequential drive methods that detect sensors line by line. (Announced by Sharp on December 10, 2012.)
  • *7 A high-function stylus with a barrel featuring buttons that can be assigned various input functions.