What principle does B6T work on
	See the Detection Principle page.

	What level of capacitance can B6T detect
	See the Detection Principle page.

	Is it possible to mount the IC away from the electrode
	B6T is capable of detecting a change of a few pF. Preferably, the capacitance change should be 20 percent or larger with reference to the parasitic capacitance. For specific conditions, refer to the User Manual.

	What are the characteristics of B6T
	High sensitivity and reliability has been achieved in a compact package (multiple channels can be controlled with a single IC). Innovative ideas have been applied to the capacitance detection method and post processing (noise filtering). A design tool called Workbench is also provided that facilitates the incorporation of the IC in devices.

What is the maximum thickness of the insulating body, or the maximum detecting distance

It depends on conditions, including the size of the electrode. Although a larger electrode allows longer detecting distance, too large an electrode may not generate a sufficient change of capacitance. About the size of a finger is appropriate. If electrode size is 10-15 mm, glass should be about 4 mm thick and plastic about 2 mm. This difference in thickness is due to the difference between the dielectric constants of the two materials.

	Will a splash of water affect the operation of B6T
	Running water may cause a detection error but drops of water will not affect operation. An accumulation of water that causes the electrodes to short-circuit will lead to a detection error.

	Will oil affect the operation of B6T
	Oil does not cause a significant effect. However, if dust or dirt accumulates and it comes to contain moisture, it may gain conductivity, and this will affect operation adversely.

Is it possible to operate with a glove on

It may be made possible by adjusting sensitivity. However, this may pose problems including: Higher sensitivity is required than for bare hands, and this may be too sensitive for operation with a bare hand. Different gloves have different thicknesses, which makes it difficult to define the applicable thickness. Increasing to a very high sensitivity to allow operation with thick gloves may make the sensor vulnerable to noise.

What are the recommended values for electrode design

•Thinner and shorter wiring is preferable because wiring may add to parasitic capacitance and be affected by noise. •Having a ground in the vicinity may degrade sensitivity. Basically, make sure it is at least 2 mm away. •A ground or power supply line behind the electrode degrades sensitivity greatly. Avoid such wiring. •An overlapping signal line with a similar oscillating frequency (a few kHz to a few hundred kHz) may affect the system. •As general tendencies, an excessively small electrode decreases the absolute value of the capacitance change and an excessively large electrode degrades the rate of change.

	What materials can be used for the electrode
	Almost any conductor can be used including conductive rubber, print, metal plate or ITO.

Are there any limitations on the size and shape of the electrode

The shape does not affect sensitivity, which depends on the surface area of the part facing the object to be detected. Preferably, the detection electrode should have an area of about the same and up to double the size of the object to be detected from the viewpoint of sensitivity. The absolute value of the capacitance change tends to decrease if the electrode is too small and the rate of change tends to degrade if it is too large.

	Can aluminum be used
	Since aluminum is a conductive material, it cannot be used for panels in a configuration with an integrated aluminum panel containing more than one switch. It may be possible to use a whole unit as one switch depending on the configuration.

	Is it possible to use metallic or carbon paint
	Metallic or carbon paint contains metal powder or a carbon component, which imparts conductivity to the paint and makes it impossible to configure more than one switch on one panel. To use such paint, it is necessary to isolate the switch section electrically by masking the circumference of the switch, etc.

	Can B6T drive an LED directly
	It is possible but only up to 5mA. LEDs that consume more power require a separate driver.

	Which communication mode is used
	B6T uses the clock-synchronized serial communication mode, which is SPI-compliant.

	Will there be any variation in operation for different people
	Variation is smaller than with conventional induction (direct contact) types. It hardly affects operation whether the fingertip is wet or dry. Detection sensitivity depends on the surface areas of the electrode and the part of the finger facing the electrode. Accordingly, the way the sensor is touched has a greater effect on operation.

	Do aspects of the operating environment, such as humidity and location, affect operation
	Parasitic capacitance, which affects electrostatic capacitance, varies depending on the humidity and installation environment. B6T operation is not affected because it measures capacitance constantly and regards moderate variations as the effects of environmental change and automatically compensates the reference and threshold values.

	Can static electricity damage B6T
	B6T basically detects capacitance change through an insulating body so it is possible to prevent damage by designing the product in such a way that static electricity does not reach the IC directly. It is also possible to prevent detection errors due to pulse noise induced by static electricity by specifying the number of ON judgments.

How should the boards be wired

Omron recommends mounting and forming the IC and electrode on the same board. If the IC and electrode are mounted on separate boards, parasitic capacitance increases, which may cause fluctuation. When it is unavoidable to mount the IC and electrode on separate boards, the wires must be as thin and short as possible and equally and widely spaced. Flat cables are preferable to coaxial lines. Do not use shielded wires, which tend to increase parasitic capacitance.

Will a shielding cover prevent the influence of external noise effectively

It may be effective in terms of noise reduction but have the influences described below: If the touch electrode is harmed, touch detection may be lost or sensitivity greatly degraded. Shielding increases parasitic capacitance, which degrades sensitivity and may prevent normal detection. A solid GND plane reaching the vicinity of the touch electrode greatly increases parasitic capacitance. For this reason, sensitivity may be degraded and prevent normal detection.