With the miniaturization of the Bluetooth wireless earbuds, the earphones became a standalone products without need of having cables and connectors.
Besides the expected functionality of listening to music and being able to record the voice commands from the user, earbuds can be also used to control the playlist like play/pause the music, jump to the next song, increase the volume level, and so on, done by tapping on the earbuds.
In general, the touch sensor is a separate element that functions on a capacitive principle and Bluetooth antenna is another element based on flexible (FPC) substrate or as an LDS (Laser Direct Structuring). Having two separate components requires a certain individual space.
In order to free some space and help the Bluetooth headset developers to have more options in the design, Unictron has developed an integrated component that combines antenna function and a touch sensor into one with the following characteristics:
- SMD assembly: no manual handling increases the stability of the performance
- Space-saving: needs only 4 x 4 mm area on the board, which is a reduction of 75% compared to space needed when an individual antenna and touch sensor are used
- Cost-performance effectiveness: having only one part with the excellent antenna characteristics and touch functionality resulted in a very competitive price structure
These pointed advantages allow for new designs of wireless earphones, including having a room for the esthetic layouts while having a high-quality Bluetooth connection or implementing further functionalities in the already tiny outline of the TWS.
