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Building a Capacitive Touch Sensor

Overview​

Capacitive touch sensors replace mechanical buttons with copper shapes that detect when a finger changes their electric field. In this tutorial you will:

  • Draw a capacitive electrode using polygon surface-mount pads.
  • Connect the electrode to a capacitive touch controller.
  • Route the traces, ground reference, and LED indicator for feedback.
  • Simulate the PCB stackup with tscircuit before ordering the board.

The finished design exposes a responsive touch pad that lights an LED when it is activated.