Spotlight On


A spotlight on Zytronic


November’s spotlight shines on Mark Cambridge, CEO, Zytronic who tells us about the touch technology industry and how he has been involved over the last 20 years


You have over 20 years’ experience in the electronic displays market. How has it changed/developed in that time?


Mark Cambridge W


ith over 20 years’ experience in the electronic displays market, Mark Cambridge chose to


specialise in Projected Capacitive Technology (PCT) and Mutual Projected Capacitive Technology (MPCT) touch sensing products. He then joined Zytronic in 1991 as technical manager and has subsequently held various executive board director positions before becoming manager director of Zytronic Displays Limited in 2006. In June 2007, Mark was appointed to the board of Zytronic plc, and appointed chief executive in January 2008, and became president of Zytronic Inc after its opening in April 2014.


Mark graduated in 1986 with an honours degree in Materials Science, has a 2003 Securities Institute Certificate in Corporate Finance and is a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.


34 November 2018


Twenty years ago complex curved CRT was still the dominant technology, though a move to flatter CRT was underway. I guess we can all recall the monstrous TV cabinets in the corner of the room, so we’ve seen a complete change. Although LCD technology, became more mainstream than CRT’s around 2008, I personally consider 2003 as a watershed year, as it marked the tipping point for the transition between curved surface bulky CRTs and flat slim LCD technology in our industrialised application markets. Whereas the introduction of OLED today brings real and meaningful further improvements to display resolution and clarity it is a much less dramatic transition than the move from curved surfaces to flat.


How long has touch technology been around?


Touch technology has been around since the 1970s and Zytronic entered the touch sensor market in the late 1990s initially addressing the ATM market. The curved front glass of most CRT monitors generally made it hard to implement touch, but when flat panel LCDs began to appear in a variety of applications in the early 2000s, the use of touch technology became much more mainstream, with consumer electronic devices like the Nintendo DS using resistive touch technology on a small LCD. I consider it was Apple that really


triggered the popularity of touch interactivity, especially projected capacitive type, and made it mainstream by introducing it on the first iPod Touch, and then iPhone and iPad. This led to the major consumer acceptance of


Components in Electronics


projected capacitive touch and now to the point that customers expect any screen in any application to respond similarly when touched. Zytronic uses PCT projected capacitive touch technology for its single-touch sensors, and our patented MPCT for multi-touch screens up to 85” diagonal. PCT works by sensing minute frequency changes in an X-Y matrix of conductive traces. These microscopic traces are laminated to the rear of the sensor, and when a finger or conductive stylus approaches the surface of the screen, capacitive coupling occurs between the finger and the traces immediately beneath, disrupting the sensor’s electromagnetic field and altering the frequency. The touch controller monitors the frequency in each trace and the touch position is calculated by determining which X and Y trace is closest to this peak change, which is then output to the host Operating System as a coordinate. This method is so sensitive that a touch can be detected through very thick glass overlays. Unlike conventional capacitive, acoustic and optical touch sensors the active component of PCT is embedded behind the front substrate, ensuring protection, long life, and stability. MPCT projected capacitive touch technology works by a two-layer matrix of


microscopic conductive cells laminated to the rear of the sensor. A small charge is applied to one layer, which in turn passes to the other and it is the local alteration in the charge which is detected with a finger or conductive stylus. It is capable of detecting 40 or more touch events at once with no compromise on accuracy, even at ultra large sizes up to 85”. MPCT multi- touch sensors are capable of millisecond- fast response speeds and excellent touch- point resolution.


How has Zytronic been so successful in this market?


We’ve not tried to be all things to everyone: Zytronic focusses on specific markets and works hard to understand their needs and drivers and deliver solutions that addresses them. We mainly operate in the industrial, retail, gaming and ATM markets – but we are so widespread that it’s extremely likely that you’ve touched a Zytronic touch screen recently, in purchasing a ticket, withdrawing cash, fuelling a car or buying a snack. We have grown in every market that we


address, because customers appreciate the flexibility at the heart of our approach, the long-term durability of our sensors and the reliability of the touch response. Over the years, we’ve reinvested a


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