Infineon Technologies has introduced the PSoC 4000T Multi-Sense low-power MCU, along with the upcoming PSoC 4100T Plus which will feature higher memory and more I/Os. These MCUs integrate fifth-generation CAPSENSE technology along with Multi-Sense capabilities, including proprietary inductive sensing, and non-contact liquid sensing solutions. This combination makes it easy to develop advanced HMI applications, such as touch-over-metal, hover touch, and accurate liquid-level detection.
The MCU also supports SmartSense auto-tuning which eliminates manual calibration. It supports Always-On sensing with 10x lower power consumption and 10x higher SNR than previous generations. Additionally, the MCU enables hover touch detection through 2 cm air gaps and supports capacitive, inductive, and liquid sensing in a single device. The device also supports waterproofing for harsh environments and reduces system complexity and cost by integrating multiple sensing technologies into a single chip.
Infineon PSoC 4000T specifications:
- MCU Core – 48 MHz Arm Cortex-M0+ CPU
- Memory – Up to 8 KB SRAM
- Storage – Up to 64 KB flash with read accelerator
- Sensing capabilities
- 5th-generation CAPSENSE technology
- Self-capacitive and mutual-capacitive sensing
- 16x sensor inputs (up to 16x self-capacitive, up to 64x mutual-capacitive)
- Hover touch, proximity, finger-tracking, metal-touch, force-touch
- SNR >5:1, low noise floor (<100 aF)
- SmartSense Auto-Tuning
- Inductive sensing
- Fly-back inductive sensing with noise immunity
- Supports 100 nH to 200 µH sensor inductance
- Sensor frequency: 40 kHz – 5.7 MHz
- Spread spectrum clock and frequency hopping support
- Liquid level sensing
- Contactless liquid-level detection
- Works in noisy environments, detects different liquids, rejects foam/residue
- 5th-generation CAPSENSE technology
- Peripherals
- 2x Serial Communication Blocks (SCBs) supporting I2C, SPI, UART (runtime reconfigurable)
- 2x 16-bit Timer/Counter/Pulse-Width Modulation (TCPWM) blocks
- Quadrature decoder, center-aligned, edge, and pseudo-random modes
- ±2% internal main oscillator (IMO)
- 40 kHz internal low-power oscillator (ILO)
- Up to 21x programmable GPIO pins
- Power
- Operating voltage – 1.71V to 5.5V
- Deep sleep mode – 6 µA with always-on touch sensing
- Active touch detection & tracking – 200 µA (average)
- Package options
- 25-pin WLCSP (0.35 mm pitch)
- 24-pin QFN (0.5 mm pitch)
- 16-pin QFN (0.5 mm pitch)
From the products page, I can see there are a total of 19 newly listed MCUs. After checking the specifications, I found that the CY8C4046FNI-T442T, CY8C4046LQI-T441, and CY8C4046LQI-T442 MCUs feature an ARM Cortex-M0+ processor running at 48 MHz, 64 kB of Flash memory, and 8 kB of SRAM, making them the best choices for higher-performance applications. On the other hand, the lower-end CY8C4025 series operate at a lower 24 MHz frequency and feature 32 kB of Flash and 4 kB of SRAM, making them more suited for basic embedded tasks with minimal processing requirements.
In terms of software, the PSoC 4000T multi-sense low-power MCU family is supported by ModusToolbox, which includes board support packages (BSPs), peripheral driver libraries (PDL), and middleware such as CAPSENSE. It provides automatic hardware tuning via SmartSense, CPU-independent autonomous channel scanning, and Class-B firmware libraries for safety certification. The software supports Arm-based development tools and integrates with third-party IDEs for application development.
The company provides the CY8CPROTO-040T prototyping kit for evaluating low-power capacitive sensing applications using 5th-generation CAPSENSE technology. It features a PSoC 4000T MCU and includes a self-capacitance button, a mutual-capacitance button, a capacitive proximity sensor, and a capacitive slider, making it ideal for touch-based user interface development. The kit also has user LEDs (16-bit PWM enabled), a user button, and an onboard programmer for easy development. It supports ModusToolbox software and provides access to all I/O pins for integrating custom capacitive sensing circuits. The CY8CPROTO-040T comes pre-programmed with the CE238817 code example and is RoHS-compliant, halogen-free, and available for purchase in a TRAY package. Its primary applications include touch sensing, proximity sensing, and capacitive user interfaces for various embedded systems. More information can be found on the user guide of the development board.
The company also talks about the CY8CPROTO-040T-MS prototyping kit built around the CY8C4046LQI-T452 MCU and offering multiple sensing technologies, including capacitive sensing, inductive sensing, liquid level sensing, and hover touch enabled by Infineon’s Multi-Sense Converter Low-Power (MSCLP) technology. The kit consists of a control board and multiple daughter boards, including two Touch-over-Metal boards, a liquid-level sensing flexible PCB (FPC) with a container, and a multi-button hover touch module. Additionally, it features an onboard KitProg programmer/debugger, making it ready for evaluation and development without additional hardware.
We have previously written about microcontrollers with touch sensing support like the Renesas RX260 and RX26, and the popular ESP32 series features touch sensing interfaces (for example the ESP32-P4 has 14 touch sensing pins), but the Infineon PSoC 4000T brings touch sensing capabilities appear superior support for a wider range of touch sensing solutions.
While Infineon provides buying links for the PSoC 4000T multi-sense low-power MCUs from distributors like DigKey, Mouse, and Arrow, I found out that the MCUs are not available or out of stock at the time of writing. Additional information can be found on its product page, application note, and press release. Infineon is also showing a mode of the PSOC 4 Multi-Sense at Embedded World 2025 until March 13.
Debashis Das is a technical content writer and embedded engineer with over five years of experience in the industry. With expertise in Embedded C, PCB Design, and SEO optimization, he effectively blends difficult technical topics with clear communication
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