Vishay Intertechnology, a Pennsylvania-based manufacturer of passive electronic components and discrete semiconductors used in various computing, industrial, medical, aerospace, automotive, consumer, military and telecommunications equipment, has expanded its range of optoelectronic products with the VCNL4010, a fully integrated ambient light and proximity optical sensor with a power-saving interrupt feature.
The VCNL4010 combines photo-pin-diode and an infrared emitter for proximity along with an ambient light detector, a 16-bit ADC and signal processing IC in a compact, surface mount LLP package of dimensions 3.95x3.95x0.75 mm. It is capable of supporting an I2C bus communication interface and simplifies sensor design in various industrial and consumer applications.
The interrupt function of the sensor allows it to work independently until an ambient light or predefined proximity event occurs to trigger the microcontroller. This eliminates polling communication traffic between the microcontroller and the sensor and enables customers to minimize the software effort as well as the power consumption. Furthermore, for keypad and display control and dimming function, the sensor provides ambient light sensor while it serves as a proximity sensor in touchscreen locking in mobile devices such as touch phones, smartphones, PDAs and GPS units as well as in industrial and computing display devices.
Offering 16-but resolution for proximity detection, the sensor ensures cross-talk immunity and is capable of object detection for a distance of up to 200 mm. The integrated photo-pin-diode provides a high sensitivity and a dynamic range of 0.25 lux to 16 klux for ambient light detection. The sensor is operational in a temperature range of -25°C to 85°C and offers a moisture sensitivity level of 3. The sensor is free of halogens and is complaint with WEEE 2002/96/EC and RoHS directive 2002/95/EC standards.