Two sensors in one measure ambient light, proximity

The device combines an ambient light sensor (ALS) and a proximity light-to-digital sensor that approximates the human eye response to light intensity under varying lighting conditions.

Measuring 2mm × 2mm × 0.5mm it features a wide dynamic range to operate effectively in a broad spectrum of lighting conditions, transforming light intensity to a digital signal output through a 1.8V I²C interface.

Proximity sensing is performed by measuring reflected IR light emitted from an external LED.

The proximity engine features automatic ambient light subtraction, as well as offset adjustment registers to compensate for unwanted IR energy reflection at the sensor at a range of up to 10cm.

The device’s ALS sensor features two output channels: a visible channel and an IR channel. The visible channel has a photodiode with a photopic interferometric UV- and IR-blocking filter.

The IR channel has a photodiode with an IR pass filter. Each channel has a dedicated integrating data converter which converts photodiode current into a 16-bit digital output that can be interfaced with a microprocessor.