Space-saving VEML ambient light sensors

Mouser Electronics announced the availability of VEML high-accuracy ambient light sensors from Vishay Semiconductors. These new high-accuracy digital ambient light sensors feature an easy-to-use I²C interface and are designed for flat-panel televisions and consumer handheld devices. With their compact size and mounting flexibility as side- or top-view devices, they allow designers to save space in compact televisions, CCTV cameras, smartphones, PDAs, and GPS units, while providing flexibility in where and how they place the sensors.

Vishay VEML ambient light sensors, available from Mouser Electronics, combine a photodiode, low-noise amplifier, and 16-bit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) in a miniature, transparent surface-mount package. The sensors adopt Filtron technology, which enables ambient light spectral sensitivity close to that of the human eye, while the sensor’s adoption of O-Trim technology provides output tolerance of less than 10 percent. The sensors offer detection from 0 lux to 167 klux and resolution down to 0.005 lux/ct, allowing for operation in applications with low-transmittance (dark) lens designs. The sensors provide 100 Hz and 120 Hz flicker noise rejection and excellent temperature compensation from ‑25 to +85 degrees Celsius. The sensors offer low power consumption down to 2µA in operating mode and 0.5 µA in shutdown mode.

The VEML7700 sensor is now shipping from Mouser Electronics in a transparent surface-mount package measuring 6.8 × 3.0 × 2.35mm. The VEML6030 sensor, coming soon to Mouser and now orderable, is packaged in a tiny 2.0 × 2.0 × 0.85mm footprint, allowing engineers to place it in limited-space designs. The sensors are ideal for backlight dimming and optical switching for consumer products, in addition to industrial lighting systems.