Today, Toshiba America
Electronic Components, Inc. (TAEC)* introduced the TPS859, a new
ultra-compact device, to its family of photo-IC ambient light sensors
(ALS). Developed by Toshiba Corp. (Toshiba) the new photo-IC sensor
incorporates a photodiode, a current amplifier and a luminous-efficiency
correction (LEC) function in a single chip that is ideal for use in flat
panel displays and various home appliances, and is also suitable for use in
cell phones, notebook PCs, PDAs, camcorders, digital cameras, and other
equipment requiring luminosity adjustment. The sensor can be used to turn a
keypad or LCD backlight on or off, or adjust the brightness according to
the ambient light condition.
The TPS859 provides ultra-high sensitivity with light current (IL) of
230microA(1) compared with 40microA(1) in the previous generation TPS852 --
an almost 6x improvement. The device also employs a new optical filtering
technology which achieves luminous efficiency near to that of the human
eye. The filter is able to reduce the ratio of incandescent to fluorescent
light sensitivity (IL) from 1.2 (typ.) in the TPS852 to 1.0 (typ.) for the
TPS859. The combination of the 16 percent improvement in the sensitivity
ratio and the six-fold increase in sensitivity makes TPS859 the most robust
device in the Toshiba ALS product line.
"The ultra-compact surface-mount package expands the potential
applications for the TPS859, which could range from large applications such
as flat panel displays and various home appliances to small applications
including cell phones and digital cameras," explains Roger Shih, business
development engineer for the optoelectronics group at TAEC. "In addition,
the new filtering technology and the lower operating voltage improve both
the sensitivity and the power saving capabilities of the component."
With excellent output linearity across various light sources, Toshiba's
RoHS-compatible(2) TPS859 photo-IC ALS features an ultra-compact
surface-mount package that measures 1.6 x 1.6 x 0.55 mm. The TPS859 can
operate from 1.8V to 5.5V, which makes it ideal for battery-powered
applications.
Source: Toshiba
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