Maxim announces 'industry's highest performance ambient light sensor'

According to Maxim, the digital ALS consumes 100x less power than the closest competitor and has a 4million to 1 dynamic range. The MAX9635 incorporates an adaptive gain block and was designed using the company's BiCMOS technology. It integrates two photodiodes, an adc, and an optical filter to reject ultraviolet and infrared light. This allows the device to replicate the optical response of the human eye and accurately measure visible light in different environmental settings. The 2 x 2mm package provides what Maxim claims to be the industry's highest performance. The MAX9635 is uniquely equipped with an adaptive gain block that automatically selects the optimum gain range. This capability relieves designers of the time-consuming process of manually programming the device. Additionally, the adaptive gain block provides the industry's widest dynamic range (more than 4,000,000 to 1), enabling the MAX9635 to measure light levels from 0.045 lux to 188,000 lux. Simply stated, this innovation delivers the most precise lux measurements over the widest range of ambient light conditions. Its low light sensitivity makes it suitable for applications in which the sensor IC is placed behind black glass, which greatly reduces the amount of ambient light. The device's 0.65µA operating current operates from 1.7 to 3.6V supply voltage and, says Maxim, consumes as little as 1.1µW of operating power. Described as the only light sensor in the industry that can operate from 1.8V, it can be powered by the same 1.8V supply as the I2C interface. The device has been designed for tablet and notebook pcs, smartphones, tvs, digital lighting management systems, and light intensity monitoring applications.