In recent years, with the popularity of Internet of Things devices, sensor products that play an important role in them need to have smaller size and higher performance. ROHM has a lineup of proximity sensors that incorporate a light emitting element and a light receiving element. Due to their high applicability, they are widely used in a wide range of fields from mobile devices to industrial equipment. Especially in the field of wearable devices, due to the continuous improvement of product performance, the number of components used has increased, and the requirements for design flexibility have become higher and higher. As a result, there is a growing demand for small sensor products. ROHM developed a compact proximity sensor that integrates a VCSEL and a sensor IC in one package.
The new product is an optical sensor module that uses a VCSEL with a narrower beam divergence angle than LEDs as a light-emitting element and a sensor IC as a light-receiving element. By optimizing the module structure using ROHM's in-house components, the compact size has been achieved, and the product mounting area has been reduced by approximately 78% compared to conventional products. Additionally, the VCSEL equipped supports a wide input voltage range of 2.7V to 4.5V. When using a lithium-ion battery, no peripheral boost circuit (for example: 1 boost power supply IC, 3 capacitors, 1 coil, etc.) is required. Contributes to miniaturization in application and ensures space for additional battery capacity. These features make the new product suitable not only for on-off detection applications in wearable devices such as wireless earphones and smart watches, but also for various state detection applications in various applications.
The new product has been put into mass production in July 2023 (sample price 300 yen/piece).
ROHM will continue to develop sensing products that combine light-emitting and light-receiving components with technological advantages and that meet customer needs, contributing to the improvement of energy-saving performance and convenience in various devices.
Application example
Suitable for a variety of applications that utilize light reflection to detect status.
◆ Wear-off detection of wireless headsets, smart watches, game controllers, VR headsets, etc.
◆ Paper detection for OA equipment such as printers, copiers, shredders, etc.
◆ Electronic cigarette cartridge loading and unloading detection, smoke oil detection
◆ Various status detection of smartphones, notebook computers, etc.
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