Compact colour sensor covers full spectrum

Agilent Technologies has developed the industry's smallest CMOS colour sensor at 5 x 5 x 1mm.

Agilent Technologies has developed the industry's smallest CMOS colour sensor at 5 x 5 x 1mm.

The Agilent HDJD-S722-QR999 colour sensor can detect the presence of a certain colour and identify its exact co-ordinate across the full colour spectrum.

Key applications for the device include colour measurement in blood glucose monitoring and other medical instruments, the detection of stains in yarns during textile manufacturing, and in LCD display for controlling the colour point of red, green and blue (RGB) LED backlighting.

There are many other applications in industries such as paint, pigment and coating, cosmetics, and food and beverage.

"This sensor's accuracy and reliability is unmatched in the industry", said Lee Soo Ghee, Vice President and General Manager for the Optoelectronic Products Division in Agilent's Semiconductor Products Group.

"It enables our customers' products to attain the highest level of accuracy possible".

Agilent's colour sensor converts coloured light to proportional RGB voltage outputs.

It is a monolithic CMOS IC solution with integrated RGB colour filters combined with three interleaved sets of 3 x 3 photodiode arrays, which minimises the effect of contamination and optical aperture misalignment.

The photodiodes convert the RGB light components into photocurrents, and the transimpedance amplifiers then convert the photocurrent to analogue voltages.

The voltage output of each channel (R, G and B) increases linearly with increasing light intensity, and the gain of each channel can be independently set.

The sensor integrates colour filters, photodiode arrays, amplifiers and gain selection in a single, compact package.

It features uniform colour filter arrays throughout the photodiode active area, which help to resolve potential inaccuracies caused by light gradient, optical aperture misalignment and tilting and irregularities of the package surface.

Agilent's HDJD-S722-QR999 colour sensor provides operation over the -40 to +85C temperature range and is supplied in a QFN (quad flat no leads) lead-free package.

It operates from a single 5V power source.

Samples and production quantities of Agilent's HDJD-S722-QR999 are available now through Agilent's direct sales channel and worldwide distribution partners.

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