SBOS929A December 2018 – December 2021 OPT3004
PRODMIX
The OPT3004 measures the ambient light that illuminates the device. This device measures light with a spectral response very closely matched to the human eye, and with very good infrared rejection.
Matching the sensor spectral response to that of the human eye response is vital because ambient light sensors are used to measure and help create human lighting experiences. Strong rejection of infrared light, which a human does not see, is a crucial component of this matching. This matching makes the OPT3004 especially good for operation underneath windows that are visibly dark, but infrared transmissive.
The OPT3004 is fully self-contained to measure the ambient light and report the result in lux digitally over the I2C bus. The result can also be used to alert a system and interrupt a processor with the INT pin. The result can also be summarized with a programmable window comparison and communicated with the INT pin.
The OPT3004 can be configured into an automatic full-scale, range-setting mode that always selects the optimal full-scale range setting for the lighting conditions. This mode frees the user from having to program their software for potential iterative cycles of measurement and readjustment of the full-scale range until optimal for any given measurement. The device can be commanded to operate continuously or in single-shot measurement modes.
The device integrates its result over either 100 ms or 800 ms, so the effects of 50-Hz and 60-Hz noise sources from typical light bulbs are nominally reduced to a minimum.
The device starts up in a low-power shutdown state, such that the OPT3004 only consumes active-operation power after being programmed into an active state.
The OPT3004 optical filtering system is not excessively sensitive to non-designed for particles and micro-shadows on the optical surface. This reduced sensitivity is a result of the relatively minor device dependency on uniform-density optical illumination of the sensor area for infrared rejection. Proper optical surface cleanliness is always recommended for best results on all optical devices.