The OPT4003-Q1 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 strong near-infrared rejection.

Matching the sensor spectral response to that of the human eye response is vital because ambient light sensors 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 OPT4003-Q1 especially good for operation underneath windows that are visibly dark, but infrared transmissive.

The IR channel is sensitive to wavelengths between 800 nm and 1000 nm. This sensitivity enables accurate measurement of NIR sources even in the presence of strong visible light.

The OPT4003-Q1 is fully self-contained to measure the ambient light and report the result in ADC codes directly proportional to 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 threshold comparison and communicated with the INT pin.

The OPT4003-Q1 is by default configured to operate in automatic full-scale range detection mode that always selects the best full-scale range setting for the given lighting conditions. There are nine full-scale range settings, one of which can be selected manually as well. Setting the device to operate in automatic full-scale range detection mode frees the user from having to program their software for potentially many iterative cycles of measurement and readjustment of the full-scale range until the results are acceptable for any given measurement. With the device exhibiting excellent linearity over the entire 28-bit dynamic range of measurement, no additional linearity calibration is required at the system level.

The OPT4003-Q1 can be configured to operate in continuous or one-shot measurement mode. The device offers 12 conversion times ranging from 600 μs to 800 ms per channel. The device starts up in a low-power shutdown state, such that the OPT4003-Q1 only consumes active-operation power when the device is programmed into an active state.

The OPT4003-Q1 optical filtering system is not excessively sensitive to small 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. Always follow proper optical surface cleanliness for best results on all optical devices.