June 28,2006, San Jose, CA--OSRAM Opto Semiconductors' newest ambient light sensor, (ALS) SFH5711, designed for the mobile device market, accurately matches or imitates the sensitivity curve of the human eye. This enables displays and their related brightness range to be adjusted more precisely than before and will also benefit the automotive market with cockpit dimming and headlight control.
"The new SFH5711 is an exciting addition to our ambient light sensor portfolio," said Ellen Sizemore, North American director, LED and IR Products Groups, OSRAM Opto Semiconductors. "Now mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other small mobile terminals within cars will be easier to read in all lighting conditions. These devises will consume much less power-in effect conserve energy-as the displays will only be lit as required."
The "human eye" properties of OSRAM's ALS SFH5711 were developed using a new material system that replaces traditional silicon. The logarithmic amplifier integrated circuit (IC) further enables a large brightness range (from 3 lx to more than 30,000 lx) to be detected with great accuracy, and without the need for various series resistors (to allow sensitivity to be adjusted externally), thus creating a smaller, more accurate and more cost-effective design. The accuracy of the ALS SFH5711 provides virtually infinite backlight system dimming.
The spectral sensitivity of OSRAM's new ALS SFH5711 is 560 nanometers (nm), thus mimicking the location where the human eye is most sensitive. By automatically imitating the characteristics of the human eye, and doing so quicker than the human eye, OSRAM's ALS SFH5711 is suitable for adjusting the brightness of displays and other such components for optimum readability in constantly changing light conditions.
Using a low supply voltage of 2.3 to 5 V, the sensor is energy efficient and ideal for daylight sensor applications where backlight displays must be constantly monitored and/or adjusted. The applications for the ALS SFH5711 include mobile phones, digital cameras, notebook computers, PDAs and handheld global positioning systems (GPS).