STMicroelectronics VL53L1 time-of-flight ranging sensor

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STMicroelectronics has released its third-generation laser-ranging sensor based on its FlightSense technology.

The VL53L1 sensor benefits from silicon- and module-level architectures, adding optical lenses to the module. This boosts core performance while ­introducing features including multitarget detection, cover-glass crosstalk immunity at long distance and programmable multizone scanning. These advances are suitable for robotics, user detection, drones, IoT and wearable applications.

With a form factor of 4.9 x 2.5 x 1.56 mm, the sensor module integrates a new lens system, a 940 nm VCSEL (vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser) invisible-light source, a processing core and a SPAD (single-photon avalanche diode) photon detector. The optical lens system increases the photon detection rate to boost the module’s ranging performance. The embedded microcontroller manages the complete ranging function and runs the innovative digital algorithms to minimise host-processing overhead and system power consumption, maximising battery life for mobile applications.

The product performs a full measurement operation in as little as 5 ms for high-speed applications. For autofocus applications in smartphones, the sensor detects objects twice as fast as earlier devices. The unit has doubled the maximum ranging distance of sensors to beyond 4.5 m.

The high-performance design architecture can detect multiple targets within the scene and allows manufacturers to subdivide the SPAD sensing matrix into custom-defined zones. These small zones can then provide spatial ranging information that can be used for dual-camera computation in stereoscopy as well as simple depth-map use cases.

ST’s algorithms and direct time-of-flight architecture are immune to crosstalk at long distances, making the product compatible with a large selection of cover-glass materials and design artwork. The I²C-based module comes with a full package of software drivers and documentation for quick and simple integration.

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