“ST TOF sensor satisfies low power, small size, and uniform distance performance”

Infrared VCSEL emitter, histogram ToF processing engine , SPAD built-in
Supports up to 64 detection areas and up to 4m distance measurement, 65° diagonal field of view

[Editor's Note] TOF sensors used in a variety of applications, including self-service, payment terminals, and home appliances, must support market demands such as low power, small size, and consistent range performance. STMicroelectronics is introducing Direct TOF sensors to the consumer electronics market to meet these market demands. On June 15, we will hold a webinar titled 'Introducing the FlightSense VL53L8CX' to learn about the capabilities, innovation potential, and development tools of ST's TOF sensor. Before the webinar, we heard the story of ST Vice President Seo Pil-gi, who is participating as a speaker.

▲ST Manager Seo Pil-gi

■ What solutions (or products) will be introduced in the webinar on June 15th?

Introducing a Direct TOF sensor called VL53L8CX.

The sensor is configured as an integrated module including a transmitter, receiver, and processing engine.

The transmitter uses a 940 nm frequency band as a light source, and the receiver uses a SPAD (Single-Photon Avalanche Diode).

The time difference between when the light source from the transmitter hits an arbitrary target and returns is used to output a distance value in mm through the module's internal TOF processing engine.

Additionally, I2C and SPI interfaces are provided, which can be used optionally.

■ What are the main application areas?

The VL53L8CX can be used for wake-up functions in equipment used by multiple people, such as consumer products and home appliances, in addition to self-service and payment terminals, as it supports gesture recognition and automatic detection of human presence, enabling safe, touch-free operation while significantly reducing power consumption.>
It is also suitable for storage tank level monitoring to support inventory management, liquid level control, and bin level monitoring to improve the efficiency of smart waste collection.

■ What are the key market and industry requirements?

The consumer electronics market prefers products that are low-power, small-sized, and offer consistent distance performance.

A development environment is also required that can be easily integrated into the target system.

ST TOF satisfies the above requirements and supports a wide range of toolchains to provide an environment for users to easily evaluate and implement.

■ What are the main benefits?

This VL53L8CX has a built-in low-power MCU and can operate autonomously for power-saving applications.

The sensor is an ultra-small module measuring 6.4 mm wide, 3.0 mm long, and 1.6 mm high, despite being an integrated module that includes light emission, light reception, and internal processing.

Specifically, it includes an infrared VCSEL emitter, a histogram-based ToF processing engine, and a receiver with a built-in SPAD, and supports up to 64 detection areas, distance measurement of up to 4m for each area, and a 65° oblique field of view, allowing a single TOF sensor to handle various use-cases.

■ What are the differences compared to competitors’ products (or existing products)?

ST is a consumer direct Since launching the world's first TOF in 2013, we have continuously released various TOF products into the consumer electronics market.

In particular, the product being introduced this time enables longer distance measurement by using high-performance VCSEL compared to the existing multi-zone ToF sensor, and provides an SPI port as a user interface.

It also provides a Sync Pin so that users can take measurements at the exact timing they want.

In addition, the auto-stop function has been added, allowing it to enter idle mode after detecting an object, allowing it to be used with less power.

■ Please say a word to e4ds readers regarding the content introduced today.

Dear e4ds readers, we would like to thank you for giving us the opportunity to introduce ST TOF, and in particular the VL53L8CX, through this webinar.

A variety of TOF products are available at ST.com.

I hope you visit our website and get a lot of useful information so that you can implement the functions you want with ST TOF. Thank you.