July 27, 2017 – ams released the TCS3430, an XYZ tri-stimulus True Color sensor IC suitable for consumer devices such as notebooks, smartphones and tablets.
Providing digital measurements of illuminance (brightness) and chromaticity matching the CIE 1931 “Standard Observer” XYZ scale enabling True Color functionalities – which is the industry standard for quantifying the average human’s perception of light – the TCS3430 may be used for functions such as display management, automatic white color balancing or color management.
OEMs which move from RGB color sensors to the TCS3430 will be able to achieve improvements in camera and display performance, enabling users of mobile devices to enjoy:
- Adapting the display color and brightness towards warm or cool white, based on the Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) level of the environment
- Display calibration to provide color balancing and vivid images based on the source input
- More realistic images and almost zero color distortion from the camera, rivaling the color balancing performance of professional-grade photography equipment
The ams interferometric filters can be made with the spectral characteristics of the XYZ spectral responsivity model of the human eye. In the TCS3430, the filters provide five channels: X, Y and Z channels and two infrared channels. The IR channels are used for advanced light source detection. The Y channel’s response to the green portion of the visible light spectrum provides a measure of illuminance, enabling the TCS3430 to operate as an ambient light sensor as well as a color sensor.
The TCS3430 is supplied as a packaged IC measuring 2.41mm x 1.75mm x 1.00mm. The aperture of the sensor needs to be covered by an achromatic diffuser.
It operates from a 1.8V supply, and provides an I2C interface to a host processor.
