Ams introduces the industry's smallest integrated ALS and proximity sensor solution

Ams, the world's leading provider of high-performance sensor solutions, has taken the miniaturization of smartphone optical sensors to the next level with the introduction of the TMD2712, the world's smallest integrated ambient light sensor (ALS) and micro-micro proximity sensor module - 1mm x 2mm footprint. With a height of just 0.5mm, the TMD2712 can now be mounted with a selfie camera in the teardrop mouth of an LCD touchscreen display. This supports the trend of phone design with minimal or no bezels, an industrial design approach that maximizes the screen to body ratio and provides the user with the largest visible display area.

The new sensor is a complete system solution for accurate ambient light sensing - supporting display brightness management to maintain comfortable viewing in all lighting conditions - and provides reliable proximity detection, turning off the touchscreen display as the user's face when the front of the phone is near an object. It integrates a low-power infrared vertical cavity surface emitting laser (VCSEL) transmitter and VCSEL driver, infrared and visible light photodiodes, and control logic.

The combination of ams' specialized sensor technology, deep understanding of ALS and proximity detection applications, and a track record of high-volume production of quality products gives smartphone manufacturers confidence that ams can meet their most demanding handset development needs.

"The TMD2712 is the best-in-class integrated ALS and proximity sensor for LCD screen phones, further expanding our customers' choice of optical sensors for smartphones," said Jian Liu, ams' Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Integrated Optical Sensor Business Line. Across the entire field of display technology, ams offers best-in-class products to enable bezel-free design. The TMD2755 is the industry's first ambient light, proximity and flicker sensor module to operate entirely behind an OLED display, such as the TMD3719, TMD2755 - the world's smallest ambient light and proximity sensor module, with displays and frames optimized for the atmospheric gap design below the LCD gap. Now the latest TMD2712 is optimized for a small gap design and can be placed in a drop tank with an LCD display.

Easy to integrate into smartphone display designs

The TMD2712 can be easily integrated into the display components and can accurately measure IR and ambient light. The module's VCSEL transmitter and photodiode deviate from the package centerline, giving manufacturers more flexibility when placing sensors side-by-side with other components, such as cameras. The module's proximity detection engine provides improved suppression of optical crosstalk, allowing reliable long-term operation over a wide field of view without the use of specialized components such as light guides, intermediate layers or special inks.

The use of the VCSEL transmitter and the implementation of power optimization in the module reduce power consumption, thus keeping the sensor's consumption on the battery power supply to a minimum. The TMD2712 sensor circuit is powered by a 1.8V supply and consumes only 0.7μA of current in sleep mode.