STMicroelectronics’ New Full-Color Ambient Light Sensor with Flicker Detect

STMicroelectronics has released an innovative full-color ambient light sensor (ALS) that helps smartphones take better pictures and present more visually accurate data on screen displays. By simultaneously providing scene color temperature, ultra-violet (UVA) radiation level, and lighting frequency information, the VD6281 lets the camera correct white balance and enhance color presentation, and sets appropriate exposure times for the camera to avoid flicker artefacts and eliminate banding in pictures and videos, especially in scenes lit with contemporary LED sources.

With its small form factor of 1.83 x 1.0 x 0.55mm, the VD6281 is the smallest multispectral ambient light sensor available, allowing integration in bezel-free smartphones with small notches and inside smartwatches, where a high screen ratio is at a premium. The sensor uses high-performance, direct-deposition filter material to create 6 independent color channels: Red, Green, Blue, near-Infrared, UVA and Clear for superior color-sensing capability and cutting-edge CCT (Color-Correlated Temperature) over a wide field-of-view of 120 degrees, enabling accurate assistance for white-balance algorithms, even in difficult conditions including low contrast scenes, low light levels, or exotic artificial lighting (more info).