ISL29120 Datasheet, PDF (4/8 Pages) Intersil Corporation – Digital Output, Low Power, Red, Green, and Blue Color Light Sensor

ISL29120
Principles of Operation
Photodiodes and ADC
The ISL29120 contains three photodiode arrays, which convert
light into current. The spectral response for red, green and blue
color ambient intensity sensing is as shown in Figure 2. After
light is converted to current during the light to signal process, the
current output is converted to a digital count by an on-chip
Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC). The ADC converter resolution
is selectable from 4, 8, 12 or 16 bits. The ADC conversion time is
inversely proportional to the ADC resolution.
The ADC converter uses an integrating architecture. This
conversion method is ideal for converting small signals in the
presence of a periodic noise. A 100ms integration time (16-bit
mode) for instance, rejects 50Hz and 60Hz power line as well as
florescent flicker noise.
The ADC integration time is determined by an internal oscillator
and the n-bit (n = 4, 8, 12, 16) counter inside the ADC. A good
balancing act of integration time and resolution depends on the
application for optimum system performance.
The ADC provides two programmable ranges to dynamically
accommodate different lighting conditions. For dim conditions,
the ADC can be configured at its high sensitivity (low optical)
range. For bright conditions, the ADC can be configured at its low
sensitivity (higher optical) range.
Note that the effective optical sensitivity of the ISL29120 in
terms of counts/µW/cm² is directly proportional to the ADC
integration time.
I²C Interface
There are eight 8-bit registers inside the ISL29120 for
configuration, control and status indication. The two command
registers at address 0x00 and 0x01 define the operation of the
device and provide status of the interrupt events. Two 8-bit read
only registers at address 0x02 and 0x03 are for the ADC output.
These registers contain the results of the latest A/D conversion.
Registers 0x04 and 0x05 contain the ‘low threshold’ value and
registers 0x06 and 0x07 store the ‘high threshold’ value for
interrupt generation.
The ISL29120’s I²C interface slave address is internally hard-wired
as 1000110x, where x is R (read) or W (write) bit.
Figure 4 shows a sample one-byte read. Figure 5 shows a sample
one-byte write. The I²C bus master always drives the SCL (clock)
line, while either the master or the slave can drive the SDA (data)
line. Figure 5 shows a sample write. Every I²C transaction begins
with the master asserting a start condition (SDA falling while SCL
remains high). The following byte is driven by the master, and
includes the slave address and read/write bit. The receiving device
is responsible for pulling SDA low during the acknowledgement
period. Every I²C transaction ends with the master asserting a stop
condition (SDA rising while SCL remains high).
For more information about the I²C standard, consult the
Philips™ I²C specification documents.
I²C DATA
I²C SDA
IN
I²C SDA
OUT
I²C CLK
START
DEVICE ADDRESS W A REGISTER ADDRESS
STOP START DEVICE ADDRESS
A
DATA BYTE0
A6 A5 A4 A3 A2 A1 A0 W A R7 R6 R5 R4 R3 R2 R1 R0 A
A6 A5 A4 A3 A2 A1 A0 W A
SDA DRIVEN BY ISL29120
SDA DRIVEN BY MASTER
A SDA DRIVEN BY MASTER A
SDA DRIVEN BY MASTER
A D7 D6 D5 D4 D3 D2 D1 D0
12 3456 789123456 789
123 45 67 89123456789
FIGURE 4. I²C READ TIMING DIAGRAM SAMPLE
I²C DATA
I²C SDA IN
I²C SDA OUT
I²C CLK IN
START
DEVICE ADDRESS
W A REGISTER ADDRESS
A
FUNCTIONS
A STOP
A6 A5 A4 A3 A2 A1 A0 W A R7 R6 R5 R4 R3 R2 R1 R0 A B7 B6 B5 B4 B3 B2 B1 B0 A
SDA DRIVEN BY MASTER
A
SDA DRIVEN BY MASTER
A
SDA DRIVEN BY MASTER
A
1 234 5 67 8 9 1234 56 7 8 9 12 345 67 89
FIGURE 5. I²C WRITE TIMING DIAGRAM SAMPLE
4
FN8314.0
May 29, 2012