New products: Vishay 38 kHz IR detector modules

Modulated IR detectors typically used for remote control of household electronics have long been used in robot sensors because they are small, cheap, and very sensitive while still blocking out unwanted interference. However, part of what makes the modules so good for remote control is their complex automatic gain control (AGC) circuitry that adjusts the sensors’ sensitivity to ambient lighting conditions to give clean, digital outputs in a variety of environments. Unfortunately for those using the modules for other purposes, all of that magic is internal to the modules and leads to two shortcomings: we cannot know how strong the optical signal is because we do not know the gain value, and we cannot have consistent behavior because we cannot control how the AGC behaves.

Pololu 38 kHz IR proximity sensor (original irs05a version).

So, you can imagine how excited I was to find out about Vishay’s new IR modules designed specifically for sensor applications. They have two basic versions: one with a fixed gain that is constantly super-sensitive, and another one with a predictably-varying AGC that lets you know how bright the incident IR is. We used the fixed-gain units on the IR proximity sensors we released earlier this year, and we plan to make more products that use these unique sensors. In the meantime, we are happy to offer the through-hole versions of these sensors so you can start playing around with them to make your own sensor systems. Here are the two parts:

• The Vishay TSSP58038 has a fixed high gain setting, so it responds predictably and can detect a continuous modulated signal.

• The Vishay TSSP58P38 includes automatic gain control – but it is tuned to provide a usable measurement of the strength of the detected signal. When configured as a reflective proximity sensor, its output is a pulse with a width that depends almost linearly on the distance to the target.

Those IR proximity sensors I mentioned earlier work nicely with these new sensors since our boards include a high-brightness LED with a 38 kHz modulation circuit, so you can use several of those with these new IR detectors to make sophisticated sensing solutions in which you enable one emitter at a time and monitor the reflections with all the other sensors.

Related products

	Vishay TSSP58038 IR Detector Module, 38kHz, Fixed Gain (3-Pack)
	Vishay TSSP58P38 IR Detector Module, 38kHz, Automatic Gain (3-Pack)
	Pololu 38 kHz IR Proximity Sensor, Fixed Gain, Low Brightness (irs05a)
	Pololu 38 kHz IR Proximity Sensor, Fixed Gain, High Brightness (irs05a)