MAXIM MAX44004

19-5997; Rev 0; 5/12
EVALUATION KIT AVAILABLE
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
General Description
The MAX44004 is a wide dynamic range, lowpower ambient light sensor (ALS) ideal for many light
sensing applications: tablets, displays, accessories,
medical devices, and light management systems.
The on-chip ambient sensor has the power to measure
the exact visible light from 0.03 lux to 65,000 lux and communicate through an I2C digital communication bus. The
IC has patented sensors, filters, and circuitry to mimic the
human eye response. With on-chip calibration registers,
it performs the same in different light conditions (i.e., fluorescent, incandescent). The interrupt pin minimizes the
need of constant polling of the device, freeing up microcontroller resources for efficient communication and thus
reducing overall power consumption. The part-to-part
matching is optimized by proprietary Maxim process to
speed up end-product development time.
The IC can operate from a VDD of 1.7V to 3.6V, including
both supply and I2C times. It consumes just 5µA operating current.
Applications
Tablets and Netbooks
Benefits and Features
SConsumes Low Power

5µA Supply Current

Interrupt Pin Delivers Efficient Communication
SHigh Sensitivity

0.03 Lux Sensitivity
SEasy to Design

1.7V to 3.6V Supply Voltage

Tight Part-to-Part Variation
SReliable Light Sensing

Perfect Rejection of 50Hz/60Hz Noise

Adjustable Visible and Infrared Sensor Gain
STiny, 2mm x 2mm x 0.6mm OTDFN Package S-40°C to +105°C Temperature Range
Ordering Information appears at end of data sheet.
For related parts and recommended products to use with this part,
refer to www.maxim-ic.com/MAX44004.related.
Displays, TVs, Projectors
Digital Lighting Management
Medical Devices
Industrial Automation
Typical Application Circuit
VDD
VDD
ALS
PGA
VIS + IR
(ALS)
I2C
MAX44004
ALS
PGA
IR (ALS)
GND
SDA
14-BIT
SCL
MICROCONTROLLER
INT
14-BIT
A0
GND
1
For pricing, delivery, and ordering information, please contact Maxim Direct at 1-888-629-4642,
or visit Maxim’s website at www.maxim-ic.com.
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM RATINGS
All Pins to GND.....................................................-0.3V to +4.0V
Output Short-Circuit Current Duration........................Continuous
Continuous Input Current into Any Terminal……............. Q20mA
Continuous Power Dissipation
OTDFN (derate 11.9mW/NC above +70NC)..................953mW
Operating Temperature Range......................... -40NC to +105NC
Soldering Temperature (reflow).......................................+260NC
Stresses beyond those listed under “Absolute Maximum Ratings” may cause permanent damage to the device. These are stress ratings only, and functional operation of the device at these or any other conditions beyond those indicated in the operational sections of the specifications is not implied. Exposure to absolute
maximum rating conditions for extended periods may affect device reliability.
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS
(VDD = 1.8V, TA = -40NC to +105NC, TA = +25NC, unless otherwise noted.) (Note 1)
PARAMETER
SYMBOL
CONDITIONS
MIN
TYP
MAX
UNITS
AMBIENT LIGHT RECEIVER CHARACTERISTICS
Maximum Ambient Light Sensitivity
Fluorescent light (Note 2)
Ambient Light Saturation Level
0.03
Lux/
LSB
65,535
Lux
Gain Error
Green LED 538nm response, TA = +25NC
(Note 2)
Light Source Matching
Fluorescent/incandescent light
10
%
Infrared Transmittance
850nm vs. 538nm, TA = +25NC
363nm vs. 538nm, TA = +25NC
0.5
%
Ultraviolet Transmittance
Dark Current Level
ADC Conversion Time
15
2
%
0
Count
100ms conversion time, 0 lux, TA = +25NC
14-bit resolution, has 50Hz/60Hz rejection
100
12-bit resolution
25
10-bit resolution
6.25
8-bit resolution
1.56
ms
0.7
TA = +25NC
ADC Conversion Time Accuracy
%
6
TA = -40NC to +105NC
%
POWER SUPPLY
Power-Supply Voltage
Quiescent Current
Software Shutdown Current
Power-Up Time
VDD
1.7
Is
ISHDN
tON
TA = +25NC
3.6
V
5
10
FA
0.1
0.3
0.6
TA = -40NC to +105NC
100
FA
ms
2
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS (continued)
(VDD = 1.8V, TA = -40NC to +105NC, TA = +25NC, unless otherwise noted.) (Note 1)
PARAMETER
SYMBOL
CONDITIONS
MIN
TYP
MAX
UNITS
ISINK = 6mA
0.06
0.4
V
TA = +25NC
0.01
1000
nA
0.01
1000
nA
0.4
V
DIGITAL CHARACTERISTICS—SDA, SCL, INT, A0
Output Low Voltage SDA, INT
VOL
INT Leakage Current
SDA, SCL, A0 Input Current
I2C Input Low Voltage
VIL_I2C
SDA, SCL
I2C
Input High Voltage
VIH_I2C
SDA, SCL
I2C Input Low Voltage
VIL_I2C
A0
I2C Input High Voltage
VIH_I2C
A0
Input Capacitance
1.6
V
0.3
VDD - 0.3
SDA, SCL
V
V
3
pF
I2C TIMING CHARACTERISTICS
Serial Clock Frequency
fSCL
Bus Free Time Between STOP and
START
tBUF
1.3
Fs
Hold Time (Repeated) START
Condition
tHD,STA
0.6
Fs
Low Period of the SCL Clock
tLOW
1.3
Fs
High Period of the SCL Clock
400
kHz
tHIGH
0.6
Fs
Setup Time for a Repeated START
tSU.STA
0.6
Fs
Data Hold Time
tHD,DAT
Data Setup Time
tSU,DAT
100
SDA Transmitting Fall Time
Setup Time for STOP Condition
Pulse Width of Suppressed Spike
tf
0
ISINK P 6mA; tR and tF between 0.3 x VDD
and 0.7 x VDD
0.9
ns
100
tSU,STO
0.6
tSP
0
Fs
ns
Fs
50
ns
Note 1: The device is 100% production tested at TA = +25NC. Temperature limits are guaranteed by design.
Note 2: Guaranteed by design, green 538nm LED chosen for production so that the IC responds to 100 lux fluorescent light with
100 lux.
3
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
Typical Operating Characteristics
(VDD = 1.8V, TA = -40NC to +85NC, unless otherwise noted. All devices are 100% production tested at TA = +25NC. Temperature limits
are guaranteed by design.)
1200
1000
INCANDESCENT
800
600
400
20
90
200
0
WAVE LENGTH (nm)
50
40
30
20
-90 -70 -50 -30 -10 10 30 50 70 90
-80 -60 -40 -20 0 20 40 60 80
LUMINOSITY ANGLE (°)
OUTPUT ERROR vs. TEMPERATURE
11
MAX44004 toc04
9
TA = +85°C
8
DARKROOM CONDITION
VDD = 1.7 V TO 3.6V
10
9
TA = +105°C
COUNTS (UNITS)
8
6
5
ROTATED WITH AXIS BETWEEN
PIN 1/2/3 AND 4/5/6
10
REFERENCE METER READING (LUX)
10
TA = +25°C
TA = -40°C
3
7
6
5
4
3
2
2
1
1
DARKROOM CONDITION
0
0
-40
1.7 1.9 2.1 2.3 2.5 2.7 2.9 3.1 3.3 3.5 3.7
-15
10
35
60
85
SUPPLY VOLTAGE (V)
TEMPERATURE (°C)
SUPPLY CURRENT vs. LUX
OUTPUT LOW VOLTAGE
vs. SINK CURRENT
25
20
15
10
5
180
160
OUTPUT LOW VOLTAGE (V)
MAX44004 toc06
30
110
MAX44004 toc07
SUPPLY CURRENT (µA)
60
0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000
SUPPLY CURRENT vs. SUPPLY VOLTAGE
vs. TEMPERATURE
4
70
0
0
270 370 470 570 670 770 870 970 1070
7
80
MAX44004 toc05
ADC COUNT
40
FLUORESCENT
100
MAX44004 toc03
1400
60
MAX44004 toc02
ALSTIM[1:0] = 00
ALSPGA[1:0] = 10
1600
80
SUPPLY CURRENT (µA)
NORMALIZED OUTPUT
MAX44004 toc01
GREEN CHANNEL
RED CHANNEL
CIE CURVE
100
RADIATION PATTERN
LIGHT SENSITIVITY vs. LUX LEVEL
1800
RELATIVE SENSITIVITY (% FROM 0°)
SPECTRUM RESPONSE
120
THE DATA WAS TAKEN ON
THE INTERRUPT PIN
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
1
10
100
1k
LUX
10k
100k
5
10
15
20
SINK CURRENT (mA)
4
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
Pin Configuration
TOP VIEW
+
VDD
1
GND
2
A0
3
MAX44004
EP
6
SDA
5
SCL
4
INT
Pin Description
PIN
NAME
1
VDD
Power Supply
FUNCTION
2
GND
Ground
3
A0
Address Select
4
INT
Active-Low Interrupt
5
SCL
I2C Clock
6
SDA
I2C Data
—
EP
Exposed Pad. EP is internally connected to GND. EP must be connected to GND.
5
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
Detailed Description
The MAX44004 is a wide-dynamic-range ALS. The die is
placed inside an optically transparent (ODFN) package. A
photodiode array inside the device converts the light to a
current, which is then processed by low-power circuitry into
a digital value stream. The data is then stored in an output
register that is read by an I2C interface.
difficulties in trying to reproduce the ideal photopic curve
in a small cost-efficient package. The devices instead
use two types of photodiodes (green and infrared) that
have different spectral sensitivities—each of which is
amplified and subtracted on-chip with suitable gain
coefficients so that the most extreme light sources (fluorescent and incandescent) are well matched to a commercial illuminance lux meter.
Two types of photodiodes are used in the device: a
green photodiode and an infrared photodiode. Ambient
light sensing is accomplished by subtracting the green
ALS photodiode signal and the infrared ALS photodiode
signals, after applying appropriate gains.
The photopic curve represents a typical human eye’s
sensitivity to different wavelengths of light. As can be
seen in Figures 1 and 2, its peak sensitivity is at 555nm
(green). The human eye is insensitive to infrared (>
700nm) and ultraviolet (< 400nm) radiation.
The photodiodes are connected to two ADCs. The user
can choose to view either just the green ALS signal, or
just the infrared ALS signal, or the difference of the green
and infrared ALS photodiodes.
Variation between light sources can extend beyond the
visible spectral range—fluorescent and incandescent
light sources, for example—with similar visible brightness
(lux) and can have substantially different IR radiation content (since the human eye is blind to it). Since this infrared
radiation can be picked up by silicon photodiodes, differences in light spectra can affect brightness measurement
of light sensors. For example, light sources with high IR
content such as an incandescent bulb or sunlight could
suggest a much brighter environment than our eyes would
perceive them to be. Other light sources, such as fluorescent and LED-based systems, have very little infrared
content. The devices incorporate on-chip compensation
techniques to minimize these effects and still output an
accurate lux response in a variety of lighting conditions.
Two key features of the device’s analog design are its
low-power design and interrupt pin operation.
The device can operate from a VDD of 1.7V to 3.6V and
consumes just 5FA current. An on-chip programmable
interrupt function eliminates the need to continually poll
the device for data, resulting in a significant power saving.
Ambient-Light Sensing
On-chip, user-programmable green channel and IR
channel gain trim registers allow the light-sensor response
to be tailored to the application, such as when the light
sensor is placed under a dark or colored glass.
120
120
100
100
80
60
STANDARD ALS
(GREEN-RED)
BLUE: IDEAL
PHOTOPIC CURVE
40
20
NORMALIZED OUTPUT
NORMALIZED RESPONSE
Ambient-light sensors are designed to detect brightness in the same way as human eyes do. To achieve
this, the light sensor needs to have a spectral sensitivity
that is identical to the photopic curve of the human eye
(Figure 1). Small deviations from the photopic curve
can affect perceived brightness by ambient light
sensors to be wildly different. However, there are practical
80
GREEN CHANNEL
RED CHANNEL
IDEAL PHOTOPIC
CURVE
60
40
20
0
270 370 470 570 670 770 870 970 1070
WAVELENGTH (nm)
Figure 1. MAX44004 Spectral Response Compared to Ideal
Photopic Curve
0
270 370 470 570 670 770 870 970 1070
WAVELENGTH (nm)
Figure 2. Green Channel and IR Channel Response at
Identical Gains on a Typical MAX44004
6
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
Register Description
be valid anymore. The ALSINTS bit in the Status register
0x00 indicates that an ambient-light-interrupt condition
has occurred. If any of these bits are set to 1, the INT pin
is pulled low and is asserted. See Table 2.
Table 1 is the register description.
The individual register bits are explained in Table 2.
Default power-up bit states are highlighted in bold.
Reading the Interrupt Status register clears the PWRON
and ALSINTS bits if set, AND deasserts the INT pin
(i.e., INT is pulled high by the off-chip pullup resistor).
The ALSINTS bit is disabled and set to 0 if the ALSINTE
interrupt enable bit in Register 0x01 is set to 0.
Interrupt Status 0x00
The PWRON bit in the Status register 0x00, if set,
indicates that a power-on-reset (POR) condition has
occurred, and any user-programmed thresholds may not
Table 1. Component List
REGISTER
BIT7
BIT6
BIT5
BIT4
BIT3
BIT2
BIT1
POWERON RESET R/W
STATE
BIT0
REGISTER
ADDRESS
ALSINTS
0x00
0x04
R
ALSINTE
0x01
0x24
R/W
0x02
0x00
R/W
0x04
0x00
R
0x05
0x00
R
0x06
0x00
R/W
0x07
0x00
R/W
0x08
0x00
R/W
0x09
0x00
R/W
0x0A
0x00
R/W
0x0F
0x80
R/TW
0x10
0x80
R/TW
STATUS
Interrupt Status
PWRON
CONFIGURATION
Main Configuration
TRIM
MODE[1:0]
Receiver
Configuration
ALSTIM[1:0]
ALSPGA[1:0]
ADC DATA
ADC High Byte—ALS
OFL
ALSDATA[13:8]
ADC Low Byte—ALS
ALSDATA[7:0]
THRESHOLD SET
ALS Upper
Threshold—High Byte
UPTHR [13:8]
ALS Upper
Threshold—Low Byte
UPTHR[7:0]
ALS Lower
Threshold—High Byte
LOTHR[13:8]
ALS Lower
Threshold—Low Byte
LOTHR [7:0]
Threshold Persist
Timer
ALSPST[1:0]
Digital Gain Trim of
Green Channel
TRIM_GAIN_IR
[0]
TRIM _GAIN_GREEN [6:0]
Digital Gain Trim of
Infrared Channel
TRIM _GAIN_IR [8:1]
Table 2. Interrupt Status
REGISTER
Interrupt Status
BIT7
BIT6
BIT5
BIT4
BIT3
BIT2
PWRON
BIT1
BIT0
REGISTER
ADDRESS
POWERON RESET
STATE
R/W
ALSINTS
0x00
0x04
R
7
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
Ambient Interrupt Status (ALSINTS)
Main Configuration 0x01
The individual ALSINTS register bits are explained in
Table 3.
The individual Main Configuration register bits are
explained in Table 5.
Power-On Reset Status (PWRON)
This register is used to set the operating mode of the IC
and to enable interrupt operation of the device.
The individual Power-On Reset Status (PWRON) register
bits are explained in Table 4.
TRIM
The individual TRIM register bits are explained in Table 6.
The individual register bits are explained in Table 7.
Table 3. Ambient Interrupt Status (ALSINTS)
BIT0
OPERATION
0
No interrupt trigger event has occurred.
1
The ambient light intensity has traversed outside the designated window limits defined by the Threshold
registers for greater than persist timer count ALSPST[1:0], or an overflow condition in the ambient-light readings
has occurred. This bit also causes the INT pin to be pulled low. Once set, the only way to clear this bit is to
read this register or to set the ALSINTE bit in register 0x01 to 0.
Table 4. Power-On Reset Status (PWRON)
BIT2
OPERATION
0
No interrupt trigger event has occurred.
1
The part went through a power-up event, either because the part was turned on, or because there was a
power-supply voltage glitch. All interrupt threshold settings in the registers have been reset to a default state,
and should be examined. A 1 on this bit also causes the INT pin to be pulled low. Once this bit is set, the only
way to clear this bit is to read this register.
Table 5. Main Configuration (0x01)
REGISTER
BIT7
Main Configuration
BIT6
BIT5
TRIM
BIT4
BIT3
BIT2
BIT1
MODE[1:0]
BIT0
REGISTER
ADDRESS
POWERON RESET
STATE
R/W
ALSINTE
0x01
0x24
R/W
Table 6. TRIM
BIT 5
OPERATION
0
Use bytes written to TRIM_GAIN_GREEN[6:0] and TRIM_GAIN_IR[8:0] registers to set the fine-trim gain of the
green and IR gain channels.
1
Use factory-programmed gains for green and IR channels. Ignore bytes written to TRIM_GAIN_GREEN[6:0] and
TRIM_GAIN_IR[8:0] registers.
8
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
Ambient Interrupt Enable (ALSINTE)
Receive Configuration 0x02
ADC conversions of MSB are made first (the device
needs longer conversion times for higher resolution measurements, i.e., LSBs). Use of lower PGA gains helps
expand the full-scale range of the ADC at the expense of
per-LSB sensitivity.
This register sets the ADC integration time and front-end
photodiode circuitry sensitivity (gain). The ADC integration time also controls the bit resolution of measurements.
The 2 bits ALSTIM [1:0] set the integration time for ALS
ADC conversion, as shown in Table 10.
The individual Ambient Interrupt Enable bits are explained
in Table 8.
Table 9 explains Receive Configuration 0x02.
Ambient ADC Conversion Time (ALSTIM)
Table 7. Individual Register Bits
MODE[1:0]
OPERATING MODE
00
Shutdown
Analog circuits are shut down, but digital register retains values.
OPERATION
01
ALS G-IR
Standard ALS mode—stores difference between green and infrared channel
readings.
10
ALS G
ALS green channel only.
11
ALS IR
Infrared channel only.
Note: 100–111 are reserved. Do not use.
Table 8. Ambient Interrupt Enable
BIT0
OPERATION
0
The ALSINTS bit remains unasserted; ALS channel readings are not compared with interrupt thresholds.
1
Detection of an ambient-light interrupt event triggers a hardware interrupt (INT pin is pulled low) and sets the
ALSINTS bit (register 0x00, B0). ALS channel readings are compared with ALS interrupt threshold settings and
ALS persist timer.
Table 9. Receive Configuration (0x02)
REGISTER
BIT7
BIT6
BIT5
Receive Configuration
BIT4
BIT3
BIT2
ALSTIM[1:0]
BIT1
BIT0
REGISTER
ADDRESS
POWERON RESET
STATE
R/W
0x02
0x00
R/W
ALSINTE
Table 10. ALSTIM Integration Time for ADC Conversions
ALSTIM[1:0]
INTEGRATION TIME
(ms)
FULL-SCALE
ADC COUNTS
BIT RESOLUTION
RELATIVE LSB SIZE
00
100
16,384
14
1x
01
25
4096
12
4x
10
6.25
1024
10
16x
11
1.5625
256
8
64x
9
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
set to 1 (enabled), then the ALSINTS bit is set to 1 and
the INT pin is pulled low.
Ambient Light Measurement Gain (ALSPGA)
The data in this register could be either the green channel, infrared channel, or ALS readings (green channel,
infrared channel readings), depending on the mode
selected by the user.
The 2 bits ALSPGA [1:0] set the gain of the ambient-light
sensing measurement according to Table 11.
ALS Data Register (0x04, 0x05)
The 2 bytes here (ALSDATA[13:0]) hold the results of
ALS signal conversion. The resolution and bit length of
the result is controlled by the value of the ALSTIM[1:0]
and ALSPGA[1:0] bits. The result is always right justified
in the two registers, and the unused high bits are zero.
See Table 12.
Internal update of these two registers is disabled during I2C read operations to ensure proper data handoff
between the ADC and the I2C registers. Update of the
I2C registers is resumed once the master sends a STOP
command. Therefore, when reading the 2 bytes of this
register, the master should NOT send a STOP command
between the 2-byte reads. Instead, a Repeated START
command should be used. The exact read sequence
using the Repeated START command is shown in the I2C
Serial Interface section.
OFL indicates an overflow condition on the ALS channel. If this occurs, set the ALS range (ALSPGA[1:0]) to a
higher range (lower sensitivity). If the OFL bit is set to 1
(there is an overflow condition), and the ALSINTE bit is
Table 11. Ambient Light Measurement Gain (ALSPGA)
ALSPGA[1:0]
LUX/LSB
RELATIVE LSB SIZE
00
0.03125
1x
01
0.125
4x
10
0.5
16x
11
4
128x
Table 12. ALS Data Register (0x04, 0x05)
REGISTER
BIT7
ADC High Byte—ALS
BIT6
BIT5
BIT4
OFL
BIT3
BIT2
BIT1
BIT0
ALSDATA[13:8]
ADC Low Byte—ALS
ALSDATA[7:0]
REGISTER
ADDRESS
POWERON RESET
STATE
R/W
0x04
0x00
R
0x05
0x00
R
REGISTER
ADDRESS
POWERON RESET
STATE
R/W
0x06
0x00
R/W
0x07
0x00
R/W
0x08
0x00
R/W
0x09
0x00
R/W
Table 13. ALS Interrupt Threshold Registers (0x06–0x09)
REGISTER
ALS Upper Threshold—
High Byte
ALS Upper Threshold—
Low Byte
ALS Lower Threshold—
High Byte
ALS Lower Threshold—
Low Byte
BIT7
BIT6
BIT5
BIT4
BIT3
BIT2
UPTHR [13:8]
UPTHR [7:0]
LOTHR[13:8]
LOTHR [7:0]
BIT1
BIT0
10
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
ALS Interrupt Threshold Registers
(0x06-0x09)
This feature is useful in reducing false or nuisance interrupts
due to optical noise/minor disturbances. See Table 15.
ALS Interrupt Threshold registers (0x06-0x09) are
explained in Table 13.
When ALSPST[1:0] is set to 00, and the ALSINTE bit is set
to 1, the first time an ALS interrupt event is detected, the
ALSINTE interrupt bit is set and the INT pin goes low. If
ALSPST[1:0] is set to 01, then four consecutive interrupt
events must be detected on four consecutive measurement cycles. Similarly, if ALSPST[1:0] is set to 10 or 11,
then 8 or 16 consecutive interrupts must be detected
before the INT pin is pulled low. If there is an intervening
measurement cycle where no interrupt is detected, then
the count is reset to zero.
The ALS upper threshold and ALS lower threshold
(UPTHR[13:0] and LOTHR[13:0]) set the window limits
that are used to trigger an ALS interrupt. It is important
to set these values according to the selected bit resolution/integration time chosen for the ALS measurement
based on the ALSTIM[1:0] and ALSPGA[1:0] settings.
The upper 2 bits are always ignored. If the INTE bit is set,
and the lux level is greater or lower than the respective
thresholds for a period greater than that defined by the
ALSPST persist time, the INTS bit in the Status register
are set and the INT pin is pulled low.
Digital Gain Trim Registers (0x0F, 0x10)
Digital gain trim registers are described in Table 16.
TRIM_GAIN_GREEN [6:0] is used to modify the gain of
the green channel.
Threshold Persist Timer Register (0x0A)
The MAX44004 incorporates a persist function that allows
users to set the number of consecutive triggers before interrupt. The Threshold Persist Timer register is explained in
Table 14.
TRIM_GAIN_IR [8:0] is used to modify the gain of the IR
channel.
To tell the part to use the values written to this register,
set the TRIMB bit to 0 in the Main Configuration register
after writing new values to these registers.
ALSPST[1:0] sets one of four persist values that controls
how readily the interrupt logic reacts to a detected event.
Table 14. Threshold Persist Timer Register (0x0A)
REGISTER
BIT7
BIT6
BIT5
BIT4
BIT3
BIT2
BIT1
Threshold Persist Timer
BIT0
ALSPST[1:0]
REGISTER
ADDRESS
POWERON RESET
STATE
R/W
0x0A
0x00
R/W
Table 15. APSPT [1:0]
ALSPST[1:0]
NO. OF CONSECUTIVE TRIGGERS BEFORE AN INTERRUPT
00
1
01
2
10
4
11
16
Table 16. Digital Gain Trim Registers (0x0F, 0x10)
REGISTER
Digital Gain Trim of
Green Channel
Digital Gain Trim of
Infrared Channel
BIT7 BIT6 BIT5 BIT4 BIT3 BIT2 BIT1
BIT0
REGISTER
ADDRESS
POWERON RESET
STATE
R/W
TRIM _GAIN_GREEN [6:0]
TRIM_GAIN_IR
0x0F
0x80
R/TW
0x10
0x80
R/TW
TRIM _GAIN_IR [8:1]
Note 1: Values read from the Trim_Gain registers are the complement of the written value. This is true for reading both the factoryprogrammed values and the customer-programmed values.
11
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
Applications Information
Ambient-Sensing Applications
Typical applications involve placing the device behind a
glass with a small semitransparent window above it. Use
the photodiode-sensitive area as shown in Figure 3 to
properly position the window above the part.
The part comes equipped with internal gain trim registers for the green and IR ALS photodiodes. By suitably
choosing the gains for these channels, accurate ambient
light readings can be generated in all lighting conditions
regardless of the type of glass/ink under which the part
is used. This is especially useful for black glass applications where, for cosmetic reasons, the part is placed
behind a black film to hide its presence, and this film has
the peculiar property of attenuating most ambient light,
but passing through IR radiation.
In standard ALS mode, the green channel and infrared
channel readings are internally subtracted. Since one is
observing only the difference is observed in two separate
ADC measurements, wrong readings can be obtained if
one of the channels becomes saturated, while the other
channel continues to rise. Since the green photodiode
also picks up a lot of the infrared signal, this saturation
can occur earlier than before the maximum expected
2mm
full-scale lux, depending on lighting conditions. For example, under incandescent light, there is a lot more infrared
optical power than in the visible spectral range. In these
situations, the green channel can saturate much earlier
than 511 lux in the most sensitive range. To assist the
user in detecting these conditions, an OFL bit is provided
that alerts the user of an overrange condition. This bit
also triggers an ALS interrupt if it has been enabled.
Typical Operating Sequence
The typical operating sequence for the master to communicate to the device on first power-up is shown below:
1)Setup:
a)Read the Interrupt Status register (0x00) to
confirm only the PWRON bit is set. This also clears
a hardware interrupt.
b)Set Threshold and Persist Timer registers (registers 0x06–0x0C).
c)Write 0x00 to the Receiver Configuration register
(register 0x02) to set the ALS sensor in the highest
gain setting, and in 14-bit modes of operation.
d)Write 0x05 to the Main Configuration register
(register 0x01) to set the part in ALS mode and to
enable ALS interrupt.
e)Set new green channel gains and IR channel
gains, if necessary, to customize ALS operation for
application conditions. Ensure the TRIM bit is set to
0 when not using default factory-trim settings.
2) Wait for interrupt.
VCC 1
MAX44004
6 SDA
TOP VIEW
1.226mm
0.753mm
GND 2
0.39mm
A0 3
5 SCL 2mm
PHOTODIODE
4 INT
3) On interrupt:
a) Read the Interrupt Status register (0x00) to confirm
the device to be the source of interrupt, and to
check for type of interrupt. This should clear the
hardware interrupt on the part, if set.
b)If an ALS interrupt has occurred, read ALS ADC
registers (register 0x04–0x05) to confirm if data is
valid (i.e., OFL = 0), and take appropriate action
(e.g., set new backlight strength). Set new ALS
thresholds, if necessary.
c)Return to Step 2.
0.492mm
Figure 3. MAX44004 Photodiode Location
12
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
I2C Serial Interface
The device features an I2C/SMBusK-compatible, 2-wire
serial interface consisting of a serial data line (SDA) and
a serial clock line (SCL). SDA and SCL facilitate communication between the device and the master at clock
rates up to 400kHz. Figure 4 shows the 2-wire interface
timing diagram. The master generates SCL and initiates
data transfer on the bus. A master device writes data to
the device by transmitting the proper slave address followed by the register address and then the data word.
Each transmit sequence is framed by a START (S) or
Repeated START (Sr) condition and a STOP (P) condition. Each word transmitted to the device is 8 bits long
and is followed by an acknowledge clock pulse. A master
reading data from the device transmits the proper slave
address followed by a series of nine SCL pulses. The IC
transmits data on SDA in sync with the master-generated
SCL pulses. The master acknowledges receipt of each
byte of data. Each read sequence is framed by a START
or Repeated START condition, a not acknowledge, and a
STOP condition. SDA operates as both an input and an
open-drain output. A pullup resistor, typically greater than
500I, is required on the SDA bus. SCL operates as only
an input. A pullup resistor, typically greater than 500I, is
required on SCL if there are multiple masters on the bus,
or if the master in a single-master system has an opendrain SCL output. Series resistors in line with SDA and
SCL are optional. Series resistors protect the digital inputs
of the device from high-voltage spikes on the bus lines,
and minimize crosstalk and undershoot of the bus signal.
Bit Transfer
One data bit is transferred during each SCL cycle. The
data on SDA must remain stable during the high period
of the SCL pulse. Changes in SDA while SCL is high are
control signals. See the START and STOP Conditions
section. SDA and SCL idle high when the I2C bus is not
busy.
Table 17. Slave Address
A0
SLAVE ADDRESS
GND
0x94
VDD
0x96
SDA
tSU, STA
tSU, DAT
tHD, DAT
tLOW
tBUF
tHD, STA
tSP
tSU, STO
SCL
tHIGH
tHD, STA
tR
tF
START
CONDITION
REPEATED
START CONDITION
STOP
CONDITION
START
CONDITION
Figure 4. 2-Wire Interface Timing Diagram
SMBus is a trademark of Motorola Corp.
13
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
START and STOP Conditions
SDA and SCL idle high when the bus is not in use. A master initiates communication by issuing a START condition.
A START condition is a high-to-low transition on SDA with
SCL high. A STOP condition is a low-to-high transition on
SDA while SCL is high (Figure 5). A START condition from
the master signals the beginning of a transmission to the
device. The master terminates transmission, and frees
the bus by issuing a STOP condition. The bus remains
active if a Repeated START condition is generated
instead of a STOP condition.
Early STOP Conditions
The device recognizes a STOP condition at any point
during data transmission, except if the STOP condition
occurs in the same high pulse as a START condition. For
proper operation, do not send a STOP condition during
the same SCL high pulse as the START condition.
Acknowledge
The acknowledge bit (ACK) is a clocked 9th bit that the
device uses to handshake receipt of each byte of data
when in write mode (Figure 6). The device pulls down
SDA during the entire master-generated 9th clock pulse
if the previous byte is successfully received. Monitoring
S
Sr
ACK allows for detection of unsuccessful data transfers.
An unsuccessful data transfer occurs if a receiving
device is busy or if a system fault has occurred. In the
event of an unsuccessful data transfer, the bus master
may retry communication. The master pulls down SDA
during the 9th clock cycle to acknowledge receipt of data
when the device is in read mode. An acknowledge is sent
by the master after each read byte to allow data transfer
to continue. A not acknowledge is sent when the master
reads the final byte of data from the device, followed by
a STOP condition.
Write Data Format
A write to the device includes transmission of a START
condition, the slave address with the R/W bit set to 0, 1
byte of data to configure the internal register address
pointer, 1 or more bytes of data, and a STOP condition.
Figure 7 illustrates the proper frame format for writing 1
byte of data to the device. Figure 8 illustrates the frame
format for writing n bytes of data to the device.
The slave address with the R/W bit set to 0 indicates that
the master intends to write data to the device. The device
acknowledges receipt of the address byte during the
master-generated 9th SCL pulse.
P
CLOCK PULSE FOR
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
START
CONDITION
SCL
SCL
2
1
8
9
NOT ACKNOWLEDGE
SDA
SDA
ACKNOWLEDGE
Figure 5. START, STOP, and Repeated START Conditions
Figure 6. Acknowledge
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
B7
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
S
SLAVE ADDRESS
0
B6
B5
B4
B3
B2
B1
B0
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
A
R/W
REGISTER ADDRESS
A
DATA BYTE
A
P
1 BYTE
Figure 7. Writing 1 Byte of Data to the MAX44004
14
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
The second byte transmitted from the master configures
the device’s internal register address pointer. The pointer
tells the device where to write the next byte of data. An
acknowledge pulse is sent by the device upon receipt of
the address pointer data.
from register 0x00 and subsequent reads autoincrement
the address pointer until the next STOP condition.
The address pointer can be preset to a specific register
before a read command is issued. The master presets
the address pointer by first sending the device’s slave
address with the R/W bit set to 0 followed by the register
address. A Repeated START condition is then sent, followed by the slave address with the R//W bit set to 1. The
device transmits the contents of the specified register.
Attempting to read from register addresses higher than
0xFF results in repeated reads of 0xFF. Note that 0xF6 to
0xFF are reserved registers.
The third byte sent to the device contains the data that
is written to the chosen register. An acknowledge pulse
from the device signals receipt of the data byte.
Read Data Format
Send the slave address with the R/W bit set to 1 to initiate a read operation. The device acknowledges receipt
of its slave address by pulling SDA low during the 9th
SCL clock pulse. A start command followed by a read
command resets the address pointer to register 0x00.
The master acknowledges receipt of each read byte during
the acknowledge clock pulse. The master must acknowledge all correctly received bytes except the last byte. The
final byte must be followed by a not acknowledge from the
master and then a STOP condition. Figure 8 illustrates the
frame format for reading 1 byte from the device. Figure 9
illustrates the frame format for reading two registers consecutively without a STOP condition in between reads.
The first byte transmitted from the device is the contents of
register 0x00. Transmitted data is valid on the rising edge
of the master-generated serial clock (SCL). The address
pointer does not autoincrement after each read data
byte. A STOP condition can be issued after any number
of read data bytes. If a STOP condition is issued followed
by another read operation, the first data byte to be read is
NOT ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MASTER
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
S
SLAVE ADDRESS
0
A
REGISTER ADDRESS
R/W
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
A
Sr
SLAVE ADDRESS
REPEATED START
1
DATA BYTE
A
R/W
A
P
1 BYTE
Figure 8. Reading 1 Byte of Data from the MAX44004
NOT ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MASTER
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
S
SLAVE ADDRESS
0
A
REGISTER ADDRESS 1
R/W
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
A
Sr
SLAVE ADDRESS
REPEATED START
1
DATA BYTE 1
A
R/W
A Sr
1 BYTE
NOT ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MASTER
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
S
SLAVE ADDRESS
0
R/W
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
A
REGISTER ADDRESS 2
ACKNOWLEDGE FROM MAX44004
A
REPEATED START
Sr
SLAVE ADDRESS
1
R/W
A
DATA BYTE 2
A
P
1 BYTE
Figure 9. Reading Two Registers Consecutively Without a STOP Condition in Between Reads
15
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
Package Information
Ordering Information
PART
TEMP RANGE
PIN-PACKAGE
MAX44004GDT+
-40NC to +105NC
6 OTDFN
+Denotes a lead(Pb)-free/RoHS-compliant package.
For the latest package outline information and land patterns
(footprints), go to www.maxim-ic.com/packages. Note that a
“+”, “#”, or “-” in the package code indicates RoHS status only.
Package drawings may show a different suffix character, but
the drawing pertains to the package regardless of RoHS status.
PACKAGE
TYPE
PACKAGE
CODE
OUTLINE
NO.
LAND
PATTERN NO.
6 OTDFN
D622N+2
21-0490
90-0344
16
MAX44004
Digital Ambient Light Sensor
Revision History
REVISION
NUMBER
REVISION
DATE
0
5/12
DESCRIPTION
Initial release
PAGES
CHANGED
—
Maxim cannot assume responsibility for use of any circuitry other than circuitry entirely embodied in a Maxim product. No circuit patent licenses are implied.
Maxim reserves the right to change the circuitry and specifications without notice at any time.
Maxim Integrated Products, 160 Rio Robles Drive, San Jose, CA 95134 408-601-1000
© 2012
Maxim Integrated Products 17
Maxim is a registered trademark of Maxim Integrated Products, Inc.