Ambient 5 Click-Platine

Thanks to the used proprietary technologies that allow high precision, reliability, and low power consumption, the Ambient 5 Click Board™ can be used for the rapid development of various cost-effective applications that rely on light intensity sensing, including optical switches, screen dimming applications for mobile and handheld devices, light metering applications (lux meters), and similar.

How Does The Ambient 5 Click Board™ Work?

The main component of the Ambient 5 Click Board™ is the VEML6030, a high accuracy ambient light sensor (ALS) with an I2C interface, from Vishay Semiconductors. This sensor utilizes several proprietary technologies to ensure accurate measurements of the light intensity, with the spectral response very close to a human eye. By utilizing a sensitive photo-diode, low noise amplifier, and a 16-bit A/D converter (ADC), this sensor can provide the data directly, with no need for complex calculations. The dynamic range for the ambient light sensor is very large, starting down from 0 lux up to about 120 lux, with the maximum resolution of only 0.0036 lux/count. The extremely high sensitivity along with the linear response to different light sources, allows this sensor to be placed behind a dark glass or panels made of other semi-transparent materials.

The VEML6030 sensor has only six 16-bit registers, which make it very simple to configure and use. Even though, it comes with the mikroSDK compatible library, which simplifies the development even more. However, a more detailed explanation of each command can be found in the datasheet of the VEML6030, if required.

A selectable GAIN allows a very wide dynamic range for ALS measurement. There are two ALS_GAIN bits, allowing the gain level to be set to 1/4x, 1/2x, 1x, and 2x. This offers four different luminosity ranges to be covered for each selected integration time (ALS_IT). For example, the fastest integration time (25ms) results in the lowest resolution (1.8432 lx/count), and combined with the gain of 1/8x, it allows the highest luminosity value to be measured (120,796 lx)

The power consumption of the VEML6030 is in tight relation with the programmed integration time, power supply, and amplification. There are two bits available to select the power mode (PSM), four bits to select the integration time (ALS_IT), and two bits to select the gain (ALS_GAIN). These parameters are determining factors for the average power consumption, measurement resolution, and refresh time. By utilizing such a flexible power-saving scheme, the VEML6030 can be adapted to any type of power-sensitive application.

A configurable interrupt engine allows optimized firmware to be developed, avoiding polling routines and frequent access over the I2C interface. The interrupt pin (INT) is an open-drain output, which is pulled to a HIGH logic level when it is not asserted. When any of the programmed light thresholds is exceeded for a programmed number of times, an interrupt event will be generated, asserting this pin to a LOW logic level. The interrupt pin is routed to the mikroBUS™ INT pin.

The slave I2C address of the VEML6030 can be selected by switching the SMD jumper to an appropriate position. Unlike some other devices, this jumper does not set the LSB of the I2C address, but rather selects between two possible values: when tied to GND (0), the I2C address of the VEML6030 will be 0b0010000x. When tied to VCC (1), the I2C address will be 0b1001000x. The x is the I2C address R/W byte. Due to maximum electrical ratings, this Click board™ is to be used with 3.3V MCUs, only.

SPECIFICATIONS

PINOUT DIAGRAM

This table shows how the pinout on the Ambient 5 Click Board™ corresponds to the pinout on the mikroBUS™ socket (the latter shown in the two middle columns).

Notes	Pin					Pin	Notes
NC	1	AN	PWM	16	NC
NC	2	RST	INT	15	INT	Interrupt OUT
NC	3	CS	RX	14	NC
NC	4	SCK	TX	13	NC
NC	5	MISO	SCL	12	SCL	I2C Clock
NC	6	MOSI	SDA	11	SDA	I2C Data
Power Supply	+3V3	7	3.3V	5V	10	NC
Ground	GND	8	GND	GND	9	GND	Ground

ONBOARD SETTINGS AND INDICATORS