The Adafruit AS7341 10-Channel Light / Color Sensor Breakout is a multi-channel spectrometer, which is a special type of light sensor that is able to detect not only the amount of light present but also the amounts of light within different wavelengths. This means that you can use it to detect much better than the human eye is capable of, what color or colors of light is present.

The AS7341 packs within its 3x2mm footprint 16 different sensors that can detect 8 separate, overlapping bands of colored light. As if that weren’t enough, it also includes sensors for white light as well as Near Infra-red light, and even sensors made specifically for detecting light flicker at specific frequencies from things like indoor lighting.

The super-human color measuring capabilities of the AS7341 can be used to quantify the specific makeup of whatever interesting colors you can point it at, and can do so with more accuracy and specificity than a well-trained artist.

This is possible thanks to the impressive collection of sensors in the AS7341 being routed through a 16-bit 6-channel ADC that takes the raw measurements and converts them to digital values that can be read out over I2C.

11 readable individual sensor elements (10 light channels plus flicker detection) don’t exactly fit through a 6-channel ADC all at once, so the chip includes a so-called Super MUX (SMUX) that allows you to route the signal from any sensor to an ADC channel. Now that’s some super multiplexing! The sensor also has GPIO and interrupt pins that can allow it to communicate directly with other sensors, or the microcontroller itself.

All of this capability is made accessible by mounting the sensor on a STEMMA QT form factor breakout board, complete with level shifting circuitry and SparkFun Qwiic compatible Stemma QT connectors. This means that you can, without needing to solder, connect our AS7341 breakout into your 3.3V or 5V microcontroller of choice be it an Arduino Uno, Raspberry Pi, or one of the many CircuitPython-compatible boards.

Applications:

1. High-precision reflective color point and spectral measurements.
2. Fluid color, turbidity, or reagent-based constituent analysis.
3. Spectral power distribution and passive ambient CCT measurement for home and building automation.
4. High-end display color management.

Features: 

1. Precision color, spectral composition, and distribution measurements
2. 8 optical channels distributed over the visible spectral range + clear and NIR channels realized via silicon nano optic interference filter deposition technologies.
3. Low power consumption and efficient I²C communication.
4. Integrated ambient light flicker detection on-chip and light source detection through the NIR channel.
5. Electronic shutter/trigger and synch control.
6. GPIO can be used as an external trigger input or light source synchronization output.
7. External photodiodes to expand detection range.
8. GPIO can be used as input for external photodiodes including a mid-IR range.

Package Includes:

1 x Adafruit AS7341 10-Channel Light / Color Sensor Breakout – STEMMA QT/Qwiic

Spectrometer 2 Click as its foundation uses the VD6283TX, a color sensor with advanced light flicker extraction from STMicroelectronics. It performs fast and accurate light measurements thanks to an individual ADC with a resolution of 24 bits (16 bit + 8 bit for high accuracy under low light) and a readout for six color channels: red, green, blue, IR, clear, and visible. The color channels can be individually enabled to optimize power consumption, alongside 15 programmable gains for a high-dynamic range, through a serial interface. Six channels can operate with independent, parallel reading for ALS or flicker operations, one represents a dedicated fast channel for light flicker measurement, and one stands for an internal dark channel.

The VD6283TX uses hybrid color filters with precise responses allowing accurate computation of the correlated color temperature (CCT) and Lux information. Its patented architecture and a high-performance photodiode design can also extract light-flickering frequencies from a minimum of 100Hz and a maximum frequency of 2kHz, including LED square signals, to avoid “banding effects” or check that they are safe for the human eye.

Spectrometer 2 Click communicates with MCU using the standard I2C 2-Wire interface with a maximum clock frequency of 1MHz, fully adjustable through software registers. The VD6283TX does not require a specific Power-Up sequence but requires a voltage of 1.8V for its interface and logic part to work correctly. Therefore, a small regulating LDO is used, the ADP151, providing a 1.8V out of 3.3V mikroBUS™ power rail. Since the sensor for operation requires a power supply of 1.8V, this Click board™ also features the PCA9306 voltage-level translator allowing the VD6283TX to work with 3.3V MCU properly.

This Click board™ can be operated only with a 3.3V logic voltage level. The board must perform appropriate logic voltage level conversion before using MCUs with different logic levels. However, the Click board™ comes equipped with a library containing functions and an example code that can be used, as a reference, for further development.

Applications: Can be used for screen brightness adjustment and white balance color assistance, lux and CCT measurement, or light frequency extraction for flicker correction assistance

Specifications and Features:

1. Type:  Optical Sensor
2. Low power consumption
3. Interface:  Analog, I2C
4. Compatibility: mikroBUS
5. Click board size: 28.6 x 25.4 mm
6. Input Voltage: 3.3V
7. Parallel sensing of all six channels
8. On-board modules VD6283TX – hybrid filter multispectral sensor with light flicker engine from STMicroelectronics
9. Advanced hybrid filters with high photocount response
10. Innovative readout architecture to extract AC light flicker signal, from 100Hz to 2kHz frequency detection – sine or square wave

Useful Link:

• MikroBUS
• MikroSDK
• Spectrometer 2 click example on Libstock
• Spectrometer 2 click 2D and 3D files
• Spectrometer 2 click schematic
• VD6283TX datasheet.

Package Includes:

1 x Mikroe SPECTROMETER 2 CLICK

V Sensor (C) is an I2C digital UV sensor expansion board equipped with LTR390-UV-01, which can be used to measure UV and human visible light and can output light intensity data. UV Sensor (C) has the characteristics of sensitive sensing, fast response and small size. Its core sensor LTR390-UV-01 is integrated on a 27 × 20mm expansion board, which can be easily integrated into the device.

Features: 

1. Using LTR390-UV-01, can measure ultraviolet and visible light of human eye
2. Built-in ADC, can directly output light intensity through I2C interface, not easy to be disturbed by noise
3. With interrupt output and programmable upper and lower thresholds
4. On-board level conversion circuit, compatible with 3.3V/5V working level
5. Provide complete supporting information manual (Raspberry/Arduino/STM32 sample program and user manual, etc.)

Application:

1. Ultraviolet tester
2. Outdoor ultraviolet detector
3. Germicidal lamp

Package Includes:

1 x UV Sensor (C)
1 x PH2.0 5PIN wire

The TCS3200 sensor is a color sensor. This TCS3200 Color Recognition Sensor is a high-quality light sensor allowing you to sense any color through a combination of Red, Green, and Blue. Its output is a square wave with frequency directly proportional to incident light intensity. This module can be directly interfaced with Microcontrollers, Arduino Boards, Raspberry Pi, etc.

  Connections

VCC ↔ 2.7V ~ 5.5V

GND ↔ power supply ground

LED ↔ MCU.IO (controlling the 4 white LEDs)

OUT ↔ MCU.IO (RGB color output frequency)

S0/S1 ↔ MCU.IO (Output frequency scaling selection inputs)

S2/S3 ↔ MCU.IO (Photodiode type selection inputs)

Application:

1. Sorting by color
2. Ambient light sensing and calibration
3. Test strip reading
4. Color matching

If you want to explore some more Color Sensors, then click on this Link COLOR SENSOR

Features:

1. High-Resolution Conversion of Light Intensity to Frequency
2. Programmable Color and Full-Scale Output Frequency
3. Power Down Feature
4. Stable Temperature Coefficient

Package Includes:

1 x Waveshare TCS3200 Color Sensor

Basic breakout board for the TEMT6000 Ambient Light Sensor. TEMT6000 is a silicon NPN epitaxial planar phototransistor in a miniature transparent mold for surface mounting onto a printed circuit board. The device is sensitive to the visible spectrum. Only what you need, nothing you don’t. Sensor acts like a transistor – the greater the incoming light, the higher the analog voltage on the signal pin.

Applications:

1. Ambient light sensor for display backlight dimming in:
2. Mobile phones
3. Notebook computers
4. PDA’s
5. Cameras
6. Dashboards

Package Includes:

1 x SparkFun Ambient Light Sensor Breakout – TEMT6000