Time-of-Flight sensor combines ultrasonic transducer with DSP on mixed-signal ASIC

TDK announces the immediate worldwide availability of the Chirp CH-101 MEMS-based ultrasonic Time-of-Flight (ToF) sensor. This ToF sensor utilizes a tiny ultrasonic transducer chip to send out a pulse of ultrasound and then listen for echoes returning from targets in the sensor’s field-of-view. By calculating the ToF, the sensor can determine the location of an object relative to a device and trigger a programmed behavior.

TDK’s MEMS ultrasonic technology leverages a proprietary ToF sensor in a 3.5 mm x 3.5 mm package that combines a MEMS ultrasonic transducer with a power-efficient digital signal processor (DSP) on a custom low-power mixed-signal CMOS ASIC. The sensor handles a variety of ultrasonic signal-processing functions, enabling customers flexible industrial design options for a broad range of use-case scenarios, including range-finding, presence/proximity sensing, object-detection/avoidance, and position-tracking.

CH-101 is the first commercially available MEMS-based ultrasonic ToF sensor intended for consumer electronics, AR/VR, robotics, drones, IoT, automotive, and industrial market segments. TDK’s MEMS ultrasonic product portfolio also includes the CH-201 ultrasonic ToF sensor for room-scale sensing applications, and Chirp SonicTrack™, a complete hardware-software system solution enabling inside-out 6-DoF controller tracking for AR/VR/MR systems.

TDK’s MEMS ultrasonic ToF sensor solutions offer numerous advantages over optical ToF sensors:

• Accurate range measurement regardless of target size or color; even optically transparent targets are accurately detected
• Immunity to ambient noise
• Ability to operate in all lighting conditions — unlike IR sensors, which do not work in direct sunlight
• Ensures eye-safety — contrasting with laser-based IR ToF sensors – and yet not perceivable by house pets
• Detects objects over a field-of-view up to 180° — enabling a single sensor to support room-scale sensing

The CH-101 is in mass production now and Chirp’s CH-201 is currently shipping to select customers. TDK will showcase the Chirp CH-101 and CH-201 products, along with TDK’s comprehensive portfolio of sensors, electronic components and solutions for mobile, wearables, AR/VR, automotive, IoT and industrial applications at the Sensors Expo 2019 in San Jose, California, June 25-27, 2019.