Is there a datasheet for product #4071 - Pololu Distance Sensor with Pulse Width Output??
In particular what class laser is being used?
Hello.
Our #4071 Pololu Distance Sensor uses the VL53L1X, which uses a Class 1 laser. We have a VL53L1X Time-of-Flight Distance Sensor Carrier, and you can find a datasheet for the sensor under the “Resources” tab on the product page.
- Patrick
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Hello,
First thanks a lot for the good and easy useable sensors.
Regarding the resolution: does 1mm resolution of the 4071 means the steps of the pulsewidth are 0.5 microseconds? So I need a 2 Mhz or faster clock for counting?
Regarding power up and Enable: because the enable pin is not so easy to connect to our main PCB. Is it possible to power up the sensor every x seconds do 100 measurements and power down the sensor with the VIN line? Does the sensor need some time after power up for a stable measurement? Or would you recommend power up the whole pcb with your sensor providing 3V3 on VIN all the time and using the enable PIN to save energy?
Do you recommend any peripherials on the OUT line from the 4071 to the I/O on our microcontroller (MSP430 Texas)?
Thanks
Bye Lukas
Hello, Lukas.
The pulse widths are multiples of 0.5 µs. To measure the pulses and get the full resolution, a 2 MHz timer would not be fast enough, because your timer will not be perfectly synchronized with the signal, and the timer’s frequency will not be perfect either.
We have not characterized the startup time for the sensor in detail. You could power down the sensor by just disconnecting power from VIN, but using the EN pin will probably be faster.
I am not familiar with your specific controller, but we expect that connecting the OUT pin directly to the microcontroller without any additional hardware should typically be fine in most cases.
- Patrick
Hello Patrick,
Thank you very much for your quick and helpfull response. Accordingly we will connect it directly to the uC, use a higher frequency and ignore EN but start and stop it with the VIN.
Bye Lukas
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