The company claims that ML8511 is the first ultraviolet (UV) sensor integrated chip (IC) to be based on silicon-on-insulator complementary metal oxide semiconductor (SOI-CMOS) technology. It integrates a UV light-receiving element and an analog output circuit into a single chip, which will help to reduce the number of components, cost and size compared to conventional devices.
According to Oki, the IC includes an energy-saving standby function, which is suitable for battery driven portable mobile devices that require low power consumption.
As trends toward health and anti-aging grow, many people are protecting their skin by monitoring the UV level they are exposed to. We believe it would be convenient if one could check the UV level more easily on a portable UV monitoring device, said Takaki Yamada, president of Silicon Microdevice at Oki Electric. Oki succeeded in developing a UV sensor IC based on SOI-CMOS technology, a first in the world. This IC will enable users to embed UV sensor functions in a variety of portable devices, offering end users the ability to check the UV level wherever they are.
Additionally, Oki plans to release a reference board to support customers’ product development. The board includes the ML8511 IC to measure the light density of incident UV light to measure UV index and display UV level using light-emitting diodes on the printed circuit board.
Furthermore, Oki plans to provide reference designs from April 2008, offering detailed guidelines and measures for skin care based on the UV level measured by the ML8511. Also, it plans to offer sensors with higher functionality based on SOI-CMOS technology and to increase its product line up of sensor ICs for skin care.
Earlier this month, Oki launched samples of ICs for fingerprint authentication to protect the fingerprint data from unauthorized access, enabling high-level security systems.
Source: ComputerWire daily updates
