Comparison of features of various ToF Sensors

[anotherandrew]

I'm a little frustrated that there isn't a "Here's ST's Time of Flight sensor offering and which sensors have which features" kind of page. The sensor datasheets themselves also do not give any real comparison data to other (pin compatible) parts.

From what I have gathered:

vl53l0x - 25o FOV, base model in ranging sensors. Single zone, single target

vl53l1  - 27o FOV, multi-zone (adjustable FoV)

vl53l1x - same but with more zones?

vl53l1cb - no idea

vl53l2 - not a product

vl53l3cx - 25o FOV, multi target, faster (1MHz) I2C

vl53l4cd - 18o FOV, short range (1mm - 1300mm), fast (100Hz), 1MHz I2C

vl53l4cx - histogram based (?), long range (0-6000mm), 18o, multi target

Looks like the L5 isn't footprint-compatible:

vl53l5cx - 63o FOV, multizone, mutli-target

vl53l5cp - cx + person detect?

vl53l8ca - 2nd gen, wide FOV like L5, pin compatible with L5?

Then there's the VL6180, which is not footprint compatible and I think is older, based on an earlier ToF design, and the VL6180x which adds an ALS?

I also found John Kvam's presentation on ToF sensors (is there a video of the webinar that goes with the slides?) but it also does not go into the differences between these products and when/how to choose one over another.

[Anne BIGOT · Accepted solution]

Hello Andrew,

You can find a comparison of the sensors we propose here :

https://community.st.com/s/article/how-to-choose-a-time-of-flight-sensor

Regards

Anne

[anotherandrew]

YES this is *exactly* what I was looking for! I could not find this before you sent the link. THANK YOU!

For sensing down to 5mm, is the VL6180 still appropriate, or is the VL53L4CB a better choice? The latter specifically mentions super-short distance measurement, and for one application I am looking at, getting as close to sub-mm repeatability is important. I do recognize this is a challenge with time-of-flight sensors just by nature of how fast light travels. Speed is not important, so taking dozens of measurements and averaging is an option for me, but is one particular sensor "better" than another in this product range?

[John E KVAM]

The VL6180 is a good short-distance, low power solution. It ranges until it gets enough photons, and gives an answer. At close distances this is very fast. But integration time yealds accuracy.

The VL sensors work differently. You provide the amount of time they range. So you can set a long integration time - and you will get better accuracy.

The VL53L4CB in my experiments work the best at short distances. Haveing a single known target will get you the best accuracy, as wild swings in reflectiviy lead to the extremes in the accuracy numbers.

• john