Definitions or exact meaning for signal rate and other parameters

[SatyaK]

Hi,

We are using VL53L5 TOF sensor for our development,

Unit for signal rate is MCPS (mega counts per seconds). What exactly is it counting?

Is it measure of intensity of signal received? Does it mean that, Higher the signal rate, higher is intensity of received signal. Does higher signal rate means good confidence is reported range.

Thanks,

Satya

[John E KVAM]

​All the VL53 sensors measure signal strength in MegaCounts per second - And each PHOTON received is a count. 20million is about as high as we go. After that we start turning off SPADs (the photon detectors) to lower the strength. Anything above 0.5 MCPS will produce an answer depending on ambient and a few other conditions.

• john

[John E KVAM]

​One further note. On the VL53L0 and L1 signal strength is the total number of counts received. One really needs to divide that by the number of SPAD photon detectors used and then normalized by multiplying by 200. Then one can compare the signal strength from one measurement to another. (On the VL6180 we always use the same number of SPADs.)