water level monitor with time of flight sensor

[Arun]

Hi friends,  

currently Iam working for the project (water level monitor with time of flight sensor).  For my application it should sense  around 4 meters.  I have selected the sensor (vl53l5cx) which is 2.7 meters sensing range which black reflective surface with 8*8, Is there any posibilities to do the same with 4*4 ?  If we do so what will be my range of the sensor while sensing water level.  

2.  Can vl53l8cx is used to sense the water level.  Is it so what will be my range of the sensor when it has black reflective surface.  

can anyone help to identify this issue

[John E KVAM]

I've not tried ranging on very large tanks. I did try it at night using a swimming pool but I had issues getting out over the water at tall heights.

That being said, the VL53L8 does have almost 3X the optical power of the VL53L5. I've always said with the L5, one can spot people to about 2.5M. But with the L8, one can spot people to 4M. If you have a really big tank, I see no reason the L8 won't work for you.

The 4x4 is also an interesting idea. The L5 gets it's best distance from the one zone that is perpendicular to the surface, But if you have a black liquid, I would be less concerned with too many photons doing the 'wrong' thing and giving you poor answers. It should work, but the accuracy of the distance might be a bit lower. 

You could try ranging with the 4x4 and if the distances were short, switch to the 8x8 for accuracy. 

If your tank were very large, you might consider using the L8 for the optical power, and if you don't get enough signal back, try the 4x4. 

There is not much you can do except test it