acquisitionZONE Products for the week of December 16, 2002
The small form factor ADNS-2610 and ADNS-2620 optical mouse sensors offer a standard, open serial interface. This means that the sensors are able to interface with multiple microcontrollers, providing a flexible optical mouse architecture that does not limit the mouse design to just one specific type of microcontroller. These new sensors are based on optical navigation technology that measures changes in position by taking thousands of digital pictures and mathematically determining the direction and magnitude of movement at up to 400 counts per inch (CPI), at speeds up to 12 inches per second (IPS).
Both Agilent sensors are supplied in a miniature 8-pin staggered dual inline package (DIP), with a dimension of 9.9 mm (L) by 9.1 mm (W) by 4.6 mm (H) for the molded package. While the ADNS-2610 provides a fixed sampling rate of 1,500 frames per second, the ADNS-2620 combines a programmable rate of up to 2,300 frames per second, with an LED strobe mode for an enhanced navigation performance. Both sensors operate from a single 5V supply, and both conform to USB suspend mode specifications.
Agilent's new entry-level sensors contain an image acquisition system (IAS), a digital signal processor (DSP), and a two wire serial port. They are designed to be used with the Agilent HDNS-2100 lens, HDNS-2200 LED assembly clip and HLMP-ED80-XXXXX LED illumination source. Together, these parts combine to form a complete, compact mouse sensor solution.
"The compact size of our latest optical mouse sensors further reduces
costs to enable a new entry-level optical mouse segment for the OEM and
retail markets," said Jason Hartlove, vice president and general manager
of the Agilent Sensor Solutions Division. "Agilent will continue in
its efforts to deliver new optical navigation architectures that enable
mouse manufacturers to offer corded and cordless product portfolios that
address a wide range of features and price points."
analogZONE Says . . .
Selling 100 million optical mouse sensors in just a few years is not a trivial matter, but the market never stays still and the demands are more and more for smaller parts so the manufactured mouse can also be smaller. So, Agilent has reduced their optical mouse sensors to an 8-pin part (from 16 pins before) moving sleep functions to a register.
The difference between the two entry-level parts (for corded mice) is that the ADNS-2620 has programmable frame rates from 500 to 2300 frame/s and the LED is strobed at the same rate to save power, particularly for USB applications. Although there is latency in the LED it is, apparently, not significant. The ADNS-2610 has a fixed frame rate of 1500 frame/s. There is also a difference in the sleep modes available with the ADNS-2620 in that the auto-sleep - when the power consumption is cut while the mouse is not moving - can be deactivated.
These parts are basically high-speed 2D motion detectors which in a mouse would illuminate a desktop, or other work surface, with a red-band LED, and the reflection through a lens system would carry light to the sensor. The best surfaces are the most reflective and, apparently, the perfect surface is white paper, although the surface of a pair of jeans works just fine. Agilent measures the resolution in "counts-per-inch" with the value at 400 in this case.
The parts are for a 5-V supply with the quiescent at a typical 15 mA (when the mouse is moving) which falls to a typical 12 mA in the sleep (non-moving) mode. The power-down current is a typical 0.17 mA. Clock is provided by an external 24-MHz ceramic resonator.
Although the serial interface is an open standard Agilent shows a Cypress micro (CY7C63723C) in its circuit examples. With a no-brainer standard such as this the mouse manufacturer simply needs to get the mechanical alignment right and he is in business. From Agilent's point of view keeping up with the size demands of the market means that it will continue to dominate in this nice, profitable, slot. We should also expect to see another version for cordless mice and, no doubt, 3.3-V versions down the road.
The ADNS-2610 and ADNS-2620 are both in production in a staggered DIP-8 priced at less than $3.50 and $4.00, respectively, in volume quantities. The recommended LED, together with an LED clip and a suitable lens are available at $0.56, also in high-volume.
Data Sheet ADNS-2610
Data Sheet ADNS-2620