STMicroelectronics VL53L9CX, or VL53L9 for short, is the company’s first direct Time-of-Flight (dToF) 3D LiDAR all-in-one module. It offers a sensing range of 5 centimeters to 9 meters, a wide 72º field of view, a resolution of 2.3K zones, and up to 100 Hz frame rate.ST’s ToF sensors have gone a long way since we covered the VL53L0X sensor with a single zone and 2-meter range in 2017. Since then, the company has steadily improved its tiny ToF sensors with up to 64 zones and long range in recent sensors like the VL53L8CP. While the VL53L9CX is still tiny at 12.8 x 6.1 x 4.6 mm, it’s in a class of its own, acting like a mini 3D scanner with 2268 zones, and will be used for a range of applications in robotics, industrial automation, smart buildings, AR/VR, and healthcare.ST VL53L9CX 3D ToF camera module specifications:
Multizone ranging output with up to 54 x 42 separate zones (2268) and binning options
Receiving array of single-photon avalanche diodes (SPADs)
Scan by two vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) flood illumination 940 nm invisible light and integrated analog driver
Ranging from <5 cm up to 8.8 m with up to 1% accuracy
