Hello. I'm Amy Schnoor. Thanks for watching the Introduction of OPT3101 Documents and Development Tools training video.

In this video, I will give a brief introduction of the OPT3101 device, then walk through the system design flow starting with the question, does this technology suit the application all the way to the production calibration. I will go through the design process in a step-by-step manner, highlighting various technical documents, tools, and software that can be found on ti.com/opt3101.

The main document referenced throughout this video is the system design guide and serves as an outline for the design process. This document is found here on ti.com/opt3101, and is titled "Introduction to Time-of-Flight Optical Proximity Sensor System Design."

So OPT3101 is a time-of-flight based proximity and range sensing AFE, which is compatible with a wide variety of external photodiodes and emitters. With up to three independent emitter channels, the OPT3101 provides all the flexibility users need to build distance ranging proximity applications that can cater to a wide variety of low power and high performance applications.

The first step in the system design process is the technology section. It is important to understand basics of the OPT3101 based systems and if such optical systems would suit the application needs. This is covered in section 1 and 2 of the system design guide and it will greatly help you to determine if your design needs will be met. We also have a video titled "Understanding Optical Time of Flight Technology" that you can reference. This is found on ti.com/opt3101, then click the Support and Training tab.

There are several advantages and disadvantages with optical technologies. These are listed and compared with other technologies in section 3 of the system design guide. Section 3 not only helps by having a comparison of different technologies, but also there is a Q&A type section which guides users through a series of questions and helps decide if the OPT3101 is a good fit for their application.

Once the decision is made that the OPT3101 based system is a good fit, the OPT3101 EVM is a good way to start exploring the technology. The OPT3101 EVM is available on ti.com/opt3101, then click the Tools and Software tab. The OPT3101 EVM comes with a powerful Python interface called TI Latte, which lets users develop their own quick prototype application with the GUI and test the technology well before getting on the drawing board.

We also have a how-to-use the OPT3101 EVM video available on our Support and Training tab. You can also find a useful video on how to use TI Latte on our Support and Training tab.

The OPT3101 EVM was designed for precise long-range distance measurement. So if your application requires a wide field of view or multiple emitter channels, this EVM is not suitable for your evaluation. However, there are several documents and application notes on the TI website that describe various implementations. This, along with the OPT3101 System Estimator Tool, will help users determine the best-suited topology for their application.

The OPT3101 System Estimator Tool is software capable of doing what-if analysis based on the user's inputs and can be found ti.com/opt3101. It is capable of analyzing system performance and power, based on a variety of user inputs like choice of emitter and photodiode, optics, data rate, ambient light conditions, and many more. The tool is also capable of plotting performance parameters with user input parameters to let users choose the best power performance trade-off.

There are several standard components already modeled in the tool. However, users have the capability to add simple and detailed models of other emitters and photodiodes. Users willing to use custom optics also have an option to key in the critical parameters of the lens. I highly recommend reading sections 4, 5, and 6 of the system design document before using the tool, since it would give you a clear understanding of some of these trade-offs. If custom optics are desired, reading section 7 of the system design document covers fundamentals of optics, choices, and design for the OPT3101 system.

Once the components are chosen and the system design is finalized, the next step is the critical phase of designing the schematic layout and industrial design. There are clear guidelines for schematic and layout design in sections 9 and 10 of the OPT3101 data sheet that can be found on ti.com/opt3101.

Since the OPT3101 designs are sensitive to component choice and PCB layout design, a very detailed explanation along with the principles of these guidelines and good examples can be found under Section 8 of the system design document. This section shows the criticality and sensitivity with visualizations of why the PCB placement and routing is important.

When it comes to the industrial design or the ID, each application has its own requirement like aesthetics, optical isolation, and cover glass. Section 7 of the system design guide helps users understand the requirement for such factors. This section also talks about cover glass design choices along with their pros and cons.

OPT3101 systems need calibration to achieve good performance. There are some calibrations to be performed per hardware design in a lab environment and some calibration required per unit in a factory environment. Details of the calibration can be found in the OPT3101 calibration document, which can be downloaded at ti.com/opt3101, then click on the Technical Documents tab.

The document is very detailed with fundamentals of calibration requirements, along with detailed register settings. There is, however, a higher level of abstraction available to aid calibration, which is covered in the OPT3101 software development kit or SDK. OPT3101 SDK is a C++ library that helps control and capture data from OPT3101 based systems and can be found at ti.com/opt3101, then clicking on the Tools and Software tab. This library is open source and can be ported to various host environments.

Not only does the SDK help in control and capture, but it also plays an important role in hardware bring-up and calibration. Since the OPT3101 can be configured in many different operating conditions, the OPT3101 Configurator Tool provides a high level GUI interface for easy configuration management. This is an offline tool used to generate configuration header files that are used by the OPT3101 SDK.

Once the headers are included in the SDK environment in the application host processor, high level functions such as device bring-up and calibration can be performed on the user's hardware. The OPT3101 SDK comes with extensive documentation which can be found along with the OPT3101 SDK deliverable.

There are several topics covered in this document, including first-time bring-up, first-level calibration, per-design calibration, per-unit calibration, and many more. These topics and the step-by-step algorithm are covered in great detail in the document, which helps you build your calibration tools.

There is also a video describing the OPT3101 SDK and can be found on ti.com/opt3101. I hope this video gives a clear overview on the OPT3101 system design process. To access all the tools and documents we have created to help you prototype easier and faster, visit ti.com/opt3101.

If you need technical support with OPT3101, visit ti.com/support, where you will find a variety of ways to connect with us. Thanks for watching.