ABSTRACT
The photointegrated circuit (photo IC) requires more complex processing for chip fabrication and packaging; therefore, the photo IC is more expensive. For comparable volumes, the photo IC attracts a premium price over simple phototransistors. The use of photo ICs is increasing because of two strong technological pressures in the marketplace. The first pressure comes from the user’s desire to purchase a complete building block or function. The second pressure comes from the need for improved performance. The chapter discusses the three of standard function photo ICs that are: triac driver, synchronous driver detector, and the color sensor. The triac driver photo IC is designed to interface electric controllers that generate a DC output to control AC loads. The triac driver comes in two basic configurations: a standard triac driver and a zero crossing triac driver. The color sensor uses a known light source to determine the color of objects placed in its field of view.
