The Mi8 Explorer Edition, which is the new flagship smartphone from the Chinese brand Xiaomi, includes a face recognition system which uses infrared (IR) vertical cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) arrays from ams. The PMSIL is a complete VCSEL flood illuminator system with integrated eye-safety interlock, offering very high optical efficiency and minimising the drain on the phone’s battery when emitting.
The PMSIL incorporates the emitter die, and a diffuser in a compact 3mm x 3mm x 1mm package, and features high spectral stability over temperature, and a narrow spectral width of <1nm. Its engineered beam profile can be precisely configured to the needs of specific smartphone applications.
In the Mi8 Explorer Edition, the PMSIL operates in always-on mode for face detection and recognition. The IR VCSEL emitter in the structured lighting system, the CS115, is also supplied by ams. The IR emitter is a IR chip-on-substrate VCSEL array which provides high optical efficiency.
ams also supplies the TMD27253 ambient light sensor and proximity detection module in the Mi8 and Mi8SE models.
