To select the color read by the photodiode, you use the control pins S2 and S3. Output frequency scaling selection inputs This frequency is then, read by the Arduino – this is shown in the figure below. The sensor has a current-to-frequency converter that converts the photodiodes’ readings into a square wave with a frequency that is proportional to the light intensity of the chosen color.

If you take a closer look at the TCS3200 chip you can see the different filters.īy selectively choosing the photodiode filter’s readings, you’re able to detect the intensity of the different colors.

16 photodiodes with blue filter – sensitive to blue wavelength.

16 photodiodes with green filter – sensitive to green wavelength.

16 photodiodes with red filter – sensitive to red wavelength.

A photodiode is simply a semiconductor device that converts light into current. The TCS3200 has an array of photodiodes with 4 different filters. You can check the TCS3200 or a TCS230 color sensor on Maker Advisor and find the best price.

Communicates directly to microcontroller.

Programmable color and full-scale output frequency.

High-resolution conversion of light intensity to frequency.

It also contains four white LEDs that light up the object in front of it. The TCS3200 color sensor – shown in the figure below – uses a TAOS TCS3200 RGB sensor chip to detect color.

This sensor is specially useful for color recognition projects such as color matching, color sorting, test strip reading and much more. The TCS3200 color sensor can detect a wide variety of colors based on their wavelength. This post shows you how to detect colors with the Arduino using the TCS230/ TCS3200 color sensor.

Arduino mega multisim