AN4907

Application note
VL53L0X ranging module cover window guidelines

Imaging Application

Introduction
The aim of this document is to provide guidelines for Industrial Design and how to assess
cover window quality. It details ST’s recommendations on cover window selection and
design requirements for optimizing the system.

Figure 1. VL53L0X device

January 2017 DocID029711 Rev 2 1/20

www.st.com 20
Contents AN4907

Contents

1 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2 Ideal industrial design (ID) and cover window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.1 ID design recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

3 VL53L0X optical paths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3.1 Cross talk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
3.1.1 Cross talk measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.1.2 Cross talk effect on ranging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.1.3 Cross talk compensation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

4 Cover window optical considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

4.1 Optical transmission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.2 Haze . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.3 Cover window material . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.4 Cover window dirt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
4.5 Cover window coating . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

5 Cover window mechanical considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

5.1 Air gap . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
5.2 Cover window artwork . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
5.2.1 Oval exclusion area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
5.2.2 2 hole exclusion area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

6 Hornix cover window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

7 Acronyms and abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

8 Revision history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

2/20 DocID029711 Rev 2

AN4907 Overview

1 Overview

Typically the VL53L0X ranging module will be used in conjunction with a window covering.
The cover window serves two main purposes:
1. Provides physical protection of the module, including dust ingress prevention.
2. To provide optical filtering for the module.
The cover window will normally be opaque with either two circular apertures or one oval
aperture to allow IR light to be emitted and received.
The cover window has to fulfill some optical requirements to guarantee the ranging
capabilities. The quality is measured by the transmission and haze factors.
There are also mechanical guidelines to be followed: The air gap between the VL53L0X and
the cover window and the exclusion area in front of the VL53L0X.
The contributions of the optical (transmission/haze) and mechanical parameters to the
device performance is given by the cross talk measurement.
The goal is to ensure that cover window impact on VL53L0X performance is minimized.

Figure 2. VL53L0X with cover window

35° exclusion zone

25° 25° nominal case

DocID029711 Rev 2 3/20

20
Ideal industrial design (ID) and cover window AN4907

2 Ideal industrial design (ID) and cover window

Embedded particles/holes and/or rough surfaces are major contributors to light scattering in
cover windows.

An Ideal cover window has:

• No structural defects in the plastic or glass material
• No surface defects that can induce light scatter or smudge sensitivity with fingerprint
• Transmission >90% in near-IR (940nm +/-10nm) and low haze
• Outer coatings that do not degrade immunity to fingerprints (Anti-fingerprint or Anti-
Reflective coatings)
• Single material. Use of dual material may alter performance.
An ideal ID design has:
• Small air gap (<0.5mm)
• Thin window
• Low window tilt <2degrees
• Tight tolerances.

Figure 3. Cover window with haze

Cover window vendors are responsible for controlling cover window quality to ensure it is
free of surface and structural defects.
The cover window vendor should measure the transmission of the final window and control /
monitor the transmission quality in production.
Cover window vendors need to be able to measure the level of scatter (clarity or haze),
which is different from transmission, as part of the transmitted light may be lost in scattering
and can impact the overall system.
Cover window vendors are responsible for tolerance in material thickness.

4/20 DocID029711 Rev 2

AN4907 Ideal industrial design (ID) and cover window

2.1 ID design recommendations

It is the integrator’s responsibility to comply with the Industrial Design (ID) and cover window
recommendations from ST to ensure optimized performance.
A small air gap (shown on Figure 4 as ‘E’) and thin cover window (shown on Figure 4 as ‘D’)
with high transmittance is best.
If it is not possible to reduce the air gap & cover window thickness then a gasket is essential,
as shown in Figure 5. The gasket will help reduce cross talk.

Figure 4. ID design recommendation small air gap, thin cover window

D
Top Application Application
Bottom Outer cover E Outer cover
VL53L0
IR coating PCB/FPCB

Figure 5. ID design recommendation large air gap, thick cover window

D
Top Application Application
Outer cover Outer cover
Gasket E
foam foam
Bottom
VL53L0
IR coating PCB/FPCB

The integrator should ensure that their design is set up to avoid optical interference from
other IR sensors emitting in the same wavelength, or that the other sensors are not
activated at the same time as the VL53L0X.

DocID029711 Rev 2 5/20

20
Ideal industrial design (ID) and cover window AN4907

For optimal performance, the cover window should be parallel to VL53L0X to help reduce
cross talk and increase transmission. See Figure 6.

Figure 6. Cover window placement

window window

VL53L0X VL53L0X

window window

VL53L0X

6/20 DocID029711 Rev 2

AN4907 VL53L0X optical paths

3 VL53L0X optical paths

Figure 7 below shows the return and noise optical paths for the light emitted from the
VL53L0X, we want to minimize as much as possible the noise path.
ST’s Time of Flight sensors measure two key parameters to monitor window quality:
• Return signal from the object (transmission).
• Cross talk in kcps (k counts per second) to measure cover window light scattering
(haze) and light reflections below the window in the ID artwork.
This also encompasses other parameters from the phone design (air gap, light
reflections in the phone housing etc).

Figure 7. VL53L0X cross talk

Signal:
• Return - from emitter reflected off target to return array
Noise:
• Cross talk on return array - from emitter reflected from cover window to return array

3.1 Cross talk

The cross talk is defined as the signal from the emitter reflecting off the cover window and
being sensed by the receiver (return array). The VL53L0X can tolerate and compensate for
a certain amount of cross talk, but this needs to be minimized as much as possible.

DocID029711 Rev 2 7/20

20
VL53L0X optical paths AN4907

3.1.1 Cross talk measurement

Cross talk is measured using the entire system, VL53L0X and cover window.
Cross talk is basically the additional amount of incoming signal when a cover window is
added to the system. Once the cross talk value is measured, the cross talk compensation
can be applied.

3.1.2 Cross talk effect on ranging

Figure 8 shows an example of ranging data with no cover window and with very poor quality
cover window. The poorer the cover window cross talk performance is, the higher the error
is compared to the ideal ranging data (green dotted line).

Figure 8. Cover window effect on ranging

3.1.3 Cross talk compensation

Cross talk compensation is a feature embedded in the VL53L0X firmware. It allows
compensation of the cross talk effect, based on characterization results.
The procedure for cross talk characterization is detailed in the VL53L0X API User Manual.
Cross talk can be compensated to a limit. The lower the cross talk, the easier the
compensation is. Figure 9 shows the cross talk compensation capabilities of VL53L0X.

Figure 9. VL53L0X Cross talk compensation capabilities

8/20 DocID029711 Rev 2

AN4907 Cover window optical considerations

4 Cover window optical considerations

Two optical parameters have to be taken into consideration during the cover window
selection: optical transmission and haze.

4.1 Optical transmission

The cover window has to allow through the IR light at 940nm emitted and received by the
sensor.
Any loss of signal will directly affect VL53L0X performance, so we recommend to have a
transmission factor as high as possible.
Between 930 and 950 nm, the cover window must have >90% transmission
This parameter has to be provided by the cover window vendor.

4.2 Haze
Haze is a measurement of roughness, particle inclusion.
We recommend to select a window with low haze
This parameter has to be provided by the cover window vendor.

4.3 Cover window material

Cover window material can be made of glass or plastic.
It is important to note that anti-fingerprint coating increases crosstalk. We recommend to
remove anti-fingerprint coating from cover window, at least in the exclusion areas defined in
Section 5.2.1 and Section 5.2.2.

4.4 Cover window dirt

Smudge is the term used to describe dirt on the cover window, this can be fingerprints,
grease, dust, water or anything that can be on top of cover window and can interfere with
the light from the sensor.
Any protective film/coating with high surface tensile strength on top of the cover window
may be considered sensitive for Time-Of-Flight technology. These materials can effect
optical scattering with smudge.
Not all windows will be sensitive to smudge but the impact needs to be assessed.

DocID029711 Rev 2 9/20

20
Cover window optical considerations AN4907

The following may result in high cross talk with smudge on window:
• ID design - if system has high cross talk then it is likely to have more cross talk with
smudge.
• Use of some coating on the cover window (like some AFC or some Anti-Reflective
coating).
• Type of window surface finishing (roughness and haze parameters).
• The window compound itself.
Or it could be the combination of the list above.
ST do not recommend the use of Anti-Reflective Coating or Anti-finger-print coating on the
outer side of the cover window. It is the duty of the integrator to assess the impact of ARC or
AFC on the cover window.

4.5 Cover window coating

It is important to keep the cover window surface finish smooth.

Figure 10. Glass / PMMA / Polycarbonate window (bottom view)

Rough ink Smooth ink

High Cross talk Low Cross talk

10/20 DocID029711 Rev 2

AN4907 Cover window mechanical considerations

5 Cover window mechanical considerations

5.1 Air gap

As shown in Figure 11, the distance between the VL53L0X and the cover window is referred
to as the air gap.
The 2 cones on the emitter FOV are the nominal cone (25 degrees) and recommended
exclusion zone (35 degrees).

Figure 11. VL53L0X with cover window: air gap and coating

As the air gap increases, the amount of cross talk also increases.
For optimum ranging performance, the cross talk should be kept low. Figure 12 shows an
example of cross talk variation with air gap. This figure shows that the air gap should be as
small as possible in order to minimize cross talk.
ST recommend that as well as using a high transmissible and defect free window, the basic
ID design guidelines below are applied for the following usage:
• For fast and high accuracy long ranging (>1000mm): air gap + window thickness =
1mm maximum.
• Sub 1000mm ranging: Total air gap + window thickness = 2mm maximum.
Assumes window thickness is <1.5mm and air gap <0.5mm (gasket to be fitted into air
gap).
• Applications requiring short <600mm ranging (no specific accuracy requirement) with
an air gap + window thickness > 2.0mm, a dedicated ID design study is required to
optimize ranging and system performance.
For all use cases, assembly tolerances have to be accounted for in air gap + window
thickness bill.
Note: The variation in the amount of cross talk compensation required can be important if the air
gap is likely to change throughout the lifetime of the system.

DocID029711 Rev 2 11/20

20
Cover window mechanical considerations AN4907

Figure 12. Example of cross talk variation with air gap

5.2 Cover window artwork

The customer may want for aesthetics purposes to add a coating with different optical
properties compared to the cover window. The coating exclusion area has to be free from
this coating.
Coating exclusion areas are defined as the area where nothing except the cover window
should be present.
Production control of application assembly tolerances (X,Y,Z & tilt) are very important.
Documentation is available on request from ST to calculate the minimum aperture size for a
specific air gap between the VL53L0X and cover window.
The window size examples in Section 5.2.1 and Section 5.2.2 are shown with ±150µm X/Y,
±50µm Z-height and ±2degree tilt assembly tolerances. For other assembly tolerances refer
to ST’s hole size calculation document.
The expected performance level of an optimized cover window with 0.5mm air gap is:
• 0.1~0.3kcps cross talk with PMMA embedded filtering.
• 0.3~0.7kcps cross talk with Gorilla Glass.
• <0.7kcps cross talk with PC material.

Figure 13. Oval cover window artwork

Collector and emitter hole: IR transmissive ink (regardless of color).

Everywhere else: Colored opaque paint is acceptable.

12/20 DocID029711 Rev 2

AN4907 Cover window mechanical considerations

5.2.1 Oval exclusion area

Figure 14. Oval exclusion area

Table 1 gives the exclusion area at the top of the cover window (i.e. as a function of air gap
+ window thickness).

Table 1. Exclusion areas versus air gap + window thickness

Air Gap + window thickness (mm) X (mm)(1) Y (mm)(2)

0.1 3.81 0.81

0.2 3.88 0.88
0.3 3.95 0.95
0.4 4.02 1.02
0.5 4.09 1.09
0.6 4.16 1.16
0.7 4.23 1.23
0.8 4.30 1.30
0.9 4.37 1.37
1.0 4.44 1.44
1.5 4.68 1.68
2.0 4.99 1.99
1. Includes ±150µm X/Y, ±50µm Z-height and ±2degree tilt assembly tolerances.
2. Includes ±150µm X/Y, ±50µm Z-height and ±2degree tilt assembly tolerances.

DocID029711 Rev 2 13/20

20
Cover window mechanical considerations AN4907

5.2.2 2 hole exclusion area

Figure 15. 2 hole exclusion areas

Collector
Emitter

Table 2 gives the exclusion areas at the top of the cover window (i.e. as a function of air gap
+ window thickness).
Table 2. Two hole - exclusion areas versus air gap + window thickness
Collector Diameter Emitter Diameter
Air Gap + window thickness (mm)
(mm)(1) (mm)(2)

0.1 0.57 0.79

0.2 0.61 0.86
0.3 0.66 0.92
0.4 0.70 0.98
0.5 0.74 1.05
0.6 0.79 1.11
0.7 0.83 1.17
0.8 0.88 1.24
0.9 0.92 1.30
1.0 0.97 1.36
1.5 1.19 1.68
2.0 1.41 1.99
1. Includes ±150µm X/Y, ±50µm Z-height and ±2degree tilt assembly tolerances.
2. Includes ±150µm X/Y, ±50µm Z-height and ±2degree tilt assembly tolerances.

14/20 DocID029711 Rev 2

AN4907 Hornix cover window

6 Hornix cover window

ST can recommend the Hornix cover window as an example of very low cross talk cover
window. But final selection will depend on the individual customer requirements.
Hornix can offer either a standalone cover window (IR-T012-PM3D-A066) or a VL53L0X
cover window module (940 Laser module 4).

Contact details:
Mr Ray Chen - [email protected]

Table 3. Hornix PMMA reference cover window

IR-T012-PM3D-A066

Material PMMA
Window invisibility methods Embedded
Hardness 1H ~ 3H
AFC N/A
Not required for Hornix
ARC solution.
Transmission rate>90%
Thickness 0.85mm
Air gap 0.15mm(1)
Cross talk 0.1 ~ 0.3kcps
Temperature 0 to 80 degrees C
1. Air gap required to achieve ‘Best in Class’ performance.
Air gap set in module.

DocID029711 Rev 2 15/20

20
Hornix cover window AN4907

Figure 16. Hornix VL53L0X cover window

16/20 DocID029711 Rev 2

 20
Hornix cover window

17/20
11.60
11.00
Figure 17. Hornix VL53L0X cover window module

PIN 1
10.00
7.00
5.00

8.00
A
2xR3.50
2xR2.50 .90
1.90
2.90

DocID029711 Rev 2
6.01
2x25.0°
PIN 1
PIN 1 VCC
2 GND
3 GPIO1
4 XSHUT
3.15 5 SCL
6 SDA
Material
A Hormix Optical Technology Inc.
C. NO
4:1 Approve Check Drarwing
Part Name
Version Tolerance Scale
Leser Module
Part No.
A 0.1 Date
1:1 Chris.C
2016/8/22 940 LESER MODULE4
AN4907
Acronyms and abbreviations AN4907

7 Acronyms and abbreviations

Table 4. Acronyms and abbreviations

Acronym/ abbreviation Definition

AFC Anti Fingerprint Coating

ARC Anti-Reflective Coating
cps Photon Counts per second
ID Industrial Design
IR Infrared
PC Polycarbonate
PMMA Polymethyl methacrylate)
ToF Time of Flight

18/20 DocID029711 Rev 2

AN4907 Revision history

8 Revision history

Table 5. Document revision history

Date Revision Changes

24-Oct-2016 1 Initial release.

Update Hornix contact in Chapter 6: Hornix cover
30-Jan-2017 2
window

DocID029711 Rev 2 19/20

20
 AN4907

IMPORTANT NOTICE – PLEASE READ CAREFULLY

STMicroelectronics NV and its subsidiaries (“ST”) reserve the right to make changes, corrections, enhancements, modifications, and
improvements to ST products and/or to this document at any time without notice. Purchasers should obtain the latest relevant information on
ST products before placing orders. ST products are sold pursuant to ST’s terms and conditions of sale in place at the time of order
acknowledgement.

Purchasers are solely responsible for the choice, selection, and use of ST products and ST assumes no liability for application assistance or
the design of Purchasers’ products.

No license, express or implied, to any intellectual property right is granted by ST herein.

Resale of ST products with provisions different from the information set forth herein shall void any warranty granted by ST for such product.

ST and the ST logo are trademarks of ST. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.

Information in this document supersedes and replaces information previously supplied in any prior versions of this document.

© 2017 STMicroelectronics – All rights reserved

20/20 DocID029711 Rev 2