Hardware Overview
Let's take a closer look at the AS7343 and other hardware on the SparkFun Spectral Sensor Breakout - AS7343. The image below highlights the major components on this Qwiic breakout board:
AS7343 Spectral Sensor
The AS7343 from AMS™ measures irradiated, reflected and transmitted light in both the visible spectrum and near-infrared (NIR). The sensor features 14 channels in a 5x5 photodiode array, enabling the detection of 11 specific color bands across the visible spectrum. Additionally, dedicated photodiodes on the outer edges of this array are designed for near-infrared (845-865 nm) and flicker detection. It has exceptional sensitivity for measuring reflected, emitted and transmitted light even in low-light environments and also behind tinted glass.
Power
Power for the board can be supplied either over one of the Qwiic connectors or through the 3.3V pin. The AS7343 accepts a supply voltage between 1.7V and 2V so the breakout includes an on board voltage regulator to drop the 3.3V supplied over Qwiic or 3.3V pin to 1.8V. This regulator has a max input voltage of 5.5V.
Qwiic & Pinout
The AS7343 communicates over I2C and has an active low/high interrupt pin as well as a GPIO pin. The breakout routes the SDA/SCL lines from the AS7343 to a pair of Qwiic connectors as well as the 0.1"-spaced PTH header on the side of the board. The AS7343's interrupt and GPIO are also routed to this PTH.
LEDs
The Spectral Sensor Breakout - AS7343 has two LEDs on the board labeled PWR and WLED. The red Power (PWR) LED indicates when the board is powered. The white (WLED) LED connects to the AS7343's LED current sink pin to illuminate objects/areas during sensor readings. Users can disable the on board white LED by opening the corresponding solder jumper and connect their own LED to the PTH pins labeled .
Solder Jumpers
The board has three solder jumpers labeled I2C, PWR and WLED. The I2C jumper is a three-way jumper that pulls the SDA/SCL lines to 3.3V through a pair of 2.2kΩ resistors and is CLOSED by default. The board also includes level shifting to drop the logic down to 1.8V . The PWR jumper completes the power LED circuit and is CLOSED by default. Open the solder jumper to disable the power LED. The WLED jumper completes the white LED circuit and is CLOSED by default.
Board Dimensions
The SparkFun Spectral Sensor Breakout - AS7343 matches the Qwiic breakout standard and measures 1" x 1" (22.5mm x 22.5mm) and has four mounting holes that fit a 4-40 screw.
