by Mat Dirjish

Texas Instruments recently introduced what it describes as the industry’s first ultrasonic lens cleaning chipset. Removing contaminants from camera lenses traditionally requires manual cleaning, causing system downtime. The semiconductors employ ultrasonic lens cleaning (ULC) technology, enabling camera systems to quickly detect and remove dirt, ice, and water using microscopic vibrations.

The company’s ULC chipset includes its ULC1001 digital signal processor (DSP) and DRV2901 piezo transducer driver. The DSP relies on proprietary algorithms for automatic sensing, cleaning, and fault detection without any image processing, reportedly making ULC technology adaptable to various camera lens designs.

Notably, the ULC chipset eliminates the need for complex mechanical parts and human intervention in lens cleaning systems, thereby reducing system size and complexity. As a result, it enables a printed circuit board size of less than 25 mm x 15 mm.

The ULC1001 DSP is in volume production and available in a 32-pin, 4.5 mm x 5 mm HotRod quad flat no-lead (QFN) package. Price is $6.43 each/1,000. Price for the DRV2901 piezo transducer driver is $5.35 each/1,000. An evaluation module, the ULC1001-DRV290XEVM, is also available at a price of $249.

Ready to assemble your self-cleaning camera systems but crave greater knowledge? Crave no more and drink from the fountain of knowledge available in the ULC1001 DSP and DRV2901 piezo transducer driver datasheets.

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