Sensor modules

AXS-015 — APDS-9960 gesture/proximity/RGB PMOD module

Catalog #15 in the AruviX sensor line, level L3 (I2C). Gesture, proximity, RGB color, and ambient light in one part with an on-package IR LED.

Level L3 ERC clean DRC clean Fab package 10 components

3D render of the AXS-015 PCB — Rendered from the PCB layout. No physical board has been manufactured.

Circuit review & bench-test guide →

Components#

Every placed component, with the reason it is on the board. Extracted directly from the schematic, so this cannot drift from the design.

Ref	Value	What it does on this board	Part number	Footprint
`C1`	100nF 16V X7R	U1 VDD high-frequency decoupling	`GRM188R71C104KA01D` Murata	`C_0603_1608Metric`
`C2`	10uF 10V X5R	Bulk reservoir for the IR LED drive pulses (up to 100 mA bursts)	`GRM21BR61A106KE19L` Murata	`C_0805_2012Metric`
`J1`	PMOD PLUG 2x6	PMOD peripheral plug (Digilent spec 1.2)	not selected generic	`PinHeader_2x06_P2.54mm_Horizontal`
`JP1`	SDA PULL-UP	Cut to remove the SDA pull-up when chaining modules	—	`SolderJumper-2_P1.3mm_Bridged_RoundedPad1.0x1.5mm`
`JP2`	SCL PULL-UP	Cut to remove the SCL pull-up when chaining modules	—	`SolderJumper-2_P1.3mm_Bridged_RoundedPad1.0x1.5mm`
`R1`	4.7k	I2C SDA pull-up	`RC0603FR-074K7L` Yageo Datasheet ↗	`R_0603_1608Metric`
`R2`	4.7k	I2C SCL pull-up	`RC0603FR-074K7L` Yageo Datasheet ↗	`R_0603_1608Metric`
`R3`	10k	Pull-up for the open-drain INT output	`RC0603FR-0710KL` Yageo Datasheet ↗	`R_0603_1608Metric`
`R4`	100R	Series protection on the sensor-driven INT line	`RC0603FR-07100RL` Yageo Datasheet ↗	`R_0603_1608Metric`
`U1`	APDS-9960	Digital proximity, ambient light, RGB, and gesture sensor, I2C	`APDS-9960` Broadcom Datasheet ↗	`Avago_APDS-9960`

Signals#

Net labels used in the schematic, which are also the names the HDL top level should use.

3V3 GESTURE_INT GND GST_INT LED_K SCL SCL_PU SDA SDA_PU

Production status#

Schematic ERC	0 violations
PCB layout	complete
DRC	0 violations
Fab package	exported (24 gerbers + drill + CPL + BOM)
Fabricated	no — design stage only

Source: boards/sensor-modules/axs-015-apds9960

Catalog #15 in the AruviX sensor line (../README.md), level L3 (I2C). Gesture, proximity, RGB color, and ambient light in one part with an on-package IR LED.

Status: schematic generated, ERC clean (0/0), netlist reviewed. PCB layout not started. Not released.

What it teaches#

The most stateful I2C peripheral in the line: the gesture engine streams directional photodiode samples through a 32-deep FIFO, so the driver lesson is FIFO draining under interrupt, engine state machines (proximity gates gesture mode), and post-processing raw U/D/L/R samples into swipe events.

Design#

Broadcom APDS-9960 (Sensor:Avago_APDS-9960 footprint), fixed I2C address 0x39.
Single 3V3 rail per the SparkFun/Adafruit reference design: VDD = 3V3, LEDA = 3V3, and LEDK ties to the LDR pin so the internal driver sinks the IR LED current. No separate LED boost supply.
Decoupling: 100 nF plus a 10 µF 0805 bulk reservoir — gesture mode pulses the IR LED at up to ~100 mA; keep C2 close to U1 at layout.
INT is open-drain: 10 kΩ pull-up on-module (R3), then 100 Ω series (R4) to PMOD pin 1 as GESTURE_INT.
4.7 kΩ bus pull-ups through JP1 (SDA) / JP2 (SCL), fitted by default; cut when another module on the chain provides the pull-ups.

PMOD pin	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Net	GESTURE_INT	NC	SCL	SDA	GND	3V3	NC	NC	SCL	SDA	GND	3V3

Regenerate#

python3 generate_design.py

reports/erc.rpt is the last kicad-cli ERC run.

Remaining for release#

[ ] PCB layout (open window over the sensor/LED aperture, C2 adjacent to U1), DRC, fab outputs
[ ] hdl/: I2C master core, APDS-9960 controller + gesture decode, testbench, ECP5 demo
[ ] BOM export and availability check, design-review checklist