An optical encoder configuration comprises a scale, an illumination source, and a photodetector configuration. The illumination source is configured to output structured illumination to the scale. The scale extends along a measuring axis direction and is configured to output scale light that forms a detector fringe pattern comprising periodic high and low intensity bands that extend over a relatively longer dimension along the measuring axis direction and are relatively narrow and periodic along a detected fringe motion direction transverse to the measuring axis direction. The high and low intensity bands move along the detected fringe motion direction transverse to the measuring axis direction as the scale grating displaces along the measuring axis direction. The photodetector configuration is configured to detect a displacement of the high and low intensity bands along the detected fringe motion direction and provide respective spatial phase displacement signals that are indicative of the scale displacement.

An electronic device may have an optical sensor such as an ambient light sensor for detecting ambient light. The ambient light sensor may include one or more photodetectors and light control layers disposed over the photodetectors. The light control layers may include light control structures forming concentric strips of opaque or light absorbing material. The light control layers may include one layer of light control structures, two layers of light control structures, or three or more layers of light control structures separated by one or more intervening transparent substrates. The electronic device may include associated control circuitry configured to compute angular information on the ambient light based on readings output from the one or more photodetectors.

A positioning system, in particular, positioning in six dimensions of a sensor with respect to an assembly composed of a multitude of LEDs, is provided. The sensor is a shadow sensor and has a mask and a 2D imager. By recording the shadow of the mask cast by each LED on the imager, and by properly multiplexing the LEDs, the system can compute the 6D position of the LED assembly with respect to the shadow sensor. This computation is based, in part, on treating the shadow of the mask cast on the imager as the equivalent of the projection of light in a pinhole camera.

A device includes a substrate is substantially transparent and includes a contact surface and an interface surface. The interface surface includes a plurality of electrical contacts. The device further includes a semiconductor die, which includes a plurality of connections, a first photo detector and a second photo detector. Each of the plurality of connections includes a connection bump formed thereon to couple to the plurality of electrical contacts of the interface surface of the substrate. The plurality of connections positioned relative to the first and second photo detectors to alter a directional response of at least one photo detector of the plurality of photo detectors.

Technology described in this document can be embodied in an optical sensor that includes a rectangular array of at least four photodetector cells of substantially equal size. An opaque mask is affixed over the rectangular array. The opaque mask defines a substantially rectangular aperture for admitting light onto only a portion of the surface of each of the at least four photodetector cells, where the aperture can be centrally positioned over the rectangular array.