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Photodiode Amplifier

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: OPT101

Hello,

I believe my application is pretty simple, but mind you, I am fairly new to electronics so I don't know much. 

First off, let me describe my situation:

  • I have a tool light that contains 3 LEDs that emit bright white/blue light and are all switched on simultaneously by turning the apparatus. (See below for picture.)
  • What I must do is detect how many lights turn on - essentially, I'm making a tester that tests the functionality of the lights.
    • the light intensity is proportional to the number of LEDs that switch on
  • I thought of using a photodiode connected to an op-amp in such a way that it runs in photovoltaic mode as opposed to photoconductive mode because from what I understand, photovoltaic mode provides more precise output voltages, though not too sure about that. 
    • the output voltage would be proportional to the light intensity
  • The internet provides a lot of circuit designs for photovoltaic mode but is difficult to decide which one to choose - remember I'm a beginner. So, I was wondering if there is an IC chip that does all the amplification all in one. 


www.jazebra.com 

Thank you for any help you provide!

- Gianluca