The SparkFun Qwiic Mini Tristimulus Colour Sensor features the OPT4048DTSR from Texas Instruments — a high-speed, high-precision four-channel colour sensor with spectral responses closely matching the CIE 1931 tristimulus spectra. It measures light intensity (lux), colour in CIE XY and LUV coordinates, and correlated colour temperature (CCT).

This mini breakout (0.5" × 1") includes two Qwiic connectors for solderless I2C daisy-chaining, plus 0.1"-spaced header pins for breadboard use. An Arduino library is available for easy integration.

Key Features

• OPT4048DTSR Sensor – Four-channel tristimulus colour sensing with close CIE 1931 spectra matching and excellent IR rejection
• Wide Dynamic Range – 26 bits effective range from 2.15 mlux to 144 klux
• Configurable Conversion Times – 12 options from 600 µs to 800 ms per channel for speed vs precision trade-off
• Qwiic I2C Interface – Two horizontal Qwiic connectors for solderless hookup
• Selectable I2C Address – 0x44 (default), 0x45, or 0x46
• Low Power – 24 µA operating current, 2 µA standby
• Hardware Interrupt – External pin for synchronised triggers and interrupts
• Mini Form Factor – 0.5" × 1" with 0.1"-spaced breakout pins

Specifications

• Sensor – Texas Instruments OPT4048DTSR
• Supply Voltage – 1.71–3.6V
• Interface – I2C (Qwiic)
• Channels – 3× CIE tristimulus (XYZ) + 1× wide-band clear
• Operating Temperature – –40°C to +85°C

Ideal For

• Display brightness and colour temperature adjustment
• Camera colour temperature correction
• True colour object recognition
• Ambient light measurement
• Medical and scientific colour sensing applications

Resources

• Hookup Guide
• OPT4048 Datasheet
• Arduino Library (GitHub)
• Hardware Repository (GitHub)
• Schematic
• Eagle Files