While designing our IR decoding breakout we noticed the TSSP series of chips from Vishay, these are simpler than more 'remote control' receivers in that they don't do any filtering on the codes received: you really just get the demodulated-from-38KHz-signal output.According to Vishay, they're designed for "Reflective Sensing, Light Barriers, and Fast Proximity Applications". These sensors could be interesting for use when you want a less-'intelligent' IR decoder, or for proximity projects where you don't want to go all-out for a VCNL I2C sensor. These are good for creating break-beams where the IR light is modulated rather than just solid on, because you won't be affected by other IR signals or ambient light changes.