Vishay has release of two high-resolution automotive grade optical reflective proximity sensors that operate down to 20µm for force sensing applications.

Vishay-VCNL3030X01
In use, an infra-red beam is sent out and its reflection detected. Sensing can be from up-close to half a meter away, and can have enough resolution to detect the displacement of a surface for force, push or glove-independent touch sensing.
“With selectable 12bit and 16bit outputs, they are ideal for force sensing applications in steering wheel controls, laptop smart power buttons and multi-force trackpads, and touchpads for IoT devices and kitchen appliances,” according to New Yorker Electronics, which is stocking the parts.
They each combine a photodiode driver, amplifier and ADC in a 4 x 2.36 x 0.75mm surface-mount package.

VCNL3030X01 (see diagram) has a built-in 940nm (invisible) LED
VCNL3036X01 has can drive up to three external (500 to 910nm) LEDs
On-board processing means that the host MCU does not need to run detection algorithms. Multiple transmit and receive parameters can be set to alter sensing performance over a wide range.
A programmable interrupt function allows designers to specify high and low thresholds to reduce the continuous communication with the microcontroller, while intelligent cancellation eliminates cross-talk. For force sensing, current adjustment allows sensitivity to be adjusted for short displacements.
The parts are AEC-Q101 qualified and internally operate across 2.5 to 3.6V, while the separate LED anode supply can be up to 5.5V.
Communication to the associated MCU is I2C, and the I2C transceiver has its own separate supply (1.8 – 5.5V) to allow its amplitude to be selected.
LED current can be set between 50 – 200mA.