An RGB-Z sensor is implementable on a single IC chip. A beam splitter such as a hot mirror receives and separates incoming first and second spectral band optical energy from a target object into preferably RGB image components and preferably NIR Z components. The RGB image and Z components are detected by respective RGB and NIR pixel detector array regions, which output respective image data and Z data. The pixel size and array resolutions of these regions need not be equal, and both array regions may be formed on a common IC chip. A display using the image data can be augmented with Z data to help recognize a target object. The resultant structure combines optical efficiency of beam splitting with the simplicity of a single IC chip implementation. A method of using the single chip red, green, blue, distance (RGB-Z) sensor is also disclosed.