IR Light Detector as MOSFET Gate
Don't use that IR receiver. It was meant for serial communications and therefore has application specific circuitry integrated into it which will limit it's broad applicability. 

Use a phototransistor or photodiode instead. These components are the fundamental optical receivers in electronics and all IR receivers and anything similar contain either one or the other.

Phototransistors have more gain (i.e. higher signal output), but have more noise relative to that output level and are slower.

Photodiodes are faster, more linear, and have a lower signal output but lower noise relative to that output signal level.

This means phototransistors natively produce a more usable signal level and are therefore easier to use since they require fewer additional components, as little as a resistor sometimes. They are more suited for "common" digital tasks which a low speed interruptor falls into.

Photodiodes usually requires an transimpedance amplifier, usually in the form of an op-amp, to get working. But properly built, they will ultimately outstrip a phototransistor circuit in all performance aspects. They are best for analog measurement, high speed applications, or low noise applications.