21 December 2009
Linear and angular motion sensing incorporated in single module
MEMS specialist STMicroelectronics has integrated a 3 axis digital accelerometer with a 2 axis analogue gyroscope in a single module.
By integrating the linear and angular motion sensors, ST says that performance and reliability are improved while the size reduction opens the door for high precision gesture and motion recognition in mobile phones, remote controllers, personal navigation systems and other portable devices.
The module is said to have strong stability over an operating temperature range from -40 to 85°C) and a negligible level of output noise.
The low power motion sensing module combines an acceleration range of ±2g/±4g/±8g with, what ST claims is the 'industry's widest angular rate detection' from 30 to 6000 degrees per second along the pitch and yaw axes. The gyroscope element has been designed to provide two separate outputs for each axis at the same time: an unamplified output value for slow motion and a 4x amplification to detect and measure very fast gestures and movements.
The module includes power down and sleep modes and it can operate with any supply voltage in the range of 2.7 to 3.6V. The device comes with built in self test capability that allows users to verify the functioning of both sensors after the assembly, without the need to move the board during testing.
Benedetto Vigna, general manager of STMicroelectronics' MEMS, Sensors and High Performance Analog division, said: "The only company with high volume production of gyroscopes and accelerometers for consumer applications, ST now makes another significant step in mems consumerisation by introducing the market's first multiple axis sensing device in a single package. Our customers will benefit from the industry unique combination of superior performance, compelling price points, and large scale production capacity at ST's dedicated 8in mems fab."
Author
Chris Shaw
Supporting Information
Websites
http://www.st.com/mems
Companies
STMicroelectronics NV
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