Analog Devices' New Accelerometer Opens Cost-Sensitive Market Opportunities for MEMS Technology.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers NORWOOD, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 2003 Industry's Lowest Cost Integrated MEMS (MicroElectroMechanical Systems) Tiny mechanical devices that are built onto semiconductor chips and are measured in micrometers. In the research labs since the 1980s, MEMS devices began to materialize as commercial products in the mid-1990s. Accelerometer accelerometer Instrument that measures acceleration. Because it is difficult to measure acceleration directly, the device measures the force exerted by restraints placed on a reference mass to hold its position fixed in an accelerating body. is Made Possible by ADI's High Volume Manufacturing and Leading iMEMS Technology Analog Devices Analog Devices (NYSE: ADI) is an American multinational producer of semiconductor devices. Analog specializes in ADC, DAC, MEMS, and DSP chips for consumer and industrial goods. Analog is presently designing circuits in the 65 nanometer to 3 µm process feature sizes range. Inc. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange : ADI), a leader in MEMS technology for over a decade, today introduced the ADXL311 accelerometer, a fully integrated, low-power, low-g device that is the lowest priced integrated MEMS accelerometer available. The new accelerometer makes MEMS technology more accessible to cost-sensitive markets and will create many new applications. Leveraging the company's high volume production capability and featuring its reliable iMEMS(R) technology, the ADXL311 will sell for $2.50 each in quantities of 10,000. "Since introducing the industry's first commercially available MEMS accelerometer in 1993, Analog Devices has reduced MEMS accelerometer prices by more than a factor of 10." said Marlene Bourne Bourne, town (1990 pop. 16,064), Barnstable co., SE Mass., crossed by Cape Cod Canal; settled 1627, inc. 1884. Bourne Bridge (1935), across the canal, made the town an entry point to Cape Cod and a resort and commercial center. , senior analyst, In-Stat/MDR. "With this new announcement, ADI will continue to remove price barriers and enable many exciting new applications." Game controllers were among the first consumer electronics applications to use Analog Devices' iMEMS accelerometers when OEMs featured these products at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in 1999. Today, the company's list of customers is growing. In personal computing Refers to users working on their own computers rather than a terminal to a mainframe. Sometimes, the term refers to using computers at home for work and/or entertainment in contrast to business use only. See personal computer. devices and handsets, for example, the ADXL311 enables single-handed menu scrolling, map panning or web browsing without the use of a stylus or push buttons. Designers of sports and health-related devices such as pedometers and calorie counters are considering the ADXL311 for step counting, distance traveled and speed measurements. The ADXL311 can also be used in portable blood pressure monitoring devices to ensure proper arm positioning. The new ADXL311 will make the integration of tilt- and motion-sensing features affordable in a variety of new input devices and electronic toys. "By leveraging our extensive high volume MEMS accelerometer experience, we have been able to continuously reduce costs to levels previously thought unattainable," said Paul Ganci, product line director, Micromachined Products Division, Analog Devices, "With less than one failure per billion hours of operation, our iMEMS products exemplify Analog Devices' commitment to world-class quality and reliability." The ADXL311 uses Analog Devices' reliable iMEMS (integrated Micro Electro Mechanical System) surface micromachining Surface micromachining is a process used to produce micromachinery or MEMS. Unlike Bulk micromachining, where a silicon substrate (wafer) is selectively etched to produce structures, surface micromachining is based on the deposition and etching of different structural layers technology with proven circuit, sensor and process reliability performance of better than 1 FIT (failure in time). This is the same technology that Analog Devices has used to deliver more than 100 million accelerometers. The new ADXL311, along with future low-cost iMEMS accelerometers, will play a significant role in enabling tilt- and motion-sensing features in many cost-sensitive applications. About the ADXL311 The ADXL311 is a dual axis, plus/minus 2 g (at full-scale) accelerometer with analog outputs that can measure both dynamic acceleration (e.g. vibration) and static acceleration (e.g. gravity). The new accelerometer integrates moving microscopic silicon parts and sophisticated signal conditioning to produce a complete two-axis accelerometer on a single monolithic IC and features lower power requirements (200 micro Amps per axis at 3 Volts operation) than any accelerometer in its price range. The typical noise floor is 300 micro g per root Hertz at 3 Volt operation and allows signals below 5 milli g to be resolved for bandwidths below 60 Hertz. The ADXL311 is packaged in a 5 mm x 5 mm x 2 mm 8-lead hermetic hermetic /her·met·ic/ (her-met´ik) impervious to air. her·met·ic or her·met·i·cal adj. Completely sealed, especially against the escape or entry of air. LCC (Leadless Chip Carrier, Leaded Chip Carrier) See leadless chip carrier, CLCC and PLCC. 1. LCC - Language for Conversational Computing. Written at CMU in the 1960's. package and provides the most accurate low-power, low-cost method of measuring tilt, shock and vibration. Price and Availability The ADXL311 is priced at $2.50 in quantities greater than 10,000 units. The product is now sampling and will be available in volume production Q1 2003. For more information or to order samples, please visit: http://www.analog.com/ADXL311. About Analog Devices' Leadership in MEMS Technology As a pioneer in the micromachined IC industry, Analog Devices produced the first fully-integrated, single-chip MEMS-based accelerometer in 1991. Since then, Analog Devices has maintained its leadership and remains the industry's only high-volume producer of single-chip accelerometers, having shipped more than 100 million units to date. Designed initially for use in safety-critical front and side impact airbag applications, iMEMS accelerometers provide complete cost-effective sensing solution useful in a wide variety of other inertial applications. ADI's iMEMS technology is used to design and manufacture accelerometers, gyros This article is about the food dish. For other uses, see Gyro. Gyros or gyro (Greek: γύρος, "turning") (IPA: [ˈjɪːɹəʊ] and optical MEMS devices for a wide range of applications. About Analog Devices Analog Devices is a leading manufacturer of precision high-performance integrated circuits used in analog and digital signal processing See DSP. Digital Signal Processing - (DSP) Computer manipulation of analog signals (commonly sound or image) which have been converted to digital form (sampled). applications. The company is headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts and employs approximately 8,600 people worldwide. It has manufacturing facilities in Massachusetts, California, North Carolina North Carolina, state in the SE United States. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (E), South Carolina and Georgia (S), Tennessee (W), and Virginia (N). Facts and Figures Area, 52,586 sq mi (136,198 sq km). Pop. , Ireland, the Philippines, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. Analog Devices' stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) World's largest marketplace for securities. The exchange began as an informal meeting of 24 men in 1792 on what is now Wall Street in New York City. and the company is included in the S&P 500 Index. Editors note: iMEMS is a registered trademark of Analog Devices, Inc. |
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