Kionix, Inc., a global leader in MEMS inertial sensor design and manufacturing, today announced its second-generation gyro, the KGY23—a 3-axis, 4 x 4 x 0.9mm sensor that features low power, low noise, flexible output ranges, and excellent bias stability over temperature.
Aimed at the consumer market, the KGY23 features:
- Operating current consumption of 3.75 mA, a 40% decrease over its predecessor gyro, the KGY13;
- A wide, user-programmable, full-scale range of ±256, ±512, ±1024, and ±2048 °/sec;
- I2C or SPI digital serial interface bus communication;
- Noise density of .30 deg/sec/√Hz, an impressively sharp 77% decrease over previous performance figures of the KGY13;
- User-definable bandwidth via a control register of 10, 20, 40, 160 Hz;
- An embedded temperature sensor that ensures a fast 50ms power-up time;
- An internal 1024 byte FIFO buffer to accumulate data and efficiently transmit it to the customers’ external applications processor; and
- Access to supply voltages between 2.6V and 3.3V and digital communication voltages between 1.8V and 3.3V.
“The improved KGY23 is the result of our engineering depth and experience coupled with fantastic customer feedback,” said Scott Miller, vice president of engineering, Kionix. “As the industry pushes for smaller MEMS sensor products, Kionix is meeting the challenge to shrink device package size while elevating performance.”
The MEMS tri-axis gyroscope market will see extraordinary growth in the coming months as more consumer products require its capabilities for applications such as user interface, gaming and navigation. According to Richard Dixon, principal analyst, MEMS & Sensors, IHS iSuppli, “Revenue for the tri-axis gyro will nearly triple in 2011, reaching $420 million in 2011, up from $127 million in 2010. Smartphones are helping to drive this impressive growth. 29% will include a gyroscope, up from just 13% last year.”
Dixon added that gyroscopes will generate the second-highest revenue among consumer and mobile MEMS in 2011, second only to accelerometers.
With the KGY23, Kionix is well positioned to take advantage of the growing demand for the next generation of sensor applications.
Steve Breit 