Press release

Analog Devices Sets High-Performance Benchmark With The Industry’s Lowest-Noise MEMS Microphone

Posted in: MEMS Products by Marketing | Comments Off Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Analog Devices, Inc., a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications, introduced today the high-performance ADMP504 the industry’s lowest-noise MEMS microphone. Delivering an SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) of 65-dBA, or 29-dBA EIN (equivalent input noise), the ADMP504 provides the same SNR performance as an array of two individual 62-dB SNR microphones. In addition, the ADMP504 provides an extended frequency response up to 20 kHz and a high PSR (power-supply-rejection) of 70 dBV. With this performance, the ADMP504 addresses the demanding requirements found in many industrial, professional audio and video conferencing applications. The new microphone leverages ADI’s patented MEMS technology and audio signal processing expertise and is available in a thin 3.35 mm x 2.50 mm x 0.88 mm surface-mount package.

ADI Microphone ADMP504 resized 600

For more information, download the data sheet or order samples

To view a video on the application of the ADMP504

For additional support, connect with engineers and ADI product experts on EngineerZone(TM), an online technical support community.

For more information on ADI’s MEMS microphone products.

Global shipments of MEMS microphones rose to 1.3 billion units in 2011, up 82 percent from 704 million in 2010 driven primarily by handsets, according to IHS.

“ADI’s high-performance MEMS microphones have earned market acceptance since they entered the market in 2008, particularly in smartphones and media tablets,” commented Jeremie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst, MEMS and sensors, IHS. “With further performance improvements, ADI is poised to enable many new and innovative applications in other markets such as industrial equipment monitoring and building security.”

More About the ADMP504 MEMS Microphone

The ADMP504 is a surface mount MEMS microphone that is reflow solder compatible with no sensitivity degradation. The sensitivity specification of -38 dBV is well suited for many codecs and discrete signal chain components. The high SNR of 65 dBA, or 29 dBA EIN, enables far-field audio-capture applications, as well as those using multi-microphone “beam-forming” algorithms. Low current consumption of < 180 A (typ) with a power supply voltage of 1.6 V to 3.3 V extends battery life for portable applications.

ADMP504 MEMS Microphone Key Features and Benefits

  • 65 dBA SNR, or 29 dBA EIN, enables excellent sound quality in high-definition applications.
  • Extended frequency response out to 20 kHz produces a well-balanced and natural sound.
  • High PSR of 70 dB V provides superior RF and electrical noise rejection allowing greater design flexibility for microphone placement and power trace routing.
  • The sensitivity specification of -38 dBV makes this microphone an excellent choice for many codecs and discrete signal chain components.
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Konica Minolta – New Development of Tiny-Drop-Size & High-Accuracy Inkjet Printhead: First for Printed Electronics Applications

Posted in: MEMS Products by Marketing | Comments Off Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Konica Minolta IJ Technologies, Inc. (Konica Minolta) is pleased to announce that it has successfully developed a high-accuracy inkjet head capable of 1-picoliter drop size, the first for printed electronics applications by utilizing Konica Minolta’s proprietary MEMS technologies for the first time. Sale of the new inkjet printhead in sample quantities is expected to start this spring.


Newly developed Inkjet Printhead KM128SNG-MB

The newly developed inkjet printhead “KM128SNG-MB” is a next-generation inkjet printhead manufactured with silicon MEMS technologies that utilizes semiconductor process technologies. Through MEMS technologies, Konica Minolta succeeded in developing highly accurate printhead construction (38mm width, in one row, 128 nozzles) capable of discharging in micro drop size. The company’s proprietary technologies in ink flow path design and high-precision assembly processes have achieved layout of tiny-size droplet highly precisely and stably. Furthermore, the new inkjet printhead is highly resistant to various inks required for industrial applications and suitable to use with low-viscosity inks. Utilization of MEMS technologies has helped integration of nozzles and resulted in benefits such as compact inkjet printhead. In line with requests from the market in the future, further integration of nozzles will be an area of enhancement for time to come. Specific applications for the newly developed inkjet printhead will include, among others, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display patterning, OLED lighting thin-layer coating, and new manufacturing technologies for high-value-added displays for smartphones and similar devices that require high accuracy.

Printed electronics market, including next-generation flexible displays, is expected to grow to approximately two-trillion yen in 2020 (research by Konica Minolta), where utilization of the newly developed inkjet printhead is highly expected. Konica Minolta is a founding member of Japan Advanced Printed Electronics Technology Research Association (JAPERA) that was formed in 2011. Through its innovative inkjet technologies for industrial use, Konica Minolta has been contributing to the research and development activities for next-generation printed electronics technologies with even more energy-saving, resource-saving and highly productive features in the near future.

Under its communication message “Giving Shape to Ideas,” Konica Minolta has been developing and manufacturing inkjet products, such as inkjet printhead, textile printers and high-value-added inks, with superb performance and enhanced values for industrial applications, by utilizing its proprietary precision processing technologies and material technologies that underlie its products’ advantages in saving energy and resources. With the newly developed inkjet printhead, the company will continue to contribute to further expansion of applications with industrial-use inkjet technologies and growth of the market.

Major Features of the Newly Designed KM128SNG-MB Printhead

  • Utilizes silicon MEMS technology used in semiconductor processing
  • First printhead for printed electronics applications to achieve a 1 picoliter drop size
  • High-accuracy printhead structure: 38mm wide; 128 nozzles in one row
  • Stable, highly accurate operation with accuracy drive control on a per-nozzle basis
  • High ink resistance and optimization for low viscosity inks for industrial applications
  • Provides highly uniform thin layer coating (at the 100nm level)
  • Optimized for display manufacturing technology, such as for OLED displays
  • Proprietary DPN (Drive Per Nozzle) drive board and evaluation equipment available

Specifications

Drop size 1pl
Number of nozzles 128 (in one row)
Print width 38mm
Maximum frequency 15kHz
Nozzle spacing 300 μm
Dimensions 67mm (W) x 40mm (D) x 70mm (H)
Weight approx. 55g
Fluid viscosity 1 – 5 mPa·s

Major Applications

OLED display patterning, OLED lighting thin-layer coating, new manufacturing technologies for high-accuracy, high-value-added displays for smartphones and similar devices

For information about Konica Minolta’s inkjet printheads, please visit:Konica Minolta Inkjet Print Head.

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Silicon Designs rolls out ±5-g MEMS accelerometer

Posted in: MEMS Products by Marketing | Comments Off Friday, January 20, 2012

Silicon Designs Inc. – Joining Silicon Designs’ 2210 series of single-axis accelerometer modules is a ±5-g model intended to support a variety of lower-frequency aerospace, automotive, defense, industrial, and general test and measurement requirements. The 2210-005 incorporates MEMS capacitive sensing elements packaged within a lightweight anodized epoxy-sealed aluminum housing that occupies a total footprint of just 1 square in.

The accelerometer has a simple four-wire connection and internal voltage regulator to minimize supply-voltage variation effects. It is relatively insensitive to temperature changes and features high-drive, low-impedance buffering to support low-frequency acceleration measurement requirements from DC to 400 Hz.

All models in the 2210 series produce two analog voltage outputs, which vary with acceleration. You can choose either 0.5-V to 4.5-V single-ended or ±4-V differential output, which doubles the sensitivity over single-ended output. Differential sensitivity for the 2210-005 is 800 mV/g.

The sensitive axis is perpendicular to the bottom of the package, with positive acceleration defined as a force pushing on the bottom of the package. Signal outputs are fully differential about a common-mode voltage of approximately 2.5 V. Output scale factor is independent from the supply voltage of +9 V to +32 V.

Silicon Designs 2210 Data Sheet

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New Kionix Gyro Sets Low-Power Benchmark for Consumer-Grade Devices

Posted in: MEMS Products by Marketing | Comments Off Tuesday, January 10, 2012

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.

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STMicroelectronics Introduces World’s Smallest 3-Axis Digital Gyroscope

Posted in: Coventor Blog, MEMS Products by Marketing | Comments Off Friday, December 9, 2011

STMicroelectronics Introduces World’s Smallest 3-Axis Digital Gyroscope

STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor leader serving customers across the spectrum of electronics applications and the leading supplier of MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) for consumer and portable applications, has expanded its motion-sensing portfolio with the addition of the market’s smallest three-axis digital-output gyroscope. ST’s L3G3200D enables advanced motion sensing in ever-shrinking form factors of next-generation mobile phones, tablets and other smart consumer devices, by reducing the package size by almost half over current-generation sensors.
read more…

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TACTICAL GRADE MEMS GYROSCOPE RIVALS FIBER OPTIC GYROSCOPES ON PERFORMANCE WITH SIGNIFICANTLY SMALLER SIZE, LIGHTER WEIGHT AND LESS POWER CONSUMPTION

Posted in: MEMS Products by Marketing | Comments Off Thursday, December 1, 2011

Analog Devices, Inc. (ADI) released for general availability today the ADIS16136 tactical grade iSensor® digital MEMS gyroscope, which provides 3.5°/hr typical bias stability in a matchbox-sized module consuming less than 1 watt and weighing only 25 grams. The new tactical grade (below 10°/hr bias stability) iSensor MEMS gyroscope operates autonomously and requires no user configuration before producing precise and accurate rate sensing data, quickly enabling precision dependent applications such as platform stabilization and control, navigation, robotics, and medical instrumentation.

“The ADIS16136 MEMS gyro is competitive on the stability and angular random walk specifications compared to more costly fiber optic gyros, while demonstrating 2X better linearity, 30X faster start-up, and 5X lower power,” said Bob Scannell, iSensor business development manager, MEMS/Sensors Technology Group, Analog Devices. “Even more significant is the ADIS16136 gyro’s small size (~1 cubic inch) and low weight of only 25 grams. This is minute by comparison to fiber optic gyros, which can be 10 cubic-inches or larger and will enable many new applications for precision angular rate sensing.”

More About the ADIS16136 iSensor Digital MEMS Gyroscope

This ADIS16136 is optimized for dynamic performance by combining industry leading iMEMS® technology with ADI’s proven signal conditioning expertise. The ADIS16136 provides data at rates of up to 2048 SPS (samples per second) and offers an averaging/decimation filter structure for optimizing noise/bandwidth trade-offs. The serial peripheral interface (SPI) and user register structure provide easy access to configuration controls and calibrated sensor data for embedded processor platforms. Full device-specific calibration over temperature drives the internal compensation resulting in highly stable sensor output with no additional test or characterization required. The available wide bandwidth of 380 Hz provides significant advantage to complex stabilization applications. The new gyro ships in a 36 mm × 44 mm × 14 mm package. Four holes are provided for simple mechanical attachment with a standard 24-pin, dual row, 1-mm-pitch connector that supports electrical attachment to a printed circuit board or cable system. Operating temperature range is −40°C to +85°C.

ADIS16136 iSensor Gyroscope Key Specifications

  • Digital gyroscope system, ±450°/sec measurement range
  • Noise: 0.0036 °/sec/√Hz rms
  • In-run bias stability: 3.5°/hour
  • Angular random walk: 0.16 °/√hr
  • Bias temperature coefficient: +0.00125 °/s/°C
  • Sensitivity temperature coefficient: +/- 35 ppm/°C
  • Bandwidth: 380Hz
  • Power-on start-up time: 180ms
  • Sleep mode recovery time: 2.5ms
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