Demand for devices that can sense
motion, orientation, and location is
surging, and it runs the gamut from the
hottest video games to critical medical
technology. With accelerometers
and gyroscopes based on microelectromechanical
systems (MEMS) rapidly
maturing, that demand is being met.
Many of the latest consumer products include one or more
MEMS IC functions that measure and control factors like
movement, position, force, and even temperature. As a result,
MEMS ICs not only play a key role in accelerometers and
gyroscopes, but also pressure sensors, microphones, timing
devices, filters, switches, microdisplays, infrared temperature
sensors, and micromotors.
“MEMS are now becoming quite popular in numerous
consumer applications. As a result of the rapidly decreasing
costs of MEMS components over the past few years, products
that could have used MEMS functionality in the past are now
rapidly adopting MEMS,” says Roger Grace, marketing consultant
and president of Roger Grace Associates.
“This increases the user’s ease of operation and provides
enhanced functionality, which results in creating the necessary
differentiation for their products in a very competitive and
quick-changing market,” says Grace.
“If you go back about five years, there were no market drivers
for MEMS ICs in consumer electronics products. Today, consumer
electronics MEMS IC makers are competing against
each other for feature differentiation, and this is fueling the
need for MEMS ICs, such as the Wii and iPhone, which
in turn are driving the volumes and reducing unit prices for
MEMS,” says Steven Nasiri, CEO and founder of Invensense.
“To meet these new market needs, all new-generation
MEMS products with disruptive solutions are required,”
Nasiri explains. “Also, there is a growing need for MEMS
foundry services to support a host of new venture-backed fabless
MEMS companies.”
Large-volume unit prices for MEMS ICs used in consumer
electronics products hover in the $1.00 to $1.50 level. Key
drivers include motion sensors, such as accelerometers and
gyroscopes, and microphones. For instance, three-axis accelerometers
used in the Nintendo Wii video game system and
the Apple iPhone are reportedly priced at the $1 level, if not
lower. The accelerometers come from STMicroelectronics and
Analog Devices.
MEMS-based products with location
and motion awareness give users greater
interaction with their surroundings,
extending their reach beyond that provided
by PCs and Web-enabled handsets.
Personal navigation devices (PNDs),
free-space pointers, indoor navigation,
and vibration cancellation for hard-disk
drives are just some of the products that
take advantage of this technology.
For example, Analog Devices’ dualaxis
ADXL 320 iMEMS accelerometers
and SA601 SigmaDSP
system-on-a-chip (SoC) audio
processor form the core of the
Hot Hand motion controller
for guitar motion effects from
Source Audio LLC. ADXL
330 iMEMS three-axis
accelerometers also
are in the Motion
Enabled Prototype
Phone from Keynetic
for single-hand menu
navigation, two-handed
gaming, automatic
screen rotation, and
more. In Garmin’s Forerunner
50 sport watch, you’ll find
the ADXL dual-axis iMEMS accelerometers
for running, cycling, and motion fitness
activities.
The popular Guitar Hero video game uses Freescale Semiconductor’s
three-axis motion-sensing MMA7360L accelerometers
(Fig. 1). The MMA7361L/68L/41L/31L are designed
for a wide range of consumer applications.
Sensor Platforms is another company targeting the MEMS
market. “We’re not just addressing sensor interface issues, but
also sensor applications. We will combine our expertise in
sensor control algorithms, advanced heuristics, and precision
analog/mixed-signal CMOS designs with ‘commodity’ sensors
on the market,” says Bill Eichen, CEO of Sensor Platforms.
ACCELEROMETER MARKET ASCENDS
Sales of MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes have been rapidly increasing over the last couple of years, particularly accelerometers.
This rate is expected to gather more steam over the next
few years, forming the largest share of the inertial sensing market,
according to several projections.
MEMS accelerometer ICs now offer lower cost, higher sensitivity,
better temperature offsetting, faster response times, lower
power consumption, and smaller packages. The LIS331 family of
low-power three-axis MEMS “nano” linear accelerometers from
STMicroelectronics targets low-g applications and can withstand
up to 10,000 g of shock, all in a 3- by 3- by 0.9-mm plastic package
(Fig. 2).
Continued on page 2