Freescale Targets Consumer Applications with Three-Axis Sensor; Industry-first g-selectable accelerometer measures in three dimensions, boasts quick power-up and cost-saving component count

NUREMBERG, Germany--May 1, 20051, 2005--As portable electronics increase in functionality and fuel the demand for data drive storage, designers are seeking improved protection systems that use less board space. The MMA7260Q sensor now available from Freescale Semiconductor helps meet that need.

Freescale developed the three-axis, low-gravity (low-g), microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based MMA7260Q specifically for portable consumer electronics -- a market that will require more than $48 billion of semiconductors in 2005, according to Gartner Dataquest estimates. The sensor is small, competitively priced and ideal for electronics that require low power consumption, high sensitivity and shock survivability.

In an industry first, the MMA7260Q includes a g-select feature that ranges from 1.5 to 6g. This gives designers the flexibility to select the g-force detection level a specific application needs. The addition of the g-select feature reduces component count, which helps improve heat dissipation and overall production costs.

The MMA7260Q is a single-chip device that detects in three dimensions, allowing portable devices to intelligently respond to changes in position, orientation and movement. The small package size requires less board space, and the quick turn-on and sleep modes make the MMA7260Q ideal for battery-powered electronics such as PDAs, cell phones, 3D games and digital cameras.

Samsung Electronics designed the sensor into two of its newest digital audio players announced last month -- the YH-J70 and YP-T8. "Freescale's device enables unique features not currently available in other multimedia players," said Heonhwa Chung, vice president, Samsung R&D team. "The YH-J70 utilizes the sensor for menu scroll by tilt and freefall detection. The gaming function is enabled with tilt detection in the YP-T8 flash multimedia player."

The MMA7260Q measures small forces resulting from fall, tilt, motion, positioning, shock or vibration to provide protection for shock-sensitive components. It detects acceleration or deceleration, such as when a device is dropped, helping prevent damage to the device and minimizing the risk of data loss.

"The availability of low-cost, robust and highly functional three-axis accelerometers will contribute to an explosion of application opportunities in the price-sensitive automotive, industrial and consumer markets," said Roger Grace, president of Roger Grace Associates and a recognized expert in MEMS marketing. "They will enable new products and improved functionality for existing products. Manufacturers are always seeking features that will create a competitive advantage, and the adoption of three-axis accelerometers certainly will satisfy this need."

    MMA7260Q features

    --  XYZ: three axes of sensitivity in one device

    --  g-select: in a single device, the sensitivity can be selected
        at any of these values - 1.5g, 2g, 4g or 6g

    --  Low current consumption: 500 micro amps

    --  Sleep mode: three micro amps, ideal for handheld
        battery-powered electronics

    --  Low voltage operation: 2.2V - 3.6V

    --  Fast turn-on time: 1ms

    --  Low noise: achieve higher resolution, more accuracy

    --  Package: 16-lead 6mm x 6mm x 1.45mm quad flat no-lead (QFN)

    --  Reference design (RD3112MMA7260Q) available now

    --  Evaluation board (KIT3109MMA7260Q) available now

Reference design enables multiple detection situations

To help demonstrate the many applications possible with the innovative three-axis sensor, Freescale offers the RD3112MMA7260Q sensing triple-axis reference design (STAR). The board includes the three-axis MMA7260Q accelerometer, the MC68HC908KX8 microcontroller (MCU), a serial port connection, EEPROM and a piezohorn. Software is also included to show the six sensing functions in various graphical user interface (GUI) modules.

Price and availability

The accelerometers are available now in production quantities. Suggested list price per unit in 10,000-piece quantities is $5.23 (USD). The reference design (part number RD3112MMA7260Q) is available now for a suggested list price of $57 (USD). Contact Freescale for larger-quantity pricing. For more information about the MMA7260Q, visit http://www.freescale.com/pr/MMA7260Q.html.

About Freescale Semiconductor

Freescale Semiconductor, Inc. is a global leader in the design and manufacture of embedded semiconductors for the automotive, consumer, industrial, networking and wireless markets. Freescale became a publicly traded company in July 2004 after more than 50 years as part of Motorola, Inc. The company is based in Austin, Texas, and has design, research and development, manufacturing or sales operations in more than 30 countries. Freescale, a member of the S&P 500(R), is one of the world's largest semiconductor companies with 2004 sales of $5.7 billion (US). www.freescale.com

Freescale Technology Forum

Learn more about this inaugural forum, June 20-23, Orlando, Fla., featuring visionary keynote speeches, in-depth technical presentations and technology demonstrations from Freescale and leading hardware, software and tool providers. www.freescale.com/ftf

Attendees can explore low-g sensors in consumer applications at the forum.

    Sensor-related sessions include:

    --  Consumer Electronics: Low-g Sensors in Consumer Applications
        (ASF114)

    --  Automotive: Tire Pressure Monitoring -- The Multiple
        Technology Challenge (CHH202)

    --  Industrial Control: Technologies to Enable Wireless Sensor
        Networks (ZBA301)

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