Freescale Accelerates Consumer MEMS Market With Extension of Its 1-2-3 Axis Sensors; 1.5g - 10g Sensors Provide Electronic Manufacturers Exceptional Performance in Small Package

NUREMBERG, Germany--Feb. 1, 20064, 2006--Freescale Semiconductor has introduced three highly sensitive sensors to address the rapid shift in the micro-electromechanical-systems (MEMS) industry toward greater adoption within the consumer market.

The introduction of the MMA6270Q (XY-axis), MMA6280Q (XZ-axis) and MMA7261Q (XYZ-axis) MEMS-based sensors -- also known as accelerometers -- extends Freescale's current offering from 1.5g to 10g. The three low-gravity (low-g) sensors aimed at the low-cost consumer electronics market are ideal for electronic systems that require the detection of small changes in force resulting from fall, tilt, motion, positioning, shock or vibration.

"While the MEMS industry has traditionally been associated with automotive applications, the consumer market continues to gain ground as these tiny sensors become more sensitive and less expensive," said Marlene Bourne, principal analyst at Bourne Research. "The use of MEMS sensors in consumer electronics is forecast to grow from $355 million in 2005 to nearly $800 million in 2010, as more people rely on mobility and benefit from the improved ease-of-use interfaces that MEMS sensors provide."

The MMA6270Q (XY-axis), MMA6280Q (XZ-axis) and MMA7261Q (XYZ-axis) sensor devices provide two and three axes of sensitivity based on the application needs. The MMA6280Q, the industry's first XZ-axis accelerometer, can sense in both lateral and perpendicular planes, which eliminates the need for daughter cards and makes it a more cost-effective solution when a three-axis device is not needed. Applications include advanced pedometers that can measure a runner's foot motion, distance and speed. All three sensor devices allow for selectable sensitivity where various sensitivities are needed for multiple applications and functions.

"As a leading supplier of 1-2-3 axis sensors, Freescale is addressing a growing customer and market demand for a greater range of g-select for new applications," said Demetre Kondylis, general manager of Freescale's sensors business. "The products will enable greater functionality and ease of use allowing our accelerometers to expand into new markets."

The MEMS-based sensors can be used in any consumer, industrial or healthcare monitoring product or embedded system using the six sensing functions to meet the application needs. Examples include:

-- GPS systems

-- Free-fall protection for hard drives

-- Camcorder stability

-- Scrolling interfaces in gaming devices

For more information about these devices, visit www.freescale.com/files/pr/xyz.html.

    MMA6270Q, MMA6280Q and MMA7261Q features

    --  Dual or triple axes for sensing a full-range of directional
        motion

    --  Customer selectable g-range

        --  MMA62x0Q: 1.5g/ 2g/ 4g/ 6g

        --  MMA7261Q: 2.5g/ 3.3g/ 6.7g/ 10g

    --  Low current consumption at 500 micro amps

    --  Sleep mode at three micro amps for extended battery life

    --  Low voltage operation at 2.2 V - 3.6 V

    --  Fast power-up response time at 1ms

    --  High sensitivity with low noise for higher resolution, more
        accuracy

    --  Integrated signal conditioning, amplification and temperature
        compensation with low pass filter

    --  Low-dimension quad flat no-lead (QFN) 6x6x1.45mm package

    --  Restriction of hazardous substances (RoHS) compliant

Price and Availability

The MMA6270Q (XY-axis), MMA6280Q (XZ-axis) and the MMA7261Q (XYZ-axis) are currently available in production quantities. The suggested resale price in 25,000-piece quantities starts at $3.58 (USD) for the MMA6270Q, $3.85 for the MMA6280Q and $4.43 for the MMA7261Q. Suggested consumer product pricing is less than $2 in high volume.

The RD3152MMA7260Q ZigBee(TM) sensing triple axis reference (ZSTAR) design demonstrates the latest innovations from Freescale using 2.4GHz wireless connectivity, a three-axis sensor and embedded flash microcontrollers.

The development tool contains the MC9S08QG8 MCU, combined with the MMA7260Q XYZ-axis accelerometer, which can be directly replaced with the MMA6270Q, MMA6280Q or MMA7261Q, 2.4GHz MC13191 wireless transceiver and MC68HC908JW32 for USB 2.0 full speed.

Evaluation kits are also available for the three MEMS-based sensors. The small circuit boards can be used to evaluate the devices to quickly develop prototypes. The kits -- KIT3109MMA6270QE, KIT3109MMA6280QE and KIT3109MMA7261QE -- are available at a suggested resale price of $35 (USD) each.

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 2005 sales of $5.8 billion (USD).

www.freescale.com.

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