Thecompany claims it three-axis gyroscope chip is the first of its kindfor motion tracking in the x, y and z (pitch, roll and yaw) axes. Italso claims its ITG-3200 gyro chip could replace current gamecontrollers and 3D remote controls. New applications based on the chip are expected to appear during the first half of 2010, the company said.
"Wehave already delivered over 10,000 preproduction devices to gaming- and3D remote controller makers," said InvenSense CEO Steven Nasiri.Customers were not identified.
Gyro applications include imagestabilization for digital still cameras and camera phones, deadreckoning for navigation devices (when GPS signals are lost indoors), 3D peripherals such as mice and TV remote controllers and gaming controllers.
"MEMSgyroscopes with the requisite three-axes of detection should open theflood gates to a whole range of new interfaces," said Richard Dixon,senior analyst for MEMS at market researcher iSuppli Corp.
TheInvenSense single-chip MEMS gryoscope consumes 50 percent less powerand takes up 67 percent less board space than current two-chipsolutions that combine two-axis with a single-axis gyros, the companyclaims. Measuring 4mm x 4mm x 0.9mm, the ITG-3200 will be introduced atthe same price as two-chip gyros ($1 per axis).
The device isbased on the patented Nasiri process, invented by the company's CEO,which caps the analog MEMS chip with an ASIC of the same size, therebyprotecting the delicate MEMS resonators from contamination withoutadding bulk to the package. Each ITG-3200 chip will cost $3.
Each of the three gyros has its own 16bit ADC,includes on-chip temperature sensor and supplies a real-time clockoutput to synchronize it with an applications master controller. A fastmode I²C serial interface connects the gyro chip to system chips. The device is said to be able to withstand up to 10,000-g shocks without damage.
- R. Colin Johnson
EE Times
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