October 15, 2001 – Paris, France – Motorola and CEA-Leti, a department of CEA (Atomic Energy Commission of France), an R&D laboratory for MEMS products and technologies, have entered into an agreement to jointly develop and industrialize the next generation of surface micro-machined linear inertial sensors. This action underscores Motorola’s commitment to MEMS sensors and actuators, and is a critical step towards meeting the market’s needs for advanced products, improved reliability, and aggressive learning curves, the company said.

“As a leader in pressure and inertial sensors, we are continuously looking to work with major players to help develop new technologies and new products needed by our customers. We are extremely pleased to work with CEA-Leti in the field of accelerometers. We expect that this cooperation will be further extended to other programs and technologies”, said Brett Richmond, VP and GM, Sensor Products Division of Motorola SPS.

Both Motorola and CEA-Leti plan to focus their intellectual property towards the establishment of this technology platform. The planned result of this collaboration is the development and industrialization of a high aspect ratio, highly manufacturable, and cost effective wafer processes based on 200mm substrates. Product development platforms are expected to cover low, medium, and high sensitivity transducers based on overdamped lateral interdigitated structures. This will enable devices with an enhanced signal to noise ratio, which will be an advantage in the market place.

Motorola expects to commercialize this new generation of accelerometers targeting automotive, industrial, and consumer markets with sampling of leading customers in 2003, and volume production ramp-up in 2004.