(November 9, 2010 – BUSINESS WIRE) — Kionix Inc. announced a portfolio of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) inertial sensors featuring 3 new accelerometers that set company benchmarks for low power, performance over temperature, and user programmability. Kionix also released its first two gyroscopes for mass-market consumer applications.

Just one year after its acquisition by the multi-billion dollar semiconductor supplier, ROHM Co., Ltd., Kionix is broadening its offerings for developers of consumer applications in which motion sensing, gesture recognition, drop detection, performance monitoring and location awareness are essential attributes. Congruent with Kionix’s existing portfolio, the new products support the industry’s most diverse selection of embedded algorithms and application software. They satisfy technical requirements, ease the design process for OEMs and ODMs, and leverage the company’s in-house manufacturing capabilities for volume production.

Kionix announced a pair of new gyros aimed at the consumer devices market — the dual-axis KGY12 and the tri-axis KGY13. Kionix introduced its first gyro in 2003. This new generation of gyroscopes balances current consumption and noise with excellent bias stability over temperature. "MEMS gyroscopes are making consumer-electronics history with their rapidly growing integration into a wide range of products. For Kionix, having had widespread success with accelerometers, producing gyroscopes optimized for mass-produced consumer applications was a logical next step, said Greg Galvin, president and CEO of Kionix. VTI also recently moved into the consumer gyro market.

Kionix gyros are packaged in a 5 x 5 x 0.9mm 24-pin land grid array (LGA). They feature low power consumption and 16-bit digital outputs (I2C and SPI) over a measurement range of ±2048°/sec. Analog outputs are also available in user-selectable ranges of ±128°/sec, ±256°/sec, ±512°/sec, ±1024°/sec and ±2048°/sec. Both gyros offer user-definable bandwidth and embedded temperature sensors. Targeting a global market for MEMS in consumer electronics and mobile handsets, Kionix’s portfolio of MEMS inertial sensors adds intelligence through embedded algorithms and application software, speeding the implementation of popular functions such as tap/double-tap touch, directional shake and gesture recognition in portable devices.

The Kionix accelerometer product portfolio debut includes:

• KXTH9: A multiplexed analog tri-axis accelerometer packaged in a 3x3x0.9mm 10-pin LGA featuring:
  Analog output featuring an integrated 4-channel multiplexer that reduces system microcontroller unit (MCU) requirements to only one analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and two digital I/O’s and achieves very high data sampling rates; Factory-programmable low pass filter with option for user-defined external capacitors; Ultra-low noise density at 150 µg/√Hz typical; and low power consumption
• KXTG9: A digital (I2C/SPI) tri-axis accelerometer packaged in a 3x3x0.9mm 10-pin LGA featuring:
  High-speed digital interface with SPI (40 MHz, 3 or 4 wire) and I2C for easy system integration, eliminating analog-to-digital converter requirements and providing direct communication with system micro-controllers; Two intelligent user-programmable application interrupts, motion and/or freefall, that can use High Pass Filtered (HPF) or Low Pass Filtered (LPF) output; Calibrated temperature measurement that can be read via the digital communication; and low power consumption
• KXTI9: A digital (I2C) tri-axis accelerometer packaged in a 3x3x0.9mm 10-pin LGA featuring:
  Non-volatile buffer memory for acceleration signals; Enhanced integrated user-programmable orientation, tap/double-tap, and activity-monitoring algorithms; User-selectable g-range (2g, 4g, 8g) and user-selectable Output Data Rate (ODR) that can use HPF or LPF output; and low power consumption 

The KGY12 dual-axis gyro is currently sampling, as are the KXTH9, KXTG9 and KXTI9 accelerometers. Samples of the tri-axis gyro will be available next month.

Kionix Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ROHM Co. Ltd. of Japan. The Company pioneered high-aspect ratio silicon micromachining based on research originally conducted at Cornell University and offers MEMS product design, process engineering and quality manufacturing. For more information on Kionix, visit http://www.kionix.com. For additional information on ROHM, visit http://www.rohm.com.

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