A Peek Inside the Invensense ITG-3200 Three-Axis Gyroscope

Contributed by St.J. Dixon-Warren and R. Krishnamurthy, Chipworks

Invensense is a leader in the MEMS gyroscope market segment. According to Yole, they experienced nearly 500% growth 2009 over 2008. They now hold the #1 position in the MEMS gyroscope for consumer electronics market.

Chipworks recent had a look inside their new three-axis digital gyroscope, the ITG-3200. The device is built using the Nasiri, single-chip, MEMS process, where the MEMS layer is sandwiched between a fusion-bonded cap wafer and the ASIC. The ASIC and MEMS are bonded using eutectic metal bond. The SEM image in Figure 1 provides a tilt-view of the corner of the MEMS chip, where the MEMS layer can be seen between the cap and ASIC die.

3-axis Gyroscope, the new killer product for cell phones

Contributed by Jérémie Bouchaud, Director & Principal Analyst, MEMS, iSuppli

When a sensor makes it into the cell phone market it can consider itself to be in the “big league.” As iSuppli reports in the news section of this issue, Steve Jobs’ recent announcement of the new Apple iPhone 4G featuring a 3-axis gyroscope is certainly good news for the small pool of suppliers of these devices. And, given its trendsetting nature and the way the company helped establish accelerometers in cell phones, Apple could not be a better champion to establish this device among other phone manufacturers.

This article looks at the reasons why the gyroscope has finally “earned its spurs” for mobile phones, and at the applications that will support its implementation in the coming years.

MEMS Gyros Poised to Redefine the Smartphone

EETimes writer R. Colin Johnson has posted an excellent article on MEMS manufacturer InvenSense’s foray into the smartphone market. (For more on MEMS gyros taking off, see Colin’s article, “Five Apps That Will Make 2010 the Year of the Gyroscope” in Smarter Technology.)

The article notes:

• Estimated at $115 billion, the smartphone market is very lucrative for MEMS makers like InvenSense.
• InvenSense CEO Steven Nasiri was quoted as estimating “that in less than two years, every phone will be a smartphone with a camera, WiFi, Bluetooth and email.”
• InvenSense’s new 3-axis gyro integrates with an accelerometer to provide new user interface functionality for the apps that smartphone users demand, such as gaming and music applications.

It will be interesting to see if Apple’s rumored tablet computer (to be announced today at a special event in San Francisco) will incorporate any gyros into its user interface. (Isn’t a tablet computer essentially a bigger smartphone?)

Read Colin’s full article here and check out his blog on next generation electronics–NextGenLog–as well.

Will 2010 be the year of the MEMS gyroscope?

Tech writer R. Colin Johnson thinks so and has laid out 5 apps that could push gyros into the limelight. Colin has been attending MEMS Executive Congress for a couple of years now, so it’s no surprise that some of the really cool MEMS apps discussed there have made it onto his list.

“Gyroscopes have already proved themselves in the inertial guidance systems for aircraft, ships, spacecraft and ballistic missiles, but their use in consumer devices in 2010 will make gyroscopes a part of the common vernacular.”

See the full list and the rest of Colin’s article here: http://www.smartertechnology.com/c/a/Technology-For-Change/Five-Apps-That-Will-Make-2010-the-Year-of-the-Gyroscope/

Colin also frequently writes about MEMS on NextGenLog, his blog about next generation electronics and technologies.

So what do you think, MEMSbloggers? What will 2010 have in store for MEMS?

Kionix Sale for $233.0 Million to Rohm in a Booming Consumer Electronics MEMS Inertial Market

Contributed by Laurent Robin, MEMS Analyst, Yole Développement
Until 2009, the MEMS industry was traditionally driven by the automotive area. This was true for pressure sensors for instance, and also for inertial sensors: MEMS accelerometers for airbags became the first high-volume application for MEMS inertial sensors. But whereas the market for motion sensors is now mature for many automotive applications, more and more consumer electronic devices integrate MEMS accelerometers and gyroscopes.

Often considered as more mature than the gyroscope industry, the accelerometer industry has seen a significant announcement in October: the fast-growing MEMS accelerometer manufacturer Kionix (USA) was acquired by the Japanese company Rohm (J).