Silicon Designs Introduces Inertial-Grade MEMS Capacitive Accelerometers with Internal Temperature Sensor and Improved Low-Noise Performance

Five Full Standard G-Ranges from ±2 g to ±50 g Now Available for Immediate Customer Shipment

November 9, 2017, Kirkland, Washington, USA – Silicon Designs, Inc., a 100% veteran owned, U.S. based leading designer and manufacturer of highly rugged MEMS capacitive accelerometer chips and modules, today announced the immediate availability of its Model 1525 Series, a family of commercial and inertial-grade MEMS capacitive accelerometers, offering industry-best-in-class low-noise performance.

Design of the Model 1525 Series incorporates Silicon Designs’ own high-performance MEMS variable capacitive sense element, along with a ±4.0V differential analog output stage, internal temperature sensor and integral sense amplifier -- all housed within a miniature, nitrogen damped, hermetically sealed, surface mounted J-lead LCC-20 ceramic package (U.S. Export Classification ECCN 7A994). The 1525 Series features low-power (+5 VDC, 5 mA) operation, excellent in-run bias stability, and zero cross-coupling. Five unique full-scale ranges, of ±2 g, ±5 g, ±10 g, ±25 g, and ±50 g, are currently in production and available for immediate customer shipment. Each MEMS accelerometer offers reliable performance over a standard operating temperature range of -40° C to +85° C. Units are also relatively insensitive to wide temperature changes and gradients. Each device is marked with a serial number on its top and bottom surfaces for traceability. A calibration test sheet is supplied with each unit, showing measured bias, scale factor, linearity, operating current, and frequency response.

Carefully regulated manufacturing processes ensure that each sensor is made to be virtually identical, allowing users to swap out parts in the same g range with few-to-no testing modifications, further saving time and resources. This provides test engineers with a quick plug-and-play solution for almost any application, with total trust in sensor accuracy when used within published specifications. As the OEM of its own MEMS capacitive accelerometer chips and modules, Silicon Designs further ensures the manufacture of consistently high-quality products, with full in-house customization capabilities to customer exacting standards.  This flexibility ensures that Silicon Designs can expeditiously design, develop and manufacture high-quality standard and custom MEMS capacitive accelerometers, yet still keep prices highly competitive.

The Silicon Designs Model 1525 Series tactical grade MEMS inertial accelerometer family is ideal for zero-to-medium frequency instrumentation applications that require high-repeatability, low noise, and maximum stability, including tactical guidance systems, navigation and control systems (GN&C), AHRS, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), robotic controllers, flight control systems, and marine- and land-based navigational systems. They may also be used to support critical industrial test requirements, such as those common to agricultural, oil and gas drilling, photographic and meteorological drones, as well as seismic and inertial measurements.

Since 1983, the privately held Silicon Designs has served as leading industry experts in the design, development and manufacture of highly rugged MEMS capacitive accelerometers and chips with integrated amplification, operating from its state-of-the-art facility near Seattle, Washington, USA. From the company’s earliest days, developing classified components for the United States Navy under a Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) grant, to its later Tibbetts Award and induction into the Space Technology Hall of Fame, Silicon Designs applies nearly 35 years of MEMS R&D innovation and applications engineering expertise into all finished product designs. For additional information on the Model 1525 Series or other MEMS capacitive sensing technologies offered by Silicon Designs, visit www.silicondesigns.com.

About Silicon Designs, Inc.
Silicon Designs was founded in 1983 with the goal of improving the accepted design standard for traditional MEMS capacitive accelerometers. At that time, industrial-grade accelerometers were bulky, fragile and costly.  The engineering team at Silicon Designs listened to the needs of customers who required more compact, sensitive, rugged and reasonably priced accelerometer modules and chips, though which also offered higher performance.  Resultant product lines were designed and built to surpass customer expectations. The company has grown steadily over the years, while its core competency remains accelerometers, with the core business philosophies of “make it better, stronger, smaller and less expensive” and “let the customer drive R&D” maintained to this day.