A US company is commercialising a new type of MEMS sensor which could reduce the cost of integrating the technology in consumer products suchas mobiles and tablet computers.
Marlborough-based Qualtré is applying bulk acoustic wave (BAW) technology to inertial sensors for use in gyroscopes which are used as orientation detectors in consumer products like mobiles and PCs.
The claims this to be the first ever application of BAW technology to inertial sensors.
According to the start-up company, its first products are an alternative to "larger, non-silicon, and/or high-vacuum-requirement sensors that are not able to meet the needs of high performance applications, such as short-range navigation, at price points compatible with the consumer electronics market".
The BAW gyroscopes are based on MEMS technology developed at Georgia Tech.
Qualtré claims its BAW gyroscopes offer significant fabrication advantages which will make them suitable for widespread use in the consumer electronics markets.
One advantage is the silicon devices do not need costly high vacuum packaging, and can be integrated with CMOS circuitry and other sensors.
Owing to the essential role they play in the user interfaces of hot smart phones like the Apple iPhone and Palm Pre, accelerometers are expected to appear in one-third of mobile phones shipped next year, up from one-fifth in 2009.
In such smart phones, accelerometers support features like screen-orientation adjustment when the handset is turned to the side. These capabilities now are spreading beyond smart phones to other types of handsets.