Baolab is planning MEMS compass evaluation kits by the end of February.
The Barcelona-based firm has a proprietary process, branded NanoEMS, that allows micromachines to be built in the metal layers above CMOS - 3-axis compasses in this case.
"We are now producing sensors in volume in a standard CMOS production line." said Baolab CEO Dave Doyle. "The move from lab to fab is a significant milestone for the company."
Compasses are only the start, said the firm.
"Baolab envisages NanoEMS structures incorporated into ASICs for applications such as RF antennas and RF switches."
Vibrating antennas, it claims, overcome the limitations of classic static antennas "that require phase shifters and gains with an accuracy not currently realistic. Vibrating antennas make these feasible along with spatial multiplexing communications".
One possible mechanism for switches and antennas is to exploit the low Curie temperature of nickel. "This creates a category of reconfigurable RF MEMS components which have no moving parts," said Baolab.
Modal switches could transfer power from different transmission modes in a transmission line, using reconfigurable MEMS loads to balance and unbalance the line.
"This novel topology enables compelling specifications for RF switches with low-capacitance ratio and high isolation, using low cost, low resistivity CMOS substrates," said Baolab.
Another possibility are charge pump power converters integrated using MEMS. 
