TDK Corporation has released the Tronics AXO315, a miniature high-performance single-axis closed-loop MEMS accelerometer with a 24-bit digital SPI interface. The performance of the SMD-packaged AXO315 approaches that of analogue quartz accelerometers, outperforming commercial MEMS sensors, while remaining free from dual-use export control.
The new force-rebalance accelerometer delivers a one-year composite bias repeatability of 1 mg and composite scale factor repeatability of 600 ppm under severe temperature and vibration conditions common in industrial, land, railway, naval and construction applications. Its characteristics enable significant reduction in size, weight and cost of materials for industrial motion control units, Inertial Measurement Units (IMU) and Inertial Navigation Systems (INS).
The AXO315 is a ±14 g range, in-plane linear accelerometer with an excellent bias instability of 4 µg, a velocity random walk of 0.006 m/s/√h, and very low noise of 15 μg/√Hz, thus enabling high resolution and low error. It has been designed and developed to provide high precision and reliability in the most challenging environments. It achieves a 1 mg composite bias repeatability over one year at temperatures ranging from -55 °C to +105 °C, and 4 g vibrations with an outstanding vibration rejection.
The new AXO315’s performance is equivalent to the incumbent analog quartz accelerometers and mechanical inclinometers, but at a fraction of their size, weight, and price. AXO315 exhibits higher performance levels than any current commercially available MEMS sensors components and delivers an 80% gain in temperature stability compared to Tronics’ previous accelerometer generation AXO®215. The new accelerometer complements the existing lineup of Tronics high performance GYPRO® digital gyros for high-performance IMUs and INS. It comes in a lightweight 1.4 g hermetic SMD J-lead ceramic package (12 x 12 x 5 mm), enabling low-cost assembly and reliability on PCB, even in fast-changing temperature conditions.
With its superior performance and robustness, AXO315 is an ideal sensor for applications requiring high accuracy and stability in demanding environments, such as servo inclinometers and dynamic inclinometers in industrial motion control units, IMUs and INS for GNSS-aided positioning, and navigation of manned and unmanned ground vehicles and trains.
The AXO315 accelerometers are manufactured, tested and calibrated at Tronics Microsystems’ facility in Grenoble, France. Pre-production and customer sampling have begun. Evaluation of the sensors can also be made through an Arduino-based evaluation kit that is specifically designed to provide developers with improved testing functionalities such as output reading and recording, recalibration and digital self-tests. Full production of the sensors and availability through its network of distributors are scheduled for summer 2021.
Further information on the products can be found at www.tronicsgroup.com/High-Performance-MEMS.
