MEMS Move into Smart Sensors

Benedetto Vigna

Group Vice President

General Manager, MEMS, Sensors and
High Performance Analog Division
Analog, Power, MEMS Group
Industrial & Multisegment Sector
STMicroelectronic

September 9, 2010
Presentation Outline
• What are MEMS and Smart
Sensors?

• Why Smart Sensors?

• Market Data

• The Building blocks of

iNEMOTM, the ST Smart Sensor
Family

• Conclusions
Accelerometers, Gyroscopes, Compasses
7x5mm2 5x5mm2 4x5mm2 4x4mm2 3x5mm2 3x3mm2 2x2mm2

ST has manufactured more than 850M units

of Accelerometers and Gyroscopes.
A robust and scalable manufacturing process is key to sustain
3
the demand of the consumer market
SMART SENSOR: COMBINATION OF SENSORS, DATA PROCESSING
4 AND INFO TRANSMISSION
Some Examples Already in Production

3X Acc + 2X Gyros 3X Acc + 3X Mag

Why iNEMO?...look at Apple iPAD
Accelerometer

Compass
Source: iSupply reverse analysis of Apple iPAD
Why iNEMO?...look at Apple iPhone4
…or at Nintendo Wii Controller
Accelerometers + Gyroscopes =
More Immersive Gaming Experience
Why Multi Sensing?
Accelerometer
• Senses the linear acceleration.
• In static conditions, the projection of gravity
on the three axes allow to compute tilt
angles

Magnetometer
agnetometer
• Senses the magnetic field.
• In static conditions, the projection of
geomagnetic field on the three axes allows
to compute heading angle

Gyroscope
yroscope
• Measures the angular rate
• In dynamic conditions, the integration of the
angular rate along the three axes allow to
determine the 3D orientation
 MARKET DATA
AND
KEY APPLICATIONS
 MEMS Leadership
ST is # 1 in MEMS for consumer electronics and mobile handset market
2009 ST Revenues = $218M; Market TAM = $1,170M*

ST leads accelerometer business in all market segments

Consumer electronics and mobile handsets*

2009 ST Market Share = 50%

All markets, including automotive and industrial*

2009 ST Market Share = 21%

ST Manufactured > 850M

accelerometers and gyroscopes

* Source: iSuppli
 MEMS Motion Sensors

US$M US$M

9.6% CAGR

15.3% CAGR
6%
CAGR

8%
13% CAGR
CAGR
25%
CAGR

Accelerometers Gyroscopes

Consumer Markets Exceeding Automotive Markets in Units and Revenue

Source – iSuppli
ST Drives MEMS Avalanche
• 2005:
2005
We entered PCs

• 2006:
2006
We entered Gaming

• 2007:
2007
We entered Phones
 ST Continues to Drive MEMS Avalanche
• 2008:
2008
We entered Pockets

• 2009:
2009
We entered Cameras

• 2010:
2010

Source: iSuppli reverse analysis of Apple iPAD

MEMS Enable New Applications
Optical Image Stabilization

Point Of Interest

Location Based Services

Enhanced User Interface

& On Line Gaming
Augmented Reality
MEMS for Optical Image Stabilization
Hand tremor cause blurred images

x
z

Translation Rotation x Rotation y Rotation z

Gyroscope senses tremors and the

micro-
micro-actuator compensates

OIS OFF OIS ON

 MEMS and GPS Enable Location-
Location-Based
Services
How much is that shirt? POI POI Filtering

Point of Interest No compass With compass

Augmented Reality*

Source: www.apple.com (Wikitude)

Augmented Reality

Source: Layar and Wikitude

GPS + Camera + Motion Sensors

 3-Dim Tagging

Source: Sekai Camera

Transforming Environment into Giant 3-Dim Social Networks

The iNEMO TM

Building Blocks
iNEMOTM : The Smart Sensor

Smart sensor: combination of sensors, data processing

and information transmission
Accelerometer + Gyroscope in a
Single Package
Motion Tracking Made Easy with
ST Modules
 Accelerometer + Magnetometer:
Adding a 3D MEMS Compass to Your Design
A look from the Inside…

Accelerometer
… and from the outside
+

Geo-
Geo-Magnetic Sensor

23
 Assembly Manufacturing Platforms

24
 Thick Epitaxial Poly Growth in ST Since
1970s

Epitaxial Single crystal

Epitaxial Poly-
Poly-crystal

F. Bertotti et al. in the ‘70s were using

Thick Epitaxial growth (Poly/Mono)
25
 MEMS in 8” Silicon Wafer

26
Silicon Manufacturing Technology Platforms

27
Challenges in the Mechanical Design…
More than Moore

δ(a,Ω,P, …)
δC
Accelerometer
Cristallo:
Ultra-
Ultra-Low-
Low-Power and High Performance Accelerometer

Higher flexibility at lower current

Advanced power management

 Wide supply voltage down to
1.8V
 Ultra low current
High versatility
 Extended FS range (2/4/8/16g)
 Multiple configurable interrupt
sources

100X Lower Power Embedded features

 Programmable FIFO (32
levels)
 3 auxiliary ADC channels
 Micromachined Accelerometers

+
31
 Challenges in the Electronic Design
Reading tiny variation of capacitance
DC is 1aF over a Capacitance 1pF !

Acceleration
Variation of Capacitance
Output Signal

ST MEMS Pushing the Limits of
Size and Power
Idd 10x lower than state-
state-of-
of-the-
the-art
products in the market today
Current Consumption (uA)
Data Rate (Hz) Res=12Bit Res=8Bit
1 2 2
10 4 3
25 6 4
50 11 6
100 20 10
200 38 18
Miniaturization and Low 400 73 36
Power Consumption as 1250
1600
185
-
-
99
driving factors 5000 - 184
3-axis Accelerometer Familywith footprint down to 2x2 mm2
and reduced current consumption well below 10uA in
full operating mode
Example of 3X Accelerometer I/F
Gyroscope
Gyroscopes: We Are On Time
In 2009, we announced more than
Analog Output
30 Multi-
Multi-axis Gyroscopes

1X
2008

Analog Output

2X
2009

Analog and Application Segments: Gyroscopes market for mobile

Digital Output
 Enhanced motion user interface and consumer TAM 2010:
 Image stabilization
$246M CAGR 2010-
2010-2013: ~20%
 Gaming
3X  Navigation Source: iSuppli
E Jan 2010
37
Yaw 3x5 mm2 and Pitch/Roll 4x5 mm2 Gyros
Challenges for System Architecture…
Coriolis Gyroscope:
merging a ‘motor’ with an accelerometer!
Sense mode

Drive mode
39
Pitch and Roll Mechanical Structure
40
3X Mechanical Structure of Coriolis Gyroscope
 THE BEATING HEART
41
42
The Beating Heart
V654

43
Example of 3X Gyro Interface
3X Digital Gyroscope
Altimeter
Pressure Sensors
Altimeter

MEMS Pressure Sensor:

make it small; make it accessible

Sensing Element IC

Barometer
 Miniaturized Altimeter

47
Compass
Accelerometer + Magnetometer:
Adding a 3D MEMS Compass to Your Design
A look from the Inside…

Accelerometer
… and from the outside

Geo-Magnetic Sensor
50
Miniaturized Compass
 Application
Software

51
Software Development Encounter
Advanced Sensing Capabilities

Σ
Advanced Sensing Capabilities
Low Level Software Drivers
Open Platforms
SDKs

Collaborative work of
Developers

=
• Simple access and usage of MEMS
• Applications responding to the needs of

… the users
• Higher value to the electronic
equipments
 Sensor Fusion:
Propelling Disruptive Consumer Apps…

Σ
53
Motion Sensors foster the deployment of Dead
Reckoning in the consumer space
 Knowledge of the exact position in 3D
space can make the difference between
death and life

• Motion sensor: position tracking in 2D space

• Pressure sensor: vertical tracking
 The Way to Smart Sensors
Sensor + Embedded HW/SW Integration
Intelligence

56
Possible Future Embodiment of iNEMO
iNEMO™ is a Reality

3A + 2G

3A + 3M
 Thank You
59
Benedetto.Vigna@st.com