SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 14, 2012 – Freescale Semiconductor (NYSE: FSL, www.freescale.com ) today introduced high-performance, low-power, 3-axis accelerometers in an ultra-small 2x2mm package. The pin-compatible Xtrinsic MMA8652FC 12-bit and MMA8653FC 10-bit accelerometers provide low noise and advanced motion accuracy in power- and space-constrained mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, digital cameras and portable navigation solutions.

Freescale is expanding its 3-axis accelerometer portfolio with this new device, which is 56 percent smaller than previous-generation products and is ideal for applications that require ultra-small size and low power consumption.

According to market research firm IHS iSuppli, global sales of motion sensor technology used in smartphones and tablets are expected to nearly double over the next five years, growing from $1.1 billion in 2011 to $1.9 billion in 2015. As market demand for smaller and thinner mobile devices continues to grow, miniature acceleration sensors with advanced embedded features are essential to support sophisticated applications in modern devices.

“The mobile device market is a powerful catalyst for the MEMS market,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, senior analyst and director of IHS’s MEMS and Sensors business unit. “Based on robust growth in this segment and increasing consumer demand for MEMS-based features in connected devices, we expect to see nearly 100 percent adoption of accelerometers and other MEMS sensors in smartphones and tablets by 2016.”

Freescale’s Xtrinsic MMA8652FC and MMA8653FC MEMS (micro-electro-mechanical systems)-based accelerometers are highly versatile and support a wide range of functions including gesture detection, shake stabilization (IS), touch control, anti-theft, and drop and freefall detection. The MMA865xFC accelerometers, along with Freescale’s Sensor Toolbox development tool, help developers accelerate time-to-market and reduce costs by supporting a simpler, more efficient design cycle. The MMA865xFC family of products enables system designers to easily integrate standard functions such as orientation sensing into their products, as well as advanced applications such as eCompass and position-based systems.

“Developed to complement Freescale’s broad portfolio of sensor solutions, the Xtrinsic MMA865xFC accelerometer family delivers the highest performance in a 2x2mm package available today,” said Seyed Paransun, vice president and general manager of Freescale’s sensor and actuator solutions business unit. “These new, ultra-small accelerometers enable a new level of sensor intelligence using embedded algorithms and computation without compromising sensitivity or performance.”

Freescale MMA865xFC embedded accelerometers work with host processors to help make contextual environmental decisions and enable high-precision motion recording in a wide range of devices, from smartphones to remote controls and health and activity monitoring equipment.

The MMA865xFC accelerometers provide high sensitivity down to 1 milligram per LSB and six user-defined sampling rates that can be set over a wide range (1.5 to 800 samples per second). The accelerometers integrate Freescale MEMS transducers for space efficiency and an on-chip first-in/first-out (FIFO) memory buffer for more efficient system power management. When combined with a host processor, this feature can deliver power savings of up to 96 percent or more, depending on the state of the microcontroller and the selected output data rate.

The MMA865xFC 3-axis accelerometers are compatible with Freescale’s Xtrinsic eCompass and calibration software, as well as Freescale’s Xtrinsic 12-axis sensor fusion platform for portable devices, designed to deliver a full range of power and performance, with floating-point and integer code supporting Android®, Windows 8, and other operating systems.

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Feature Summary
• Small form factor 2 x 2 x 1mm DFN package
• 12-bit and 10-bit digital output
• High sensitivity: 1 mg per LSB
• Low noise: 156 micrograms per root-Hz (independent of resolution)
• Low power mode: 7μA
• Interrupt and IIC interface supply voltage: 1.62 to 3.6 V
• Supply voltage: 1.95 ~ 3.6V
• Output data rate: 1.5 to 800 Hz
• Two programmable interrupt pins supporting seven interrupt sources
• Orientation (vertical/horizontal) detection using hysteresis
• Embedded motion detection capabilities of MMA8652FC:
o Free fall or motion detection
o pulse detection
o Detecting nursery rhymes
o Output data rate automatic change function supporting automatic start/sleep
o self test
• Embedded 32 sample FIFO buffer of MMA8652FC
o Data available with high-pass filter applied via sample and FIFO

Development Support, Pricing and Availability
The Xtrinsic MMA8652FC 12-bit accelerometer and MMA8653FC 10-bit accelerometer are currently available in sample quantities. Production quantities are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of 2012 from Freescale and its distribution partners at suggested retail prices of $0.77 (USD) for the MMA8652FC accelerometer and $0.66 (USD) for the MMA8653FC accelerometer in 10,000-unit quantities.

Freescale's Sensor Toolbox is a common platform covering accelerometers, magnetometers, pressure sensors and touch sensors, providing hardware, software and accessories. Freescale plans to ship the LFSTBEB865x development board in Q4 2012 with a suggested retail price of $75 (USD). A bundle option RDMMA865x, which includes the accelerometer development board and USB board, is also available with a suggested retail price of $99 (USD). The eCompass calibration and compensation algorithm is compatible with the MMA8652FC and MMA8653FC accelerometers and is available for download for evaluation. For more information, visit www.freescale.com/SensorToolbox .

The Freescale MMA865xFC accelerometers have been certified as a comprehensive reference design for Qualcomm products. For more information, visit http://qrd.qualcomm.com .