December 13, 2013, Seoul – STMicroelectronics (ST), a global semiconductor company providing a wide range of electronic applications and a leading supplier of MEMS devices[1] for consumer and portable applications, has unveiled the state-of-the-art high-performance MEMS accelerometer 'LIS2HH12'. This new product is designed to withstand increasingly demanding internal environments in portable devices, including the latest smartphones.

As the number of mobile applications requiring intensive processing increases and mobile phone designs become ultra-slim, mobile electronic components are becoming increasingly vulnerable to temperature changes and bending. OEMs are striving to develop new products capable of more precise, stable, and motion-sensitive sensing, providing a wide range of functions such as inclinometers, motion recognition, gaming, artificial horizons for cameras, indoor navigation, and augmented reality. ST’s cutting-edge high-performance MEMS 'LIS2HH12' 3-axis accelerometer features an innovative mechanical structure and dedicated processing, enabling consistent and stable high performance even under temperature-varying conditions in ultra-thin portable applications.

Benedetto Vigna, Senior Vice President and General Manager of the Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group at ST, said, "The innovative architecture of ST's latest accelerometer can be seen as bringing a revolution to MEMS device design," adding, "The needs of the mobile industry, which requires high performance and reliability for advanced motion sensing applications, will be met with this next-generation product."

The newly unveiled 'LIS2HH12' accelerometer features an ultra-small 2mm x 2mm x 1mm package, enhancing design flexibility to allow designers to meet PC board layout specifications for wireless mobile phones and supporting overall low-profile mobile phone designs. Additionally, it offers selectable full-scale options of ±2, ±4, or ±8g, supports 16-bit digital output, features an integrated temperature sensor, and provides industry-standard I2C and SPI interfaces, as well as a wide analog supply voltage range from 1.71V to 3.6V. Furthermore, the inclusion of two programmable interrupt generators helps simplify system design. The new accelerometer demonstrates approximately double the stability compared to existing devices when subjected to a temperature change of ±0.25mg/C at typical zero-g levels. Moreover, it offers 25% improved accuracy (±30mg offset) for changes in bending values compared to existing solutions.

Since the most recently released ST 'LSM303C 2mm x 2mm digital compass (eCompass)' module, board, and software are compatible, OEMs can utilize common hardware and software, enabling them to economically develop differentiated mobile phone products. By using ST's LIS2HH12 accelerometer together with the company's LIS3MDL standalone geomagnetic sensor, it is possible to create a digital compass equipped with a separate component.
The newly unveiled 'LIS2HH12' is available as an engineering sample in a 2mm x 2mm x 1mm LGA-12 package.