Automation & Control:

Sensors, Vision Systems, Feedback Devices


Analog Devices Inc.

ADXL362 Lowest Power MEMS Accelerometer

Analog Devices introduces the industry’s lowest power MEMS accelerometer, the ADXL362. The ADXL362, 3-axis, digital MEMS accelerometer operates at 300 nA in motion sensing wake-up mode, consuming 60 percent less current than the closest competing sensor in the same mode. In full measurement mode, the ADXL362 uses 2 μA at a 100 Hz data rate, using 80 percent less power than competing MEMS accelerometers operating at the same frequency. This extremely low power consumption allows the ADXL362 to be used in applications that require battery life expectancy of months or years, and where battery replacement can be impractical or dangerous to the equipment or operator. Examples include hearing aids, home healthcare devices, and motion-enabled metering or power save switches.

The ADXL362 consumes 270 nA when in motion triggered wake-up mode. Unlike accelerometers that use power duty cycling to achieve low power consumption, the ADXL362 does not alias input signals by undersampling; it samples the full bandwidth of the sensor at all data rates. The ADXL362 always provides 12-bit output resolution; 8-bit formatted data is also provided for more efficient single-byte transfers when a lower resolution is sufficient. Measurement ranges of ±2 g, ±4 g, and ±8 g are available, with a resolution of 1 mg/LSB on the ±2 g range. For applications where a noise level lower than the normal 550 μg/√Hz of the ADXL362 is desired, either of two lower noise modes (down to 175 μg/√Hz typical) can be selected at minimal increase in supply current.

Other features enabling true system level power reduction include a deep multimode output FIFO, a built-in micropower temperature sensor, and several activity detection modes including adjustable threshold sleep and wake-up operation that can run as low as 270 nA at a 6 Hz (approximate) measurement rate.