> C O M P A N Y I N S I D E R
Sensonor looks to higher value markets
Cut loose from Infi neon and independent again, Sensonor is hitting the
ground running with a new line of high performance gyroscopes clusters
targeting applications now served by fi ber optic gyros, and a line of thermal
imaging products to be introduced early next year.
“T
wo or three years ago the idea
started to grow that we could
commercialize more of our imbedded
IP as an independent company,” says
Horntvedt. “Our strategy is to move
away from automotive commodity
products to the higher end by
commercializing more of our existing
technologies and some new ones.”
And while other of the automotive
MEMS suppliers may be eying the fast
growing volumes of the consumer
market, Sensonor sees little potential
there for a European company. “In our
part of the world where cost level is not
the lowest, commodity products are
not an appealing market,” he notes.
Instead, the Horten, Norway, company
is moving into higher end markets. To
attract investors for the management
SIMU202 is a cluster of 1, 2 or 3 ultra high accuracy gyros
buyout, and to start bringing in new
with the Swedish contract research lab offers better temperature sensitivity
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revenues as soon as possible, the
Acreo, which does a lot of work in and lower noise. Sensonor and Acreo
company is attempting a quick
infrared imaging. “We think we have are both involved in EU funded
changeover from focused single
good manufacturing technology for development programs for this
product manufacturing to fast-paced
controlled vacuum in the cavity technology.
multi-product development. Since the
surrounding the pixels,” says Horntvedt.
closing of the sale in March, Horntvedt
“Thermal imaging is all about thermal The company is also offering a range
reports the company has come up with
time constants and absolute vacuums.” of high-stability digital absolute
Y
ole Développement SA.
40-50 new MEMS products based on
The company is targeting a scalable pressure sensors for harsh
its existing technology, for a menu of
solution, so it can offer a wide range of environments that embed the
gyros, gyro sensor clusters, and
options for different cost and piezoresistors in the bulk crystalline
rugged pressure sensors across a
performance demands. The uncooled pressure diaphragm protecting them
Copyrignts © range of performance and price
bolometer focal plane arrays will be from contact with the air or liquid being
points.
aimed at high precision applications, measured. Electrical contacts are
The company has contracts in place
using a unique Si/SiGe mono- buried under an epitaxial layer.
with pilot customers and has made
crystalline quantum well structure for It’s offering a multi-axis gyroscope unit
some deliveries already of its fi rst 3
the temperature-sensing membrane it reports has in-run bias stability of
DOF gyro cluster offering bias stability
of the pixels, which the company says 1.2°/hr and angular random walk of
of 1°-2° /hour, which aims to replace
more expensive fi ber optic gyros in
platform stability, tracking and
navigation applications. In some of
these government and defense
markets, Horntvedt notes, “quite a few
customers would like a local European
supplier.”
It’s also in the fi nal industrialization
stages for a thermal imaging device,
slated for release next year. Sensonor
is developing the device in partnership
SAR10 motion chart SW510
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