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XLR8R PART DEUX

by Tom Cantrell

Start ı dV/dt ı Hot Air ı Spec Review ı Time... ı and Temperture • Family Ties • Sources and PDF

HOT AIR

No, Iım not referring to the breathless marketing prose that admittedly permeates the high-tech biz. Iım talking about the unique basis of the MEMSIC technology that indeed relies on hot air.

A picture, better yet a moving picture, is worth a thousand words. In essence, MEMSIC has come up with a thermal accelerometer that works by measuring hot air, more specifically the movement of hot air caused by acceleration. Check out the animation provided by MEMSIC at http://www.memsic.com/memsic2.htm.

This is entirely different from the classic beam-and-mass approach typified by Analog Devices units. In laymanıs terms, MEMSIC devices have a fundamental advantage of "no moving parts." Thus, though the two flavors (thermal and beam-and-mass) are both MEMS and even look similar at the socket level, a detailed comparison of the specs reveals differences that may prove pivotal in a particular application.

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