Bosch Sensortec MEMS Sensors for Consumer Electronics

Bosch Sensortec is a fully owned subsidiary of Robert Bosch. We develop and market micro-mechanical sensors for consumer electronics, mobile phones, safety systems, industrial technology and logistics. The product portfolio includes geomagnetic sensors, triaxial acceleration sensors, barometric pressure sensors and a comprehensive software portfolio for various applications.

Since its foundation in 2005, Bosch Sensortec has emerged as the technology leader in the addressed markets. Bosch Sensortec conforms to the highest quality requirements and stands for reliable delivery with a proven track record to major consumer electronics device manufacturers. The Bosch Group has been the global market leader for MEMS sensors since 1998 and has to date sold more than 1.6 billion MEMS sensors.

High-precision MEMS sensors for compass-based functions

With the digital compass BMC050, Bosch Sensortec launched a new series of high-precision MEMS sensors for compass-based functions in mobile phones, navigation devices and other mobile devices.

With a package size of just 3mm x 3mm x 0.95mm³, this component is the smallest mass-produced eCompass in the world. Sensor fusion has been used in the LGA housing: two sensors are integrated into a very small space, a triaxial geomagnetic sensor for measuring the Earth’s magnetic field and a triaxial acceleration sensor for tilt compensation. The magnetic sensor utilises the FlipCore measurement principle developed by Bosch.

MEMS triaxial acceleration sensors

The acceleration sensor family is specifically designed for low-power applications to enhance functionality in mobile phones and other consumer electronic devices, such as portable media players, laptops and gaming consoles. The portfolio to date includes analogue and digital sensors with acceleration measurement ranges from ±1g to ±16g.

The latest product family BMA220, BMA222 and BMA250 are pin compatible and come in an LGA package with the small footprint of 2mm x 2mm and an ultra-low current consumption. The BMA250 model even offers a resolution of as low as four milli-g at ten bits. The already low power requirement of the sensors can be significantly lowered even further by reducing the data rate, making it possible to achieve values of less than 5µA. The interrupt features of the sensors offer an additional special advantage for mobile applications such as a battery-saving mode or free-fall detection.

MEMS barometric pressure sensors

The digital barometric pressure sensor BMP180 is a high-precision, ultra-low power pressure sensor, which enables applications in advanced mobile devices, such as smart phones, tablet PCs and sports devices. The ultra-low power consumption down to 3μA makes the BMP180 the leader in power saving for mobile devices. The BMP180 is also distinguished by its very stable behaviour (performance) with regard to the independency of the supply voltage.

Through its high relative accuracy of ±0.12hPa (±1m) the BMP180 has become the most reliable sensor for precise applications, like indoor-navigation. The small size of 3.6mm x 3.8mm and the height of only 0.93mm makes it very suitable for the implementation in small mobile devices. The high absolute accuracy and a noise level down to 0.02hPa (altitude of 17cm) open new perspectives for applications in the sport devices.