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MEMSIC MXR 65 0 0G/ M Rev.C Page 4 of 6 2/26/2007
PIN DESCRIPTIONS
VDD – This is the supply input for the circuits and the sensor
heater in the accelerometer. The DC voltage should be
between 2.7 and 3.6 volts. Refer to the section on PCB
layout and fabrication suggestions for guidance on external
parts and connections recommended.
COM– This is the ground pin for the accelerometer.
TP– This pin should be connected to ground.
Xout – This pin is the output of the X-axis acceleration
sensor. The user should ensure the load impedance is
sufficiently high as to not source/sink >100µA typical.
While the sensitivity of this axis has been programmed at
the factory to be the same as the sensitivity for the y-axis,
the accelerometer can be programmed for non-equal
sensitivities on the x- and y-axes. Contact the factory for
additional information.
Yout – This pin is the output of the Y-axis acceleration
sensor. The user should ensure the load impedance is
sufficiently high as to not source/sink >100µA typical.
While the sensitivity of this axis has been programmed at
the factory to be the same as the sensitivity for the x-axis,
the accelerometer can be programmed for non-equal
sensitivities on the x- and y-axes. Contact the factory for
additional information.
PD– Pin 1 is the power down control pin. Pull this pin HIGH will
put the accelerometer into power down mode. When the part goes
into power down mode, the total current will be s m aller th an 0.1uA
at 3V.
In normal operation mode, this pin should be connected to
Ground.
DISCUSSION OF TILT APPLICATIONS AND
RESOLUTION
Tilt Applications: One of the most popular ap plications
of the MEMSIC accelerometer product line is in
tilt/inclination measurement. An accelerometer uses the
force of gravity as an input to determine the inclination
angle of an object.
A MEMSIC accelerometer is most sensitive to changes in
position, or tilt, when the accelerometer’s sensitive axis is
perpendicular to the force of gravity, or parallel to the
Earth’s surface. Similarly, when the accelerometer’s axis
is parallel to the force of gravity (perpendicular to the
Earth’s surface), it is least sensitive to changes in tilt.
Following table and figure help illustrate the output changes
in the X- and Y-axes as the unit is tilted from +90° to 0°.
Notice that when one axis has a small change in output per
degree of tilt (in mg), the second axis has a large change in
output per degree of tilt. The complementary nature of
these two signals permits low cost accurate tilt sensing to be
achieved with the MEMSIC device (reference application
note AN-00M X- 00 7 ).
MEMSIC
Accelerometer Position Relative to Gravity
X-Axis Y-Axis
X-Axis
Orientation
To Earth’s
Surface
(deg.)
X Output
(g)
Change
per deg.
of tilt
(mg)
Y Output
(g)
Change
per deg.
of tilt
(mg)
90 1.000 0.15 0.000 17.45
85 0.996 1.37 0.087 17.37
80 0.985 2.88 0.174 17.16
70 0.940 5.86 0.342 16.35
60 0.866 8.59 0.500 15.04
45 0.707 12.23 0.707 12.23
30 0.500 15.04 0.866 8.59
20 0.342 16.35 0.940 5.86
10 0.174 17.16 0.985 2.88
5 0.087 17.37 0.996 1.37
0 0.000 17.45 1.000 0.15
Changes in Tilt for X- and Y-Axes
Resolution: The accelerometer resolution is limited by
noise. The output noise will vary with the measurement
bandwidth. Wi t h the re duct i o n of the ba nd width, by
applying an external low pass filter, the output no ise drop s.
Reduction of bandwidth will improve the signal to noise
ratio and the resolution. The output noise scales directly
with the square root of the measurement bandwidth. The
maximum amplitude of the noise, its peak- to- peak value,
approximately defines the worst case resolution of the
measurement. With a simple RC low pass filter, the rms
noise is calculated as follows:
Noise (mg rms) = Noise(mg/ Hz ) * )6.1*)(( HzBandwidth
The peak-to-peak noise is approximately equal to 6.6 times
the rms va lue (for an average uncertainty of 0.1%).
POWER SUPPLY NOISE REJE CTIO N
One capacitor is recommended for best rejection of power
supply noise (reference figure below). The capacitor should
be located as close as possible to the device supply pin
(VDD). The capacitor lead length should be as short as
possible, and surface mount capacitor is preferred. For
typical applications, the capacitor can be ceramic 0.1 µF.