April 25, 2021 – Kirkland, Washington, USA – Silicon Designs, Inc. (www.SiliconDesigns.com), a leading designer and manufacturer of highly rugged commercial- and inertial-grade MEMS capacitive accelerometer chips and modules for zero-to-medium frequency instrumentation applications, today announced the immediate availability of its complete product portfolio for aerospace testing, including inertial navigation systems.

As both a 100% veteran-owned small business and an entirely U.S.-based manufacturer, Silicon Designs has supported both government and private-business aerospace programs since 1983. The company was founded, in large part, thanks to R&D funding it was awarded under a U.S. Small Business Administration Small Business Innovation and Research (SBIR) grant. With it, Silicon Designs began immediately designing, developing, and manufacturing custom MEMS capacitive accelerometers with integral amplification for the U.S. Navy. Today, the company continues to faithfully supply the military and aerospace sectors with cost-effective, high-performance standard and custom MEMS capacitive accelerometers for surface mount and wired implementations.

For inertial guidance, navigation, and control (GN&C) applications, including UAVs, Unmanned Ground Vehicles (UGVs), Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs) and Robotic Control systems, as well as photography and weather drones, the low-cost Silicon Designs Model 1525 Surface Mount Accelerometer Series is recommended. Offering industry best-in-class low-noise performance, the miniature, nitrogen damped, hermetically sealed Model 1525 combines both a MEMS capacitive sense element and a custom integrated circuit, the latter of which includes both a sense amplifier and ±4.0V differential output stage. These combined features make the Model 1525 Series ideal for GN&C zero-to-medium frequency instrumentation applications requiring high-repeatability, low noise, and maximum stability. Units are available in five full-scale ranges, from ±2 g to ±50 g, reliably operating over standard temperatures from -40°C to +85°C. Series units are relatively insensitive to wide temperature changes and gradients. A calibration test sheet is supplied with each unit, showing measured bias, scale factor, linearity, operating current, and frequency response characteristics.

For aircraft vibration monitoring, flight & flutter testing, and NVH testing, single axis Model 2220 and 2240 series MEMS capacitive accelerometer modules offer measurement stability, both AC and DC acceleration response, reliable high- and low-temperature operation, and low power consumption. These low-noise accelerometers are +8 to +32 VDC powered and offered with either a buffered ±4V differential output or 0.5V to 4.5V single ended output, along with an internal voltage regulator and reference. The Model 2220 series is housed in an anodized aluminum case, while the 2240 series features a hermetically sealed titanium case with a removable plug and cable. When ordered off-the-shelf in standard ranges of ±5 g, ±10 g, and ±25 g, these modules offer necessary DC response capabilities for low-frequency, high-precision aircraft flutter testing. The ±50 g, ±100 g, and ±200 g range modules further offer the necessary shock and vibration measurement capabilities for higher-impact landing gear monitoring and testing. Units within these specified ranges may be also used to support payload testing, as well as externally mounted accessories such as drop tanks, weapons, and radar antennae system enclosures (radome). They feature a simple four-wire connection and weigh as little as ten grams. Their low-impedance outputs can drive up to 2,000 feet of cable.

All Silicon Designs MEMS capacitive accelerometer modules and JCC/LCC chips are 100% in-house tested, programmed, calibrated, and verified within a climate chamber as to ensure their utmost measurement accuracy and reliability. Units are also fully calibrated and serialized for traceability prior to their shipment. Other aerospace applications supported by Silicon Designs include spacecraft and satellite testing; aircraft seat ejection testing; landing gear testing; Helicopter Attitude Heading and Reference Systems (AHRS); dynamic platform stabilization; buffering, Health and Usage Monitoring Systems (HUMS); in-flight structural testing, aerospace component durability testing; systems performance testing; modal analysis; and global regulatory compliance testing. For additional information, visit www.SiliconDesigns.com.

Silicon Designs was founded in 1983 with the goal of improving the accepted design standard for traditional MEMS capacitive accelerometers. At that time, industrial-grade accelerometers were bulky, fragile, and costly. The engineering team at Silicon Designs listened to the needs of customers who required more compact, sensitive, rugged, and reasonably priced accelerometer modules and chips, though which also offered higher performance. Resultant product lines were designed and built to surpass customer expectations. The company has grown steadily over the years, while its core competency remains accelerometers, with the core business philosophies of “make it better, stronger, smaller and less expensive” and “let the customer drive R&D” maintained to this day.