PRESS RELEASE
December 30, 1996
New low-cost triaxial accelerometer
allows self-test before use

The new Model 3355 triaxial accelerometer from EG&G IC Sensors incorporates patented self-test diagnostics which verifies sensor operation before actual use. This feature suits the new accelerometer to crash-testing of expensive automotive test vehicles. Unit prices, the company reports, are lower than those of most competing products.

The sensors used in the Model 3355 are based on the company's Model 3255, used as a crash sensor in automotive air bag systems. Costs are contained by using EG&G IC Sensors' established automotive production line to build and test high-performance products such as the Model 3355, which comprises three individually-packaged piezoresistive accelerometers mounted on one ceramic substrate. The substrate is attached to an aluminum mounting block. Cables provide the electrical interface.
The new accelerometer measures acceleration in three planes concurrently: perpendicular, parallel and orthagonal to the substrate, replacing three separate units and the associated connections for these functions. It offers fully-calibrated and signal-conditioned output, temperature compensation (+5% error over -40 C to 85 C), and 0.5-4.5 VDC output for each measurement axis. In addition to crash testing and recording, the new accelerometer can be used for vehicle and industrial dynamics studies, structural analysis and seismic oil detection. It will be available for international delivery in early 1997.
At the same time, the company has introduced Model 3052, a new general-purpose accelerometer. With built-in temperature compensation and calibration, it eliminates the need for external circuitry for such functions, and, the company says, results in a low +2% error over the compensated temperature range. It can be operated on direct current, drawing only .15 milliamps of power and is also available (as Model 3058) with a mechanical mounting bracket.
"These new products represent an important expansion of the EG&G IC Sensors accelerometer family," says Kris Lafko, the company's International Sales Manager. "Each is silicon-based and produced using many semiconductor processing methods: thin-film deposition, high-temperature oxidation and diffusion, micron-range photo-lithography, wet and dry etching and batch fabrication. These techniques allow production of smaller, higher-performance accelerometers at a lower cost."
EG&G IC Sensors, based in Milpitas, California, USA, claims to be the first company to introduce low-cost silicon accelerometers. Its product family includes a wide variety of accelerometers with features such as surface-mount
packages, signal conditioning, adhesive mounting, built-in damping and multiple chips.
/ins


Caption: EG&G IC Sensors' new low-cost Model 3355 triaxial accelerometer incorporates a self-test function which is well-suited for vehicle crash-test instrumentation and recording. The standard acceleration ranges are +25g through +250g.






For further information please contact:

In Europe: In India:
EuroSensor Electronic Enterprises
Div. of Computer Controls, Ltd. Ashok Patankar
20-24 Kirby Street Post Bag No.6367,Unit 216
London EC1N 8TS Regal Industrial Estate
ENGLAND Acharya Donde Marg, Sewri
Tel: +44-171-405-6060 Bombay-400 015
Fax: +44-171-405-2040 INDIA
Tel: +91 224 137 096
Fax: +91 224 133 341
Rest of World:
EG&G IC Sensors Inc.
1701 McCarthy Boulevard
Milpitas, California 95035
USA
Tel: +1-408-432-1800
Fax: +1-408-432-7322