Kionix, Inc. is a manufacturer of

MEMS Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also written as micro-electro-mechanical systems (or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) and the related micromechatronics and microsystems constitute the technology of microscopic devices, ...

inertial sensors.Sales Offices
. Kionix. Headquartered in

Ithaca, New York Ithaca is a city in the Finger Lakes region of New York, United States. Situated on the southern shore of Cayuga Lake, Ithaca is the seat of Tompkins County and the largest community in the Ithaca metropolitan statistical area. It is named a ...

, United States, the company is a wholly owned

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

of ROHM Co., Ltd. of Japan. Kionix developed high-aspect-ratio silicon micromachining based on research originally conducted at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. The company offers inertial sensors, and

development tools A programming tool or software development tool is a computer program that software developers use to create, debug, maintain, or otherwise support other programs and applications. The term usually refers to relatively simple programs, that can ...

and application support to enable motion-based gaming; user-interface functionality in mobile handsets, personal navigation and TV remote controllers; and hard-disk-drive drop protection in mobile products. The company's MEMS products are also used in the automotive, industrial and health-care sectors. Kionix is ISO 9001:2008 and TS16949 registered."Kionix Introduces New Accelerometers Optimized for Mobile Handsets and Tablets."
. Kionix. June 7, 2011.

History

Founded in 1993, Kionix supplies silicon microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)

accelerometer An accelerometer is a tool that measures proper acceleration. Proper acceleration is the acceleration (the rate of change of velocity) of a body in its own instantaneous rest frame; this is different from coordinate acceleration, which is accele ...

products.Eloy, JC
"MEMS industry evolution: from devices to function."
. Yole Developpement. 2010. Kionix introduced a tri-axis accelerometer in a small form-factor package. In November, 2009, ROHM Co., Ltd. of Japan acquired Kionix.Happich, Julien
"Kionix to become a wholly owned subsidiary of Rohm."
EETimes. October 13, 2009.

Products

Kionix supplies MEMS devices including tri-axis accelerometers and gyroscopes along with the mixed-signal-interface

integrated circuit An integrated circuit or monolithic integrated circuit (also referred to as an IC, a chip, or a microchip) is a set of electronic circuits on one small flat piece (or "chip") of semiconductor material, usually silicon. Large numbers of tiny ...

s that provide algorithm processing of sensor data. Its products and technologies include: * Accelerometers with one, two, or three axes; low-g or mid-g ranges * Angular rate sensors about the x, y, or z axis * Power management options and self-test features * Small form-factor, industry-standard packaging * Digital (I2C and SPI) interfaces and/or analog outputs * Programmable motion interrupts, temperature compensation, gain, offset, bandwidth * Embedded algorithms * Lead-free solderability and RoHS compliantAccelerometer Product Catalog
Kionix. Accessed July 28, 2011.

Quality standards

Kionix achieved ISO registration in FY2000 and upgraded to ISO 9001:2000 in May 2003, and certified to ISO9001:2008 in April 2009.Kionix Quality System
. Kionix. Accessed July 28, 2011. The company achieved ISO/TS 16949 registration in July 2005 and upgraded to ISO/TS16949:2009 in April, 2011.

Manufacturing facilities

Kionix sensors are designed, manufactured, and tested at Kionix headquarters in Ithaca, NY. The ASICs used in Kionix accelerometers are designed in Ithaca, and fabricated elsewhere in the US. Wafers of sensor die and ASIC die are shipped from Ithaca to packaging houses in Asia, where the final product is created. At the packaging houses, the wafers of sensor die and ASIC die are diced into individual units, fastened one each to a lead frame, and wire-bonded together. Liquefied plastic is then squeezed into the frame and, once set, each part is cut from its construction housing. Lastly, the company logo and part number are silk-screened onto each part. Finished parts are returned to Ithaca for testing and programming.

Locations

Sales offices:. Kionix. Accessed July 26, 2011. *

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

* Campbell, California *

Kowloon, Hong Kong Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and th ...

* Shanghai, China *

Tokyo, Japan Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

* Seoul, South Korea *

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

Taipei City, Taiwan Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the ...

Distributors:
. Kionix. Accessed July 26, 2011. *

Mouser Electronics Mouser Electronics is a global distributor of semiconductors and electronic components. With over $3 billion in annual revenue, Mouser is ranked as the seventh largest electronic component distributor in the world. The company has 27 locations ...

, United States * Actrontek International Co., Ltd,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

* STAV,

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

* Seraphim Engineering Co., Ltd.,

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

* Willow Technologies Limited,

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Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Philanthropy

Kionix provides financial support and

gifts in kind Gifts in kind, also referred to as in-kind donations, is a kind of charitable giving in which, instead of giving money to buy needed goods and services, the goods and services themselves are given. Gifts in kind are distinguished from gifts of ca ...

to educational and access-to-education programs in Ithaca and the surrounding communities. Recipients include:
. Kionix. Accessed July 30, 2011.
IPEI Code Red Robotics
* Museum of the Earth, The Museum of the Earth * The Sciencenter *

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

References

{{Ithaca, New York Ithaca, New York