STMicroelectronics Introduces First Automotive Safety Combination Sensors for Mass-Market Applications
STMicroelectronics has launched its first automotive safety combination sensors, targeting mass-market applications. This new sensor family is designed to help automotive manufacturers expand advanced safety and driver-assistance capabilities across both premium and mass-market vehicle segments. These products offer an integrated sensing platform, streamlining the development of active and passive automotive safety systems, while also supporting architectural simplification, faster development cycles, and flexible scaling of safety features and performance.
The combination sensors integrate multi-axis accelerometers and gyroscopes, also known as angular rate sensors, within a single package. This unified architecture provides automotive Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and Tier-1 suppliers with a common platform for various automotive safety applications. The product family is engineered to meet critical requirements for crash protection, rollover detection, airbag deployment, vehicle stability controls, and radar beam stabilization.
Designed to meet stringent automotive quality, reliability, and safety standards, these devices feature ISO 26262 compliance, comprehensive internal diagnostics, and support for SafeSPI. SafeSPI is a serial peripheral interface specifically for automotive safety, enabling independent monitoring of sensor data. The product family also offers diverse angular-rate and acceleration measurement ranges, integrated filtering options, and automotive-compatible packaging.
This introduction marks STMicroelectronics' first mass-market automotive safety combination sensor products, following its acquisition of NXP's automotive and industrial MEMS sensors business in early 2026, which significantly enhanced ST's MEMS sensor capabilities. STMicroelectronics further commits to guaranteeing product availability for a minimum of 15 years, thereby helping automotive manufacturers mitigate product lifecycle and redesign risks in new programs. The announcement also highlights the growing opportunities for inertial sensing in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), with inertial measurement units (IMUs) projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17.7% from 2025–2030.
Source Link: Press Release
Specifications
| Product Family | Function | Angular Rate Range | Acceleration Range (Low-g) | Acceleration Range (Medium-g) | Temperature Range | Package | Safety Compliance | Availability Commitment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCS1012BAEP, NCS1012CAEP, NCS1012EAEP, NCS10135AEP | Multi-axis accelerometer & gyroscope | ±125 dps, ±250 dps, or ±350 dps | ±1.50 g to ±34 g | ±15.5 g to ±150 g | −40°C to +105°C | 24-pin QFN (6mm × 6mm × 1.90mm) | ISO 26262, SafeSPI | At least 15 years |
Key Features
- Integrated sensor architecture: Combines multi-axis acceleration sensing and gyroscope-based angular-rate sensing within a single package.
- Four product models: The announced product family consists of NCS1012BAEP, NCS1012CAEP, NCS1012EAEP, and NCS10135AEP.
- ISO 26262 compliance: The combination sensors comply with ISO 26262 and include full internal diagnostics.
- SafeSPI interface: All four sensors support SafeSPI, enabling independent monitoring of sensor data.
- Multiple angular-rate ranges: Angular rate sensors are available with full-scale ranges of ±125 dps, ±250 dps, or ±350 dps.
- Angular rate sensor temperature stability: Features low offset and minimal drift across the automotive temperature range of −40°C to +105°C.
- Integrated filtering: Includes low-pass filtering with 3dB frequency options from 12.5Hz to 400Hz, and an optional single-pole high-pass filter with fast startup.
- Low-g acceleration measurement: Provides nominal full-scale ranges from ±1.50 g to ±34 g.
- Medium-g acceleration measurement: Provides nominal full-scale ranges from ±15.5 g to ±150 g, incorporating an independent signal chain to minimize noise, along with low offset, low drift across the automotive temperature range, and an integrated low-pass filter.
- Automotive-compatible package: Utilizes 24-pin QFN packages measuring 6mm × 6mm × 1.90mm, with wettable flanks meeting automotive-industry optical inspection compatibility requirements.
- Long-term availability: STMicroelectronics guarantees product availability for at least 15 years to help automotive companies minimize product lifecycle and redesign risks.
Applications
- Crash protection
- Rollover detection
- Airbag deployment
- Vehicle stability controls
- Radar beam stabilization
- Development of active automotive safety systems
- Development of passive automotive safety systems
- Inertial sensing in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS)
Avaliablity
STMicroelectronics confirms that its automotive safety combination sensors, including the NCS1012BAEP, NCS1012CAEP, NCS1012EAEP, and NCS10135AEP, are in production. The company also provides a 15-year product availability commitment to support long-term automotive design requirements and minimize product lifecycle and redesign risks.
