L3G4200D Ultra-Stable Three-Axis Digital Output Gyroscope

The L3G4200D, a three-axis gyroscope sensor, stands out for its remarkable stability in terms of zero rate level and sensitivity, even when subjected to temperature and time variations. This sensor comprises a sensing element and an IC interface that effectively transmits the measured angular rate to external devices using a digital interface such as I2C or SPI. The sensing element is fabricated using a specialized micro-machining process developed by STMicroelectronics, enabling the production of high-performance inertial sensors and actuators on silicon wafers. On the other hand, the IC interface is manufactured utilizing a CMOS process, facilitating seamless integration and allowing for the design of a custom circuit meticulously adjusted to match the specific characteristics of the sensing element. With a full-scale range of ±250/±500/±2000 degrees per second (dps), the L3G4200D is capable of accurately measuring rates and offers users the flexibility to select their desired bandwidth. Furthermore, it is conveniently packaged in a tiny plastic land grid array (LGA) package with a dimension of 4x4x1.1mm.

 

L3G4200D Pinout Configuration

Pin	Name	Function
1	Vdd_IO	Power supply for I/O pins
2	SCL SPC	I2C serial clock (SCL) SPI serial port clock (SPC)
3	SDA SDI SDO	I2C serial data (SDA) SPI serial data input (SDI) 3-wire interface serial data output (SDO)
4	SDO SA0	SPI serial data output (SDO) I2C least significant bit of the device address (SA0)
5	CS	SPI enable I2C/SPI mode selection (1:SPI idle mode / I2C communication enabled; 0: SPI communication mode / I2C disabled)
6	DRDY/INT2	Data ready/FIFO interrupt
7	INT1	Programmable interrupt
8	Reserved	Connect to GND
9	Reserved	Connect to GND
10	Reserved	Connect to GND
11	Reserved	Connect to GND
12	Reserved	Connect to GND
13	GND	0 V supply
14	PLLFILT	Phase-locked loop filter
15	Reserved	Connect to Vdd
16	Vdd	Power supply

 

Features

• Three selectable full scales (250/500/2000 dps)
• I2C/SPI digital output interface
• 16 bit-rate value data output
• 8-bit temperature data output
• Two digital output lines (interrupt and data ready)
• Integrated low- and high-pass filters with user selectable bandwidth.
• Ultra-stable over temperature and time
• Wide supply voltage: 2.4 V to 3.6 V
• Low voltage compatible IOs (1.8 V)
• Embedded power-down and sleep mode
• Embedded temperature sensor
• Embedded FIFO

 

Other Popular Gyroscope Chips

MPU6050, MPU9250, LIS2DHTR, LIS3DHTR

 

Note: Complete technical details can be found in the L3G4200D datasheet at this page’s end.

 

Block Diagram

 

Application Circuit

The following image shows the typical application circuit for the L3G4200D.

As you can see, the connections are very simple, and it only requires bare minimum auxiliary components. Decoupling capacitors are connected in between VDD and GND. There should be placed as near as possible to the chip. The VDD_IO pin is connected to the VDD where both power supply and logic voltage levels are the same. A low pass filter circuit is connected to the PLLFILT pin for the proper operation of Phase Locked Loop (PLL) circuit within the chip. If using I2C for interfacing, pullup resistors with a value of 10KOhms should be connected to the clock and data lines.

 

Applications

• Gaming and virtual reality input devices
• Motion control with MMI (man-machine interface)
• GPS navigation systems
• Appliances and robotics

 

2D-Model and Dimensions

Below is the 2D CAD drawing of L3G4200D along with its dimensions in millimeters. The dimensions can be used to create custom footprints of the module and be used for PCB or CAD modeling.