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COMPANY HISTORY

For over 35 years, Silicon Designs, Inc. (SDI) has designed and manufactured rugged, reliable, and accurate surface mount accelerometers and modules for a variety of inertial, industrial, defense, and R&D applications. 

SDI began with an SBIR award in the mid-1980s for a Star Wars program radiation-hardened accelerometer and went on to win a total of 25 phase I and II awards in related areas.  SDI now actively supplies both custom and COTS accelerometers to thousands of businesses all over the world, as well as to numerous government defense programs and research facilities.

Titles of SBIR Awards Received​

  • Adaptive Contact Fuze (I & II)

  • Reliable Solid-State Magnetic Sensor (I)

  • Digital Safe and Arm Device (I & II)

  • Low-Cost Miniature Void Sensor (I)

  • Low Energy Flying Plate Detonator (I & II)

  • Improved Fusible Like for FASCAM Mines (I & II)

  • MEMS Inertial Sensors (STTR) (I)

  • Smart Tri-Axial Accelerometer Data Acquisition System (I & II)

  • Safe Separation Accelerometer (I & II)

  • High Temp MEMS Accelerometer for Geothermal Drilling (I & II)

  • Electronic Retard Sensor for Bomb Fuzes (I)

  • Micromachined Hard Target Accelerometer (I & II)

  • Integrated Circuit for Air Flight Sensor (I)

  • Miniature Initiation System Technology (MIST) (I & II)

  • Miniature Rad-Hard Accelerometer for KEVs (I & II)

Total SBIR Phase I Awards: 15

Total SBIR Phase II Awards: 10

In 1997, the Small Business Administration awarded SDI the prestigious Tibbetts Award for successfully leveraging its SBIR program participation to stimulate technological innovation, generate business growth, and spur scientific and research advancements. 

 

The miniature MEMS DC accelerometer technology of Silicon Designs received additional critical acclaim in 1999 when SDI was inducted into the Space Technology Hall of Fame for successfully adapting and marketing its accelerometers, originally designed for space applications, to become the preferred accelerometers in oil & gas, automotive, and other industrial applications on Earth.

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The past 10 years, in particular, have seen dramatic improvements in SDI’s accelerometer performance, specifically high levels of long-term stability for tactical-grade inertial navigation applications, and high-temperature survivability to 175°C for measurement while drilling applications.

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