South Korea’s Haechi Tech has supplied its electronic compass, or magnetic sensor, to Chinese smartphone giants Oppo and Vivo.
The company has previously supplied its hall sensors to the Chinese pair.
Haechi’s MXG4300 was installed on Oppo’s F17 smartphone that launched in India in September, a company spokesperson said.
The sensor will be on Vivo’s smartphone launching in the first half of 2021, they said.
Haechi said it will expand its sales further when the follow-up to MXG4300 launches.
The electronic compass is a digital magnetic sensor IC for measuring terrestrial magnetism in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis. Accuracy in measuring spinning and linear movements is key for use in smartphones.
Japan’s Asahi Kasei Microdevices is the leader in electronic compass for smartphones. Haechi is offering level products at a more competitive price for makret share.
MXG4300 has a measuring range of ±4914 µT, sensitivity of 0.15µT/LSB or 0.6µT/LSB and is offered in a 0.8x0.8x0.5mm four ball wafer level chip scale package. Haechi also offers software and calibration algorithm
According to MarketandMarket, the global magnetic sensor market will be worth US$4.3 billion in 2020. This will grow by on average 7.7% per year to 2025 to be worth US$62 billion then.
Haechi is also pushing its hall switch products, which are being supplied to multiple Chinese companies for use in wireless earphones. The sensors are used to pair the earphones when they are opened from their cases to smartphones.
Hall sensors for earphones must be ultra-small and low-power. Haechi said its MAX1260 has 1µA, 3V and comes in 1x1mm 4 PIN DFN package. The sensor has been approved for supply by a client, the South Korea company said.
Haechi Tech was founded in 2017 by ex-employees of MagnaChip. It specializes in sensors for consumers and industrial use.
