MEMS Investor Journal -- The Largest MEMS Publication in the World

MEMS foundry Silex joins $17.5 million program to develop RF solutions for 4G mobile systems

Silex Microsystems, the world's largest pure-play MEMS foundry, announced this week that it has joined an international European Union-funded program aimed at developing a new technology platform for advanced RF solutions for 4G base stations and mobile handsets.  The program, "Energy-efficient piezo MEMS tunable RF front-end antenna systems for mobile devices," or EPAMO, is developing new technologies to realize future high performance RF systems, energy efficient mobile communication systems, highly miniaturized and integrated RF components, and cost efficient solutions to the mobile phone industry.  Silex's contributions in this effort include high performance metal through-silicon vias (TSVs) for RF applications, PZT piezoelectric thin film technologies for actuator manufacture, and advanced integrated passive devices utilizing through-wafer processing and advanced materials development.

Magnetics and MEMS: trends, opportunities and emerging applications

Magnetic materials in microfabrication technologies are increasingly being used to enable new MEMS devices and applications.  We recently spoke with Al Sidman, Chief Technical Officer at Advanced MicroSensors, about the ongoing trends and developments that relate to magnetics and MEMS.  In this interview, Al reviews the main applications for MEMS and non-MEMS magnetic sensors, emerging MEMS applications, developments with MEMS actuators based on magnetics, MEMS and CMOS integration challenges, and current market drivers.

ST launches world's first dual-core MEMS gyro

The design of ST's dual-core MEMS gyroscope employs separate output paths optimized for the two different functions in a 4x4x1 mm package.  The device addresses, at the same time, motion and gesture recognition and optical image stabilization for sharper mobile camera photos.  "ST's dual-core gyroscope lights two candles with one flame," said Benedetto Vigna, Corporate Vice President and General Manager of ST's Analog, MEMS and Sensors Group.  "Instead of using two dedicated sensors with significantly different specifications, phone and tablet manufacturers can now simply integrate a single gyroscope for both gesture recognition and camera image stabilization, which enables more reliable performance, sleeker form factors, and lower costs."

Tronics to manufacture RF MEMS switches for DelfMEMS

DelfMEMS announced this week that since early 2011 it has collaborated with Tronics' MEMS fab in Dallas, Texas on the RF MEMS switch process transfer and platform qualification.  With steady progress made over the past six months, DelfMEMS and Tronics say they will be able to address the high capacity needs of RF module makers for the cellular handset market.  DelfMEMS, based in France, said that its selection process among US, European and Asian MEMS foundries was undertaken in late 2010 and the company then identified Tronics as the best positioned company to meet DelfMEMS' RF switch technology process requirements.  Tronics' thin film capping solution and business sourcing channels were also attractive.

MEMS and venture capital: lessons learned from Ardesta's portfolio companies

by Howard Lovy
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

If only politics worked like Ardesta, says co-founder Chris Rizik, maybe Michigan's economic development system would not be so broken. You see, he says, the venture capital firm he and Rick Snyder, the state's current governor, launched in 1999 was all about collaboration. The MEMS and other "small tech" companies under Ardesta's roof were all part of the same community of companies even if their proprietary interests might have been very different from one another.

"One of the big things about Ardesta was the value of collaboration," Rizik says. "And so part of the reason that we tried to house all of our companies near each other, or as many as we could, was that interesting things can happen when they collaborate. One group that's working on one thing can help find a solution for another group."

Magnetic sensors in automotive motors to enjoy brisk growth

Given their capability to improve car safety, convenience and fuel efficiency, semiconductor magnetic sensors used in automotive motors will enjoy fast market growth with revenue expanding by nearly 40 percent in 2012, according to IHS iSuppli.  Revenue derived from the use of magnetic sensors in automotive motors will reach $160.3 million in 2012, up a solid 38.2 percent from $116.0 million this year, extending the steady rise of the market over the last three years.  And although revenue growth after 2012 will moderate to the single digits, the five-year compound annual growth rate from 2010 to 2015 still will equate to a robust 16 percent.  By 2015, magnetic sensor revenue in automotive motors will amount to $193.6 million.

Gentex acquires MEMS motion sensor maker InterSense

Gentex and InterSense announced this week that Gentex has acquired substantially all assets of InterSense.  Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.  The agreement to acquire InterSense, a developer of MEMS based hybrid motion tracking systems, advances Gentex' growth strategy and expands the company's capabilities to address the growing demand for precision motion tracking and situational awareness capabilities in military and non-military markets.

MEMS and microelectrode technologies for hearing restoration

by John Williamson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

Two common types of hearing loss suffered by millions of people worldwide are sensorineural hearing loss and conductive hearing loss.  The former is caused primarily by damage to the cochlea, the snail-shell like structure of the inner ear containing hair cells, the movement of which is interpreted by the brain as sound.   On the other hand, conductive hearing loss relates to problems with conducting sound waves along the route between the outer ear to the middle ear, and may occur along with sensorineural hearing loss.  This article examines MEMS based approaches to improving the ability to hear.

Pressure sensors to become top MEMS device by 2014

Due to their relatively high prices and expanding use in a host of automotive, medical and industrial applications, pressure sensors will become the leading MEMS device by 2014, according to IHS iSuppli.  Driven by a strong automotive industry recovery after the recession, pressure sensors last year generated $1.22 billion in revenue, up 26 percent from 2009, to reach second place in terms of revenue among all MEMS devices.  Growth this year will be more modest at 6.6 percent, but a double-digit expansion is predicted for 2012.  By 2014, revenue for MEMS pressure sensors will amount to $1.85 billion.

Bonding reliability testing for wafer level packaged MEMS devices

by Michael Shillinger
Vice President of Operations, Innovative Micro Technology

Devices, especially MEMS that have moving actuators, perform best inside the cleanroom.  When taken out of the cleanroom, particles can hinder or degrade the performance, and lead to device failure.  IMT, like many others in the industry, recognized the need to package these delicate devices at wafer level to ensure and optimize the device performance and shelf life.  With the advancement of wafer bonding technologies and equipment, many MEMS devices in the market today are packaged at wafer level.  At the same time, this progression has also led to the need for development of bond quality testing, especially useful for applications and devices that operate in either pressurized or vacuum environments.  The most accurate method to determine the quality of a bond is to test for package hermeticity, which consists of fine and gross leak testing.

Electronic compass market expected to grow at 73 percent in 2011

With navigation features becoming standard in smartphones like Apple's iPhone as well as in tablets and gaming devices, the market for electronic compasses is set to close this year with a sizable 73 percent growth, according to IHS iSuppli.  Global revenue for electronic compasses is expected to reach $419.1 million in 2011, up from last year's $242.3 million.  The hefty growth this year continues the explosive 186 percent surge seen by the market in 2010, with strong double-digit expansion assured for the next few years as well.  By 2015, revenue is projected to amount to $842.2 million, an increase of more than threefold from 2010.

Overview of wafer bonding techniques for MEMS applications

Wafer bonding is a critical part of most MEMS process flows.  Especially with the increased importance of wafer stacking and 3D technologies, selecting the best wafer bonding process will likely determine the cost structure, and therefore, the ultimate market success of many MEMS devices.  We recently spoke with Eric Pabo, MEMS Business Development Manager of EV Group, about trends and developments with bonding techniques for MEMS applications.  In this interview, Eric discusses the history of wafer bonding, emerging MEMS bonding techniques, equipment providers, and bonding process cost drivers.

Bio-Rad acquires QuantaLife's microfluidic technology for $162 million

Bio-Rad Laboratories, a manufacturer and distributor of life science research and clinical diagnostics products, announced this week that it has acquired QuantaLife, a microfluidic technology startup, for $162 million in cash plus potential future milestone payments.  QuantaLife raised $17.2 million in venture capital financing in December 2010.

Inertial MEMS devices: an overview of testing techniques and considerations

MEMS inertial sensors, such as accelerometers and gyros, are some of the most challenging types of sensors to test because their characterization requires an extensive range of physical stimuli.  We recently spoke with Sascha Revel, Director of Sales at ACUTRONIC about testing of inertial MEMS devices.  As a company that mainly focuses on inertial sensor testing, ACUTRONIC's perspective is unique and offers valuable insights.  In this interview, Mr. Revel discusses the main types of inertial MEMS tests, reliability requirements, key challenges and associated costs.

Sony acquires Micronics and its microfluidics technology

Sony Corporation announced this week that it has acquired Micronics, Inc. (headquartered in Redmond, Washington).  Micronics is involved in the development of near patient point-of-care devices for disease diagnosis, treatment monitoring and blood testing, and also provides product development services for third-party clients.  Sony said that it acquired Micronics to accelerate its own research and development, particularly for point-of-care diagnostic equipment, as well as to accelerate the commercialization of these products.