12/16/2008  December 16, 2008: The success of Apple Inc.'s iPhone is spurring competitors to offer products with comparable features, fueling a sales boom for MEMS accelerometers used to detect motion in smart phones, according to the market research firm iSuppli Corp.

12/12/2008  December 12, 2008: Using a combination of paper and double-sided adhesive tape, Harvard University researchers have designed a microfluidic analytical device that could be used as a cost-effective and safe method to diagnose disease in developing countries.

12/11/2008  December 11, 2008 Boston Micromachines Corp. (BMC) says its deformable mirrors are being widely used by leading astronomers around the world in the historic search for new galaxies and extra-solar planets.

12/09/2008  December 9, 2008: With car sales plunging, demand for automotive electronics is dropping as well -- except for the key area of electronic stability control systems, for which sales are expected to continue to rise in the coming years and generate attractive opportunities for suppliers of microelectromechanical sensors, according to iSuppli Corp.

11/25/2008  November 25, 2008: Epson Toyocom Corp.'s US-based timing products division has developed an extremely small, high-performance quartz crystal atmospheric pressure sensor that employs an original pressure-sensing structure using QMEMS technology, fabricated on quartz for better stability and accuracy.

11/18/2008  November 18, 2008: Akustica Inc. says its latest generation of digital microphones, the AKU2002C, improves voice quality in notebook computers and other consumer-electronic devices.

11/03/2008  November 3, 2008: Freescale Semiconductor has introduced two MEMS-based 3-axis digital accelerometers to help mobile device developers meet the demand for sleeker, more sophisticated portable electronics products.

10/21/2008  October 21, 2008: Wolfson Microelectronics has launched the first devices in its new family of silicon microphones due for release over the next 12 months.

10/08/2008  October 7, 2008: Micromem Applied Sensor Technologies Inc. (MAST), a wholly owned US subsidiary of Micromem Technologies, has established a corporate office in New York City, part of the parent company's strategic plan to focus on magnetic sensor opportunities independent of the magnetic random access memory (MRAM) market.

10/02/2008  October 2, 2008: Ecliptek Corp. has expanded its EMO family of MEMS oscillator products to include a new MEMS spread spectrum low EMI output surface mount oscillator.

10/01/2008  October 1, 2008: STMicroelectronics has introduced its first automotive-qualified three-axis MEMS accelerometer, the first of a range of products spearheading a strategy to bring economies of scale from its MEMS consumer business consumer to new automotive MEMS applications.

09/23/2008  By 2012, MEMS makers will be shipping 8.1B units/year, and nearly half the $15.5B market will be consumer devices, according to a joint SEMI/Yole Développement study. Major market drivers will include silicon microphones, microdisplays, RF MEMS, and even microfluidics for biomedical applications. Meanwhile, severe cost pressures of consumer markets are driving device makers to smaller geometries, creating requirements -- and opportunities -- for new kinds of etch and clean technologies.

09/22/2008  September 22, 2008: Nanoscience Instruments, a distributor of nanotechnology instrumentation, now offers the Nascatec line of Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) probes and sensors. The Nascatec line includes NSOM probes, micro/nanogrippers (tweezers), self-sensing cantilevers, AFM probes, and MEMS devices.

09/10/2008  September 10, 2008: Advanced Diamond Technologies (ADT) announces the immediate availability of NaDiaProbes all-diamond atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes, claiming they have 30× the price performance of industry-standard silicon nitride (SiN) probes.

09/09/2008  Tom Mika, CEO of Tegal, gives SST some further insights into his company's plans behind its proposed acquisition of Alcatel Micro Machining Systems' deep reactive ion etch and other technologies -- including how the company will leverage its existing presence in MEMS, finding the balance between serving R&D and production needs, and fighting much larger competitors.

09/08/2008  New government mandates will help nearly double the global shipments of automotive microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) from 2006-2012 (a 12% CAGR), while sales surge to $2.1B (8% CAGR), according to data from iSuppli.

08/25/2008  August 25, 2008: Dolomite, a microfluidics company, in collaboration with the UK's National Centre for Atmospheric Science have announced the development of a new generation of microfluidics-based environmental testing equipment for use in air quality monitoring.

08/06/2008  MEMS technology is gaining popularity in security and defense applications, but selling technology to the military takes commitment, flexibility and the ability to ramp-up production before you make the sale.

08/06/2008  August 5, 2008 -- Royston based microfluidic company, Dolomite has succeeded in the development and fabrication of large-scale multi-layer microfluidic devices also known as 'lab on a chip.'

07/31/2008  July 31, 2008 -- A new report from Yole Développement criticizes MEMS-based sensor and actuator firms for not figuring out how tap into what it says is the largest growth opportunity for MEMS devices over the next five years: wireless handsets.