Applications

APPLICATIONS ARTICLES



Gaming may be the 'Trojan horse' that sneaks MEMS into your Palm

07/02/2002  Games may gently introduce the tilt-based user interface into handheld devices, making users comfortable with it in the same way that computer solitaire trained a generation of workers to use the mouse. Pure play gaming companies like Nintendo are already there.

That's nanotainment! 'Minority'
begins era of cinema small tech


07/01/2002  John Underkoffler, a science adviser for Steven Spielberg's "Minority Report," has the Hollywood thing down. An MIT expert in MEMS and nanoscience, Underkoffler already has moved to his next film gig. He's helping director Ang Lee get the science and technical stuff right for the upcoming film "The Incredible Hulk." He's finished another Spielberg project called "Taken," a miniseries about alien abductions.

Big Blue wants its little MEMS
working inside your cell phone


06/14/2002  A year and a half from now, your next mobile phone may be smaller and more powerful with the help of new micromachines from IBM. The company has announced a new process for building RF, or radio frequency, microdevices directly onto chips. The typical cell phone today uses about 10 of the components IBM would like to replace with MEMS versions.

Biotrove believes it found
treasure trove in tiny tubes


06/03/2002  How do you screen a billion biological samples a day? BioTrove Inc. in Cambridge, Mass., hopes to achieve that extraordinary throughput by processing droplets as small as .5 nanoliters in enormous batches. Its Living Chip's matrix of channels serves as a miniature, massively parallel system for screening genes, isolating enzymes, engineering proteins or discovering drugs.

Two firms use small tech
in life-saving heart devices


05/08/2002  Guidant Corp. is launching its small-tech enabled heart device into the U.S. market, and Medtronic Inc. expects to quickly follow with its own version. Both devices combine treatment for heart failure with a defibrillator to regulate heartbeats.

KEY TO LIFE SCIENCE SUCCESS
IS MARKET, NOT TECHNOLOGY


04/22/2002 
To succeed in the increasingly crowded biotech field, you need to know your market, not just the technology. Some German small tech companies have already learned that lesson.

HANNOVER FAIR 2002
SOLUTIONS COME IN SMALL PACKAGES
FOR GERMAN FIRM WITH NEW PROCESS


04/17/2002 
Yelling “stop the presses!” when a newspaper is being printed means something is wrong, but a German firm said its process of halting production to package parts could help move MEMS in the right direction. MicroTEC has launched 3-D Chip-Size Packaging, which lets fabricators stop at any point in the process, integrate parts, then resume production.

JDS UNIPHASE A SHELTER FOR MEMS
DESPITE THE TELECOM BREAKDOWN


04/05/2002 
Two years ago this month, employees at Cronos Integrated Microsystems in North Carolina celebrated what was a sizable coup for a MEMS startup: a $750 million stock deal to join JDS Uniphase Corp. Now, what is now called the MEMS Business Unit of JDSU is celebrating still – but soberly, with the conviction that as tough as the past year has been, it would have been worse had Cronos remained independent.

MEMS ROBOTS TO GIVE SURGEONS
SENSE OF TOUCH, LONG-DISTANCE


03/12/2002 
Researchers at the Detroit Medical Center hope to spin off a company that will design, build and sell MEMS-based probes to be used in robotic, computer-aided surgery. The probes will help doctors – even if they're located halfway around the world – differentiate between tumor cells and normal cells and will give them better “touch” feedback during delicate procedures.

INVESTORS PUT FAITH, MONEY
INTO MICROLAB'S MEMS SWITCH


02/27/2002 
Ever since Microlab Inc. developed its "better mousetrap" – actually, a microscopic latching switch that it says uses less energy and is more durable than other MEMS switches – the startup has been attracting the attention of venture capitalists. What attracted investors was a team of "two very bright engineers" who are using the cash judiciously to bring the product to market.

US MEMS industry is growing rapidly, says MIG

02/26/2002  "We are on our way" seems to be the sentiment coming from the MEMS Industry Group (MIG), which recently reported that the US MEMS industry will grow from 2000's $2 to $5 billion to an $8 to $15 billion industry by 2004.

VC FIRM HARRIS & HARRIS
SPECIALIZES IN SMALL TECH


02/26/2002 
Charles Harris, chief executive of H&H since 1984, believes small tech is "going to be a major area of technology development for the rest of our lives." With nano and MEMS applications cutting across many different industries, Harris also believes that H&H's portfolio can remain diverse, even with a small tech focus.

SWISS MEMS COMPANY SEES
PROFITABILITY IN FLEXIBILITY


02/19/2002 
The name of a Swiss custom MEMS manufacturer, Colibrys, tells much about current trends in the industry. The name comes from the French word for hummingbird, a creature that moves up, down and sideways. Colibrys officials say they are keeping with the spirit of their name in the company's ability to quickly move in any direction, altering its MEMS designs to fit the customers.

MEMS ARE SLOWLY FINDING THEIR WAY
INTO THE COOLEST CONSUMER GADGETS


01/11/2002 
More than 20 companies are showing off MEMS-enabled gadgets at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It's still not a high percentage, but it's a beginning. They include home theater devices powered by micromirrors, a plug-in module that might make your Palm Pilot easier to use and a sensor-filled glove that could be handy for game playing.

THE BEST-LAID PLANS OF MEMS
WENT AWRY IN THE 4TH QUARTER


01/08/2002 
When the fourth quarter of 2001 began, it was seen as a critical time for MEMS development in optical switching. Analysts had hoped to spend the end of the year tallying companies that released new products. Instead, they were forced to make a couple of new lists: those who delayed and those who dropped out of the game altogether. Now, they wonder how many more could be close to closing.

Equipment suppliers pursue MEMS opps

12/26/2001  At a time when few business opportunities should be ignored, one is the infrastructure required for MEMS manufacturing. This is an area where growth has been limited by a lack of major support in key segments of the equipment industry. Although a number of suppliers recognized the business potential years ago, more work is needed.

SEGWAY SCOOTERS COULD BE A SEGUE
INTO NEW PRODUCTS WITH MEMS INSIDE


12/06/2001 
MEMS gyroscopes and accelerometers, used in the new Segway scooters, are not new themselves. They have been used in military and automotive applications for several years. But the Segway brings the technology to a mainstream use that consumers can easily understand, and might pave the way for other innovations.

4TH QUARTER WILL START SHAKEOUT
FOR MEMS OPTICAL SWITCHES


10/22/2001 

After billions of dollars in investments -- followed by an economy heading for recession -- MEMS optical switch startups are about to be tested by the market.




WEBCASTS



Environment, Safety & Health

Date and time TBD

The semiconductor industry is an acknowledged global leader in promoting environmental sustainability in the design, manufacture, and use of its products, as well as the health and safety of its operations and impacts on workers in semiconductor facilities (fabs). We will examine trends and concerns related to emissions, chemical use, energy consumption and worker safety and health.

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Wafer Processing

Date and time TBD

As the industry moves to 10nm and 7nm nodes, advances in wafer processing – etch, deposition, planarization, implant, cleaning, annealing, epitaxy among others – will be required. Manufacturers are looking for new solutions for sustained strain engineering, FinFETs, FDSOI and multi-gate technologies, 3D NAND, and high mobility transistors.

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