Category Archives: Manufacturing

Since 2000, we have entered the age of sensing and interacting with the wide diffusion of MEMS and sensors that give us a better, safer perception of our environment. MEMS have grown in volume to be almost a 15 billion units market today. And analysts believe that this market will double to almost 30 billion by 2020, in less than 5 years, according to the Status of the MEMS Industry, Yole Développement, May 2015.

Claire Troadec, MEMS & Semiconductor Manufacturing Analyst from Yole Développement (Yole), the “More than Moore” market research and strategy consulting proposes you to learn more about the MEMS & sensors challenges and identify the related opportunities for the next decade. So what can we expect?

Since its early beginning, MEMS technology has been considered as a “transfer function” technology: taking existing products such as Hg tilt sensors, syringe, galvanometric mirror and transforming them in IMU , micro-needles, micro-mirrors. The interest of MEMS relies in the miniaturization and lower cost manufacturing brought by a semiconductor technology.

Today the MEMS & Sensors industry is transitioning towards 3 main hubs: the inertial hub (a closed package hub), the optical hub and the environmental hub (open package hubs)

Looking closely at the inertial hub, complete integration has been achieved at sensor level. The miniaturization race is still ongoing to lower the sensor cost and developments are focusing on advanced packaging technologies (e.g. TSV, WLP) and power consumption reduction. Major developments occur at software level to achieve sensor fusion and get precise data acquisition, precise tracking within the environment. Hence the inertial Bill of Materials within a smartphone today is around US$1.

This is nothing compared to the US$10 spent for the optical hub within the same smartphone: imaging is highly valued by the end customer. This is part of our “human” nature, where vision represent around 83% of our external world perception .

And what about the environmental hub? At Yole, we do believe that the environmental hub is an interesting way for the MEMS industry to gain value. Therefore, particles, gas detection are real market pull applications which would make sense to be integrated in a smartphone. Some more integration could also be achieved by combining pressure and microphone for example. Of course, this increased integration is not an easy task but represents real market opportunities. Today’s environmental sensors’ Bill of Materials in a smartphone is around US$0.70 and could represent US$1.50 tomorrow with this increased integration path.

The MEMS Market is observing a strong paradox today

Increasing volumes driven by the consumer wave (more and more smartphones sold and more and more sensors integrated in smartphone) leading to sensor die size reduction to answer the strong price pressure dictated by the consumer market. But this affect sensors margins, which shrink if the process is not re-tuned to gain on margin again. Overall resulting in a stable or declining market in terms of value!

Thus is the MEMS industry digging its own grave with this commoditization paradox? How to exit from this scenario?

mems virtuous cycle

Well, one might take a step back and look at what the CMOS Image sensor industry has achieved. Driven by the self-love or narcissism of human kind, the front cameras of our smartphones have increased in resolution for us to achieve better quality images of “selfies”: Hence the front camera resolution has been increased by a factor 4 in 4 years, thanks to increased number of pixels and thus sensor die size, leading inevitably to higher sensor prices!

What can we learn from this story and apply to the MEMS industry to gain value?
More complexity at system level: drive for better accuracy/precise tracking and features, meaning:
•  Sensor fusion
•  More integration: Pressure + microphone for example
•  Improved environment tracking: particles and gas sensing

MEMS markets challenges are thus evolving
Power consumption is becoming a major trend while mobiles, tablets, wearables have to survive for long periods on battery while interacting with the environment (voice calls, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS , sensors …).

Sensor fusion, software and added features are the current battleground of the hubs integration path.
Finally the user case is definitely mandatory! The idea is to start with applications, and work downwards to the chips needed to support them. This will be easier for a system maker than a pure sensor player who is further away on the supply chain and thus further away from his final end user needs!

In brief a new virtuous cycle is needed for the MEMS industry to gain value and stop being limited by shrinking prices and margins.

ILLUS_MEMSVirtuousCycle_YOLE_March2016_2

Yole’s analysts highlight the MEMS market evolution and technology trends within the report Status of the MEMS Industry, yearly updated (2015 edition available on i-micronews.com – 2016 version to be released soon). Moreover make sure you will meet our analysts and debate with them at

   •  MEMS Engineer Forum (May 11&12, 2016 – Tokyo, Japan), within the MEMS trends worldwide session. Yole’s presentation is entitled “MEMS & Sensors for Smart Cities” and takes place on May 11 at 11:00 AM. Speaker: Claire Troadec, Technology & Market Analyst, MEMS & Semiconductor Manufacturing, Yole Développement
•  2016 Sensors Expo & Conference (June 21 – 23, 2016 – McEnery Convention Center, San Jose, CA), Pre-Conference Symposium 3 entitled “IoT 2.0 – Sensor Innovation Moves From “Smart” to “Intelligent”” on June 21 from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Speaker: Guillaume Girardin, Technology & Market Analysts, MEMS & Sensors, Yole Développement.

Luminaries from the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) industry are spurring entrepreneurship by hosting the first “MEMS Shark Pup Tank” at Hilton Head 2016 Workshop, an interactive science and technology conference on solid-state sensors, actuators and microsystems, June 5-9, 2016 in Hilton Head, SC.

“Bringing a new MEMS device to market can feel like a Herculean task as there are so many moving parts to the process,” said Jessica Gomez, founder and CEO of Rogue Valley Microdevices. “Given this reality, a highly accomplished group of MEMS industry experts aim to lower the barrier to entry for entrepreneurs who want to introduce MEMS-based products that could influence the global economy by 2025. MEMS Shark Pup Tank is the product of their combined vision, and we are thrilled to play a part by contributing foundry services to the event’s champion.”

The MEMS Shark Pup Tank Champion will receive:

  • Product development/strategy consulting and patent consulting time by industry experts:
  • $10,000 in MEMS foundry services from Rogue Valley Microdevices, a full-service precision MEMS foundry
  • 6 months license of MEMS Pro software from softMEMS, a leading developer of MEMS software design tools
  • One year membership in MEMS & Sensors Industry Group, the trade association advancing MEMS and sensors across global markets

The MEMS Shark Pup Tank runner-up will also receive an award package.

Submission Deadline: March 31, 2016

Teams must submit their business plan by March 31, 2016 by visiting: http://www.hiltonhead2016.org/events/shark.html

SITRI and CEA-Leti, in affiliation with MINATEC, this week announced the signing of a comprehensive agreement for ongoing collaboration and cooperation in developing new technologies to power the emerging Internet of Things (IoT) market.

The agreement combines the respective strengths of CEA-Leti and SITRI to accelerate the commercialization of innovative “More than Moore” technologies and develop the ecosystem needed to bring new ideas and companies in this space to the market. The framework agreement broadly covers all joint areas of research at SITRI and CEA-Leti, including microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and sensors, 5G radio-frequency (RF) front ends, ultra-low power computing and communication, radio-frequency silicon-on-insulator (RF-SOI) and fully depleted silicon-on-insulator (FD-SOI) technologies.

“Through this agreement and SITRI’s established platform for “More than Moore” commercialization, we can accelerate the adoption of these latest technologies and create a global innovation ecosystem for emerging IoT applications,”said Charles Yang, President of SITRI.

“We are confident that this collaboration will be positive for China’s electronics industry, as well as for the Grenoble region’s growing SOI technology ecosystem,” said MINATEC Director Jean-Charles Guibert. Adds Marie-Noëlle Semeria, CEO of Leti, “Through this partnership, SITRI, MINATEC, CEA-Leti and the entire ecosystem will be able to promote and extend this ecosystem to SOI partners worldwide, and provide SOI solutions to the emerging Chinese IoT market.”

SOI, or “Silicon on Insulator,” is a key technology in the development of Moore’s Law and
“More than Moore” solutions for the IC industry. SOI brings cost, performance, power and integration advantages to the areas of ICs, RF, MEMS, and communications.

SITRI (Shanghai Industrial µTechnology Research Institute) is an innovation center established to accelerate the development and commercialization of “More than Moore” solutions to power the Internet of Things.

CEA-Leti serves as a bridge between basic research and production of micro- and nanotechnologies that improve the lives of people around the world. It is committed to creating innovation and transferring it to industry. With a staff of more than 1,900, Leti is based in Grenoble, France, and has offices in Silicon Valley, Calif., and Tokyo.

The MINATEC innovation campus is home to 3,000 researchers, 1,200 students, and 600 business and technology transfer experts on a 20-hectare campus with 13,000 m² of clean room space.

The semiconductor IP market is expected to reach $7.01 billion USD by 2022 from USD 3.09 Billion in 2015, at a CAGR of 10.55% between 2016 and 2022, according to the newly released report “Semiconductor (Silicon) IP Market by Form Factor (Integrated Circuit IP, SOC IP), Design Architecture (Hard IP, Soft IP), Processor Type (Microprocessor, DSP), Application, Geography and Verification IP – Forecast & Analysis to 2022”, published by MarketsandMarkets.

The driving factors for the growth of this market include increasing demand for advanced SoCs in the consumer sector, increased funding from governments and investors, emerging IoT ecosystem, recovering automotive sector, and growing popularity of miniaturized devices.

SoC IP had the largest market in 2015

Increase in the demand of smarter and power-efficient electronic devices, demand for multi-core technologies and embedded graphics are the major driving factors for the SoC market. SoCs are being utilized by all smart devices currently, such as smart phones, communication equipment, next-gen automotive, and electrocardiogram (ECG) telemetry devices. The increasing demand for energy efficient devices has led to development of newer SoCs which are more compact in size, faster response time than their predecessors and even consumes much lesser power. Moreover, the increased demand for multi-core technologies and embedded graphics has led to development of advanced SoCs.

Embedded processor IP devices expected to led the semiconductor processor IP market during the forecast period

Increasing demand for pervasive M2M (machine-to-machine) connectivity and a rich user experience across industries has spurred new opportunities for growth in both traditional and emerging embedded processor market. Emerging multi-core processors such as quad-core and octa-core for enhanced real-time experience in smart consumer electronics such as smartphones and smart wearables is expected to drive the embedded processor IP market.

The mobile & tablets segment expected to dominate the semiconductor IP market during the forecast period

A Strong consumer demand for smartphones, tablets, and other mobile devices is fueling significant growth within the semiconductor industry, and the rush to develop differentiated and powerful mobile solutions is driving rapid change within the entire ecosystem. Mobile phones and tablets have become the necessity of every individual which has increased the demand for the same; this is expected to drive the semiconductor IP market. Key players in the market such as Synopsys (U.S.), ARM (U.K.), and Rambus (U.S.) design chips exclusively to cater this application sector because of its growth potential.

The market in APAC expected to grow at the highest CAGR during the forecast period 

APAC is expected to hold the largest share of the semiconductor IP market by 2022. The major reasons for this are the governments in China, Taiwan, and Japan are actively attempting to boost the domestic semiconductor market and assist local companies in expanding their business globally; Chinese consumers and companies are becoming increasingly important to the growth of the global semiconductor market; increased funding from both government and private sources, is leading to merger, acquisition, investment, and partnership opportunities worldwide.

Nanoelectronics research center imec has today announced the opening of its new 300mm cleanroom. With this 4000m2 new facility, imec’s semiconductor research cleanrooms now totals 12,000m2, one of the most advanced research facilities in the world dedicated to scaling IC technology beyond 7nm. This facility will enable imec to keep its global leading position as a nanoelectronics R&D center serving the entire semiconductor ecosystem.  Its global partners including foundries, IDMs, fabless and fablite companies, equipment and material suppliers, will benefit from topnotch semiconductor processing equipment (including alfa and beta tools) to develop innovative solutions for more powerful, high-performing, cheaper and energy-efficient ICs, which are crucial in the evolution of the Internet of Everything and a sustainable digital future.

Extending the existing cleanroom, the new facility complies with the newest standards in the semiconductor industry, and provides additional space for the most advanced tools that will lead innovations in new device and system concepts. Installations of the first tools began in January 2016. The new 300mm cleanroom complements imec’s other production facilities including its bio-nanolabs, neuroelectronics labs, imaging and wireless and electronics test labs, photovoltaic pilot lines, and GaN-on-Si, Silicon photonics and MEMS pilot lines.

“Since our founding in 1984, imec has become the world’s largest independent nanoelectronics research center with the highest industry commitment,” stated Luc Van den hove, president and CEO at imec. “This success is the result of the unique combination of our broad international partner network, including the major global players of the semiconductor industry, top scientific and engineering talent, and imec’s one of a kind infrastructure. The extension of our cleanroom provides our partners with the necessary resources for continued leading edge innovation and imec’s success in the future within the local and global high-tech industry.”

The cleanroom was constructed by M+W, an internationally renowned contractor of  large-scale high-tech infrastructure. The construction was completed in 20 months, and includes a  reflecting facade, from Architect Stéphane Beel, which is intended to integrate the building with the environment. The new cleanroom comprises a total investment (building and equipment) of more than 1 billion euro of which 100 million euro funding from the Flemish Government and more than 900 million euro investments from joint R&D with the leading players from the entire semiconductor industry, totaling more than 90 industrial partners.

new imec center

IoT Planet, a new European event dedicated to the Internet of Things (IoT), will co-locate this year with SEMICON Europa (25-27 October) in Grenoble, France.  IoT Planet provides a platform of networking and business to all IoT actors from software development, data management, IT infrastructures, system integration and “Connected Objects” applications.

For over 40 years, SEMI has organized SEMICON Europa, which has served as the premier annual European event for the electronics industry. In 2016, SEMICON Europa will connect the entire electronics supply chain: from materials and equipment, to manufacturing and technology, to advanced packaging and smart system integration – with a strong emphasis on application-driven markets, including Imaging, Power Electronics, Automotive, MedTech, and Flexible Hybrid Electronics.

IoT Planet, in its second year, will cover the full IoT domain with a unique format in mixing exhibition, Start-Up programs, crash tests, hackathon, forums, and debates, and many other events co-designed with the Partners. IoT Planet will connect professional visitors and high tech public across the domains of IoT applications, business, services, societal and private impact and talent management.

Together, the co-located events will offer visitors many learning and networking options along an extended supply chain. The events are expected to attract over 7,000 professional visitors and more than 600 exhibiting companies.

“Tomorrow’s applications will allow people to live smarter – healthier, safer, and more comfortable. The emerging opportunities are endless in smart electronic systems, but technology and system challenges must be overcome by connecting forces and by building on the strengths of different players in the value chain,” says Laith Altimime, president of SEMI Europe. “The co-location of these two events perfectly supports the SEMI 2020 strategy and will accelerate SEMI’s move towards covering the full electronics supply chain.”

“That initiative of co-location will contribute to our fast growth and strong differentiation, while providing a unique European opportunity to explore the full value chain from Silicon to Connected Object, in Grenoble, the European capital of Nanotechnologies and Connected Things,” says Alain Astier, president of IoT Planet UNIVERSAL.

For more information, please visit www.semiconeuropa.org and www.iot-planet.org.

EV Group (EVG), a supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, today announced that its EVG GEMINI 300mm automated wafer bonding system is ready for implementation into MEMS high-volume manufacturing (HVM). This marks an important milestone for the MEMS industry, which until now has utilized smaller 200mm wafer substrates for MEMS HVM. The combination of industry-leading alignment and excellent temperature and pressure uniformity for high-force permanent bonding on EVG’s benchmark, production-proven GEMINI 300mm platform now brings this critical process to 300mm MEMS manufacturing. In addition, the ability of the GEMINI wafer bonder to support 300mm MEMS manufacturing enables more cost-effective implementation of emerging applications, such as CMOS-MEMS integration.

According to market research and strategy consulting firm Yole Développement, the consumer MEMS market is projected to achieve a 12.3 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2015 to 2020, with much of this demand being driven by the need for increasingly sophisticated, more numerous and lower-cost bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters and microphones for smart phones and other mobile electronic devices. To support this growing demand, MEMS manufacturers will need to increase their production capacity as well as integrate more complex manufacturing processes in their production flow.

Many MEMS devices have very small moving parts, which must be protected from the ambient environment. High-force permanent wafer bonding allows wafer-level capping of MEMS devices, which seals a wafer’s worth of MEMS devices in one operation—after which the capped devices can then be packaged in a much simpler and lower-cost package. Enabling this process on larger 300-mm substrates, EVG’s GEMINI platform allows MEMS manufacturers to increase production yields as well as lower their overall cost of production. At the same time, the GEMINI’s ability to perform permanent bonding of 300mm MEMS wafers allows for CMOS-MEMS integration—the combining of CMOS and MEMS technology to enable more sophisticated integrated MEMS devices—without requiring chip-to-wafer bonding or wire bonding, which can increase production costs or increase the footprint of the MEMS device.

“For more than 15 years, EV Group has revolutionized automated wafer bonding, and established itself as the clear technology and market leader with the largest installed base of automated production wafer bonding systems worldwide,” stated Paul Lindner, executive technology director at EV Group. “Representing the first platform to incorporate all wafer bonding process steps in a single automated system, GEMINI has proven to be one of our most successful products. As part of EVG’s Triple-i philosophy, we have continually innovated this product over the years to achieve new levels of capability and performance for our customers, including supporting advanced packaging HVM applications such as CMOS image sensors and 3D-ICs. Now, we are bringing the capabilities and success of this versatile platform to our MEMS customers to support their evolving needs—whether it be higher production capacity to meet rising consumer demand, more integrated MEMS systems with improved functionality and accuracy, or new types of devices enabled by CMOS/MEMS integration.”

The GEMINI 300-mm automated wafer bonder incorporates many features to enable high throughput, high post-bond yield and low cost of ownership, including:

  • EVG’s SmartView NT automated bond alignment system, which provides sub-micron alignment accuracy and transfer of the aligned wafer pair using proprietary bond chuck technology. This is crucial for ensuring optimal wafer-to-wafer bond yields
  • A modular design that allows customers to customize, scale or even reconfigure their systems for different bond processes according to their production needs
  • Integrated wafer preparation and conditioning, including oxide removal, which is critical to ensuring maximum bond strength between wafers
  • Swap-in modules for rapid changeover and optimum serviceability, depending on bond processes and pre-processing needs
  • Ability to handle bond temperatures of up to 500 degrees Celsius and bond forces up to 100 kilonewtons (kN)
  • Optimized temperature uniformity as well as controlled rapid heating and cooling capability

Demonstrations of the EVG GEMINI 300mm wafer bonder for MEMS applications are available at EVG’s headquarters in St. Florian, Austria.

Scientists at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed a chip that allows new radar cameras to be made a hundred times smaller than current ones.

With this NTU technology, radar cameras that usually weigh between 50 kg and 200 kg and are commonly used in large satellites can be made to become as small as palm-sized.

Despite being small, they can produce images that are of the same high quality if not better compared to conventional radar cameras. They are also 20 times cheaper to produce and consume at least 75 per cent less power.

Developed over the past three years at NTU, the promising technology has already secured S$2.5 million in research funding from Singapore government agencies.

The radar chip has attracted the attention of several multinational corporations, and is now being researched for use in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and satellite applications.

Assistant Professor Zheng Yuanjin from NTU’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering who led the research, said that the size and effectiveness of the chip will open up new applications not possible previously.

“We have significantly shrunk the conventional radar camera into a system that is extremely compact and affordable, yet provides better accuracy. This will enable high resolution imaging radar technology to be used in objects and applications never before possible, like small drones, driverless cars and small satellite systems,” said Asst Prof Zheng.

NTU's tiny microchip for radar imaging embedded on a PCB board (small square chip on the upper right). Credit: NTU Singapore

NTU’s tiny microchip for radar imaging embedded on a PCB board (small square chip on the upper right). Credit: NTU Singapore

Advantages over current technology

Current radar camera systems are usually between half and two metres in length and weigh up to 200 kg. They cost more than US$1 million on the market and can consume over 1000 watts in electricity per hour, the energy equivalent of a household air-conditioning unit running for an hour.

Known as Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), these large radar cameras are often carried by large satellites and aircrafts that produce detailed images of the Earth’s surface. Objects longer than a metre, such as cars and boats, can be easily seen by the radar camera mounted on an aircraft flying at a height of 11 kilometres.

Unlike optical cameras which cannot work well at night due to insufficient light or in cloudy conditions, a radar camera uses microwaves (X-band or Ku-band) for its imaging, so it can operate well in all weather conditions and can even penetrate through foliage.

These detailed images from radar cameras can be used for environmental monitoring of disasters like forest fires, volcano eruptions and earthquakes as well as to monitor cities for traffic congestions and urban density.

But the huge size, prohibitive cost and energy consumption are deterrents for use in smaller unmanned aerial vehicles and autonomous vehicles. In comparison, NTU’s new radar chip (2mm x 3mm) when packaged into a module measures only 3cm x 4cm x 5cm, weighing less than 100 grams.

Production costs can go as low as US$10,000 per unit, while power consumption ranges from 1 to 200 watts depending on its application, similar to power-efficient LED TVs or a ceiling fan.

It can also capture objects as small as half a metre which is twice as detailed as the conventional radar camera used in large aircrafts or satellites.

Potential applications of the new radar chip

Asst Prof Zheng said that when mounted on UAVs, it can take high quality images on demand to monitor traffic conditions or even the coastlines for trespassers.

“Driverless cars will also be able to better scan the environment around them to avoid collisions and navigate more accurately in all weather conditions compared to current laser and optical technologies,” he added.

“Finally, with the space industry moving towards small satellite systems, such as the six satellites launched by NTU, smaller satellites can now also have the same advanced imaging capabilities previously seen only in the large satellites.”

Large satellites can weigh up to 1,000 kg, but microsatellites weigh only 100 to 200 kg.

Recognized internationally with strong market interest

NTU’s new radar chip was presented and published at the prestigious International Solid-State Circuits Conference (ISSCC) 2016. Commonly referred to as the “Olympics of Integrated Circuits Design,” ISSCC is the world’s top forum for presenting advances in solid-state circuits and systems and is attended by major industry players.

The chip was developed by Asst Prof Zheng’s team of five at NTU’s VIRTUS IC Design Centre of Excellence. The group was the first from Singapore to publish in ISSCC and is also the most published local group, with seven papers to date.

NTU’s new technology has attracted the attention of many multinational corporations, such as US aerospace company Space X; Netherlands semiconductor company NXP; Japanese electronics giant Panasonic, and French satellite maker Thales.

The next phase will be research in space applications to be carried out at the Smart Small Satellite Systems – Thales in NTU (S4TIN), a joint laboratory between NTU and Europe’s largest satellite manufacturer Thales Alenia Space.

Game changer for Singapore

Associate Professor Low Kay Soon, Director of NTU’s Satellite Research Centre, said the new radar chip will be a game changer in the space industry, which will bolster Singapore’s growing reputation as a satellite building nation.

“Monitoring the environment with a clear image using a traditional optical camera is always very challenging due to clouds and changing light conditions,” said Assoc Prof Low.

“This is especially the case for the tropics where the sky is always cloudy. With a miniature radar-on-chip system, it cuts down the required weight and size of the payload that a satellite needs to carry.

“More significantly, the lower power consumption makes it very suitable for microsatellites such as the X-SAT or VELOX-CI which NTU has launched. For small satellites, there is a limited area to mount the solar panels, which limits its power generation. Consequently the conventional SAR systems cannot be used due to its high power requirements.”

Asst Prof Zheng says it will take another three to six years before NTU’s new radar chip is ready for commercial use. He is now working with NTU’s innovation and enterprise company, NTUitive to find industry partners to license the technology or to spin off a company.

Director of VIRTUS, NTU Professor Joseph Chang added: “Singapore is one the very few select countries in the world with advanced technical capabilities to design complex microchips for space applications.”

“NTU professors associated with VIRTUS have received research funding of over S$5 million from Singapore and various countries like the United States, to design microchips for space applications. Recently, two patents have been filed for the novel design of these microchips.”

VIRTUS filed ten patents in the last year alone, for various innovative microchips with applications ranging from image processing to computing.

According to Markets and Markets global forecasts and analysis, the global market for radar systems is estimated to grow to US$24 billion by 2020.

Vesper, a designer of advanced acoustic-sensing technology, today announced a partnership with AAC Technologies Holdings Inc., a miniature technologies solution provider, for the commercialization of the world’s first piezoelectric MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) microphones for consumer electronic devices.

Vesper’s first piezoelectric MEMS microphone will be integrated into AAC Technologies’ product portfolio of innovative solutions for fast-moving consumer electronics markets, such as smartphones, tablets, wearables and Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices.

“Since the first MEMS microphones were introduced more than ten years ago, the market has exploded into a high-growth global industry exceeding US$1B annually,” said Jack Duan, COO, AAC Technologies. “We believe there is an opportunity to introduce high-performance microphones that are immune from common environmental contaminants such as water, shock and dust. These attributes make Vesper’s technology an excellent choice for device companies that want to deliver a rich, immersive acoustic experience.”

Vesper’s microphones also feature very high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and very low noise, delivering outstanding acoustic performance for a wide range of applications.

“Our relationship with AAC Technologies will allow us to deliver reliable, stable and acoustically satisfying MEMS microphones for the vast and still-growing very high-performance MEMS microphone market,” said Matt Crowley, CEO, Vesper. “With a track record of innovation in acoustic solutions, a mature worldwide distribution channel, and a customer base that includes many of the world’s top-tier mobile-device manufacturers, AAC Technologies is an ideal partner for Vesper.”

Nanoelectronics research center, imec, and digital research and incubation center, iMinds, today announced that its respective board of directors have approved the intention to merge the research centers. Using the imec name, the combined entities intend to create a high-tech research center for the digital economy. The transaction is expected to be completed by the end of 2016, with the united organization staged to bring added value to existing partners while further strengthening Flanders’ authority as a technology epicenter and region focused on creating a sustainable digital future.

iMinds will be integrated as an additional business unit within imec, resulting in a new research center that will fuse the technology and systems expertise of more than 2,500 imec researchers worldwide with the digital competencies of some 1,000 iMinds researchers representing nearly 50 nationalities. The additions of iMinds’ flagship open innovation research model -ICON- (in which academic researchers and industry partners jointly develop solutions for specific market needs), iStart entrepreneurship program (supporting start-up businesses), and Living Labs will strengthen the unique capabilities and assets of imec as a research and development center.

Imec has been a global leader in the domain of nanoelectronics for more than 30 years, and has innovated applications in smart systems for the Internet of Things (IoT), Internet of Health, and Internet of Power. It has built an extensive and worldwide partner network, as well as in Flanders, and has generated successful spin-offs. iMinds’ activities span research domains such as the IoT, digital privacy and security, and the conversion of raw data into knowledge. Its software expertise is widely renowned and its entrepreneurship activities in Flanders are first-rate.

“The proliferation of the Internet of Everything has created a need for solutions that integrate both hardware and software. Such innovative products that optimally serve tomorrow’s digital economy can only be developed through intense interaction between both worlds. There are infinite opportunities in domains such as sustainable healthcare, smart cities, smart manufacturing, smart finances, smart mobility, smart grids, or in short, smart everything. Research centers such as imec, with its widely acclaimed hardware expertise, and iMinds, an expert in software and ICT applications, are uniquely positioned to bring these concepts to life,” stated Luc Van den hove, president and CEO of imec. “Furthermore, iMinds is widely recognized for its business incubation programs and open access to SMEs, and, this merger provides us with a unique opportunity to jointly reach out to the Flemish industry and further elevate Smart Flanders on the global map.”

“Flanders faces the enormous challenge of realizing a successful transition towards tomorrow’s digital society; a transition that must happen quickly, considering the urgency to reinforce Flanders’ industrial position,” commented Danny Goderis, CEO of iMinds. “The merger between imec and iMinds is Flanders’ answer to this rapidly accelerating digitization trend. We have a clear ambition to pair more than 3,500 top researchers across 70 countries with an ecosystem of Flemish companies and start-ups, thereby significantly increasing our economic and societal impact. Together, we can help Flanders boost its competitiveness and claim a strong international position.”

Now that the intention to merge has been approved, the merger protocol will be developed and the integration process of imec and iMinds will be initiated immediately. The current iMinds activities will constitute a third pillar next to imec’s units. iMinds will remain headquartered in Ghent with its researchers spread across the Flemish universities. The ambition is to operate as one organization by the end of 2016.

Flemish Minister of Innovation Philippe Muyters welcomes the fact that iMinds and imec join forces: “Thanks to their pioneering work in their respective fields, they have put themselves on the world map. When they were founded, the line between hardware and software was still very clear. Today, and especially in the future, this line is increasingly blurring – with technology, systems and applications being developed in close conjunction. The merger anticipates this trend and creates a high-tech research center for the digital economy that keeps Flanders on the world map. The gradual integration of both research centers, and the agreement to preserve their respective strengths and uniqueness, will make for a bright future.”