Category Archives: MEMS

The SEMI High Tech U learning program commenced April 20-22 in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Co-hosted by SEMI, KLA-Tencor Taiwan, and National Tsing Hua University, the three-day event offered 40 high school students an in-depth interactive learning experience in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Since SEMI High Tech U began in 2001, it has hosted 190 career exploration programs in eight different countries with over 6,000 high school students attending. The High Tech U programs have received a tremendous response globally.

This year, Taiwan was a host country for the first time. Terry Tsao, president of SEMI Taiwan, said, “The goal of High Tech U is to help young people gain knowledge and develop interests in STEM before choosing their future academic pursuit. Not only did Taiwanese high school students have the opportunity to attend this international STEM immersion program, but they also interacted with industry volunteers who serve in the high-tech industry.” Through group activities and firsthand experience, students thoroughly explored technology, adding to their ability to understand their future career directions.

“In the U.S., KLA-Tencor has collaborated with SEMI to hold seven SEMI HTU (High Tech U) programs. The first-ever Taiwan course design, instructor training, and the local operations planning, were tailored to inspire Taiwanese students to have better understanding of their direction and passion towards the semiconductor industry and their future goals,” said Tom Wang, CEO of KLA-Tencor Corporation Taiwan. Many employees at KLA-Tencor Taiwan volunteered to be course instructors and advisors to share their professional experience at SEMI High Tech U. In addition to providing guided tours at KLA-Tencor’s learning and training center cleanroom, the volunteers also held mock interviews with the students.

Nyan-Hwa Tai, dean of Academic Affairs at National Tsing Hua University, said “Courses at SEMI High Tech U are designed to gain practical experience through a non-conventional approach, which coincides with the values of innovative exploration at National Tsing Hua University.”

In three days, the students did practical exercises, learning individually and in groups. Tsao pointed out that “During the three-day program, students demonstrated a high level of enthusiasm, confidence, creativity, and team spirit, which is commendable. This event is just the beginning; SEMI will strive to expand the High Tech U program in Taiwan and allow more students to have the opportunity to participate.”

Learn more about the SEMI Foundation and High Tech U here: www.semi.org/en/semi-foundation. For more information about SEMI, visit www.semi.org and follow SEMI on LinkedIn and Twitter.

At this week’s Design Automation Conference (DAC 2016), nanoelectronics research center imec, Holst Centre (initiated by imec and TNO), and Wi-Fi IP provider Methods2Bussiness will present a complete Wi-Fi HaLow radio solution. The new low-power, long-range radio solution uses 10 times less power than state-of-the-art orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) radio solutions on the market. It can be used for a broad range of applications related to the Internet of Things (IoT) and complies with the most recent wireless networking protocol, IEEE 802.11ah.

The radio solution’s compliance with the recently amended wireless networking protocol ensures that it is especially optimized for IoT-related applications. The Wi-Fi Alliance recently introduced the HaLow (TM) designation for the new low-power, long-range Wi-Fi protocol IEEE802.11ah. Compared to other IoT standards, its sub-GHz carrier frequency and mandatory modes with 1MHz/2MHz channel bandwidths allow devices to operate over a longer range with scalable data rates from 150kb/s to 7.8Mb/s. The standard uses OFDM to improve the link robustness against fading, which is important in urban environments, and to achieve a high spectral efficiency (data rate over a given bandwidth).

The radio integrates imec and Holst Centre’s sub-1GHz IEEE 802.11ah transceiver and Methods2Business’ Medium Access Controller (MAC) hardware and software IP and application layer to enable 802.11ah communication between large numbers of IoT clients and the internet using a central access point. The transceiver comprises a complete low-power physical layer implementation of RF front-end and digital baseband. It features a 1.3nJ/b fully digital polar transmitter optimized for IoT applications as well as for the novel IEEE 802.11ah Wi-Fi protocol. The transmitter surpasses the tight spectral mask and error-vector-magnitude (EVM) requirements of conventional Wi-Fi standards. It does so while demonstrating a power consumption rate as low as 7.1mW in Tx mode for 0dBm output power.

Methods2Business 802.11ah MAC core implements all the new Wi-Fi HaLow functionality to address the drawbacks of traditional Wi-Fi in IoT. Besides mandatory features for connecting up to 8.000 IoT clients (Hierarchical AID), improving collision avoidance in channel access mechanisms (CSMA/CA, DCF, EDCA), and increasing throughput by supporting shorter MAC headers, very advanced power saving modes like Target Wake Time (TWT) and Restricted Access Window (RAW) are also supported. To further trade-off power versus performance, time-critical functions are implemented in hardware while higher level MAC protocols are realized in software.

Imec’s connectivity research for the intuitive internet of things focuses on the development of ultra-small, low-cost, intelligent, and ultra–low power sensors, radio chips and heterogeneous sensor networks. Imec’s Intuitive IoT R&D program focuses on developing the building blocks for future IoT-related applications, with intuitive technology where sensor systems are aware of humans, human perspectives, and human’s environment. This intuitive IoT technology can react exactly as humans need or want them to, providing assistance in an unobtrusive way. Interested companies are invited to join imec’s research efforts as research partners or they can have access to imec’s innovative technology through licensing programs for further development.

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. today announced that STMicroelectronics has qualified and actively deployed the next-generation Cadence Virtuoso platform for its SmartPower technologies. The latest Virtuoso platform successfully enabled ST design engineers to improve custom routing quality and performance and significantly reduce block-planning and pin-optimization time using special pin groups and guide constraints.

In addition to its successes in such areas as sensors, microcontrollers and applications for the Internet of Things (IoT), ST is a worldwide leader in BCD (Bipolar, CMOS, DMOS) Smart Power technologies, utilized to develop ICs for automotive, power management, industrial, consumer and healthcare applications. To address the myriad of complex challenges that come with the development of these types of applications, ST turned to the next-generation Virtuoso platform to improve layout design automation without compromising the highest level of quality and reliability. Furthermore, the mixed-signal design interoperability between the Virtuoso platform and the Cadence Innovus™ Implementation System offers best-in-class floorplanning, pin-optimization and implementation flows that led to a reduction in turnaround time.

In addition to qualifying the next-generation Virtuoso platform for its SmartPower technologies, the ST SmartPower Technology R&D (TR&D) team has also updated its design kits to support the latest Virtuoso platform for production use. This platform also includes the Virtuoso Layout Suite for Electrically Aware Design.

“We have been longtime users of the Virtuoso platform and have a very large user community that trusts the platform to drive the delivery of dozens of production tapeouts each year,” said Pier Luigi Rolandi, director of TR&D Smart Power Design Enablement at STMicroelectronics. “Layout design automation needs to be done in a way that is very seamless to the end user while maintaining highest level of quality, and the next-generation Virtuoso platform does just that. The new platform also enables us to improve designer productivity and effectiveness to ensure that our teams can meet aggressive time-to-market goals.”

By Dr. Khasha Ghaffarzadeh, Research Director, IDTechEx

The first generation of wearable devices are constructed using mature, rigid technologies put inside a new box that can be worn. These are often bulky devices that are not truly wearable in the sense that our clothes are. This is, however, beginning to change, albeit slowly. New conformal, clothing-based components are emerging. Further announcements last week from Google’s Project Jacquard, in collaboration with Levis, shows that the technology and fashion industries are starting to make real progress through collaboration.

This project is but one example of work being done and the IDTechEx Research report, E-Textiles 2016-2026: Technologies, Markets, and Players, finds that electronic textiles (e-textiles) are on the cusp of rapid growth, forecasting the market to increase from under $150m in 2016 to over $3.2bn by 2026.  Many still argue that e-textiles are solutions looking for a problem, but IDTechEx Research finds that there is tremendous interest and progress right across the value chain. This includes material suppliers, traditional textile companies, contract manufacturers, brand owners, etc.

Conductors will inevitably play an indispensable role in any e-textile system. Naturally, therefore, conductive inks suppliers are all very interested. In parallel, conductive ink suppliers face challenging conditions in their traditional well-established market sectors.

For example, IDTechEx Research report, Conductive Ink Markets 2016-2026: Forecasts, Technologies, and Players, forecasts that the combined market for the previously well-established photovoltaic and touch screen edge electrodes will achieve a measly CAGR of 1-2% between 2016 and 2026.  The latter segment is forecast to decline whilst growth in the former will be hugely constrained thanks to the decreasing average silver consumption per cell.

In fact, these traditional markets are increasingly characterised by low demand growth, intense competition, high customer price sensitivity, and low customer loyalty.  This is yet another reason why conductive inks suppliers are hugely interested in new high-growth applications areas such as e-textiles.

Source: IDTechEx Research

Source: IDTechEx Research

Conductive inks win on their universality?

Conductive ink suppliers are touching and feeling their way into the e-textile market. Many have launched specially-designed inks on the market. Some examples are shown below. Most are also having to proactively help form and develop the nascent value chain. This is currently still more of a push than a pull market.

conductive inks

This is a complex space since conductive inks are one of many approaches being concurrently developed for e-textiles. To name a few, these approaches include metal cabling, textile cabling, conducting knits, conductive wovens, conductive inks, etc. There is a paucity of verified technical information and well-defined figures-of-merit on the market. We have therefore developed our semi-qualitative benchmarking based on many end users and supplier discussions, which can be found within the IDTechEx report: E-Textiles 2016-2026: Technologies, Markets, and Players.

There is no clear-cut winner. This is because some approaches win, say, on ease of integration with existing processes or maturity,whereas others win on increased clothing-like appearance and feel. Project Jacquard’s smart jacket, built specifically for urban bikers, is an excellent example of a compromise in these areas, with the look and feel being key in the selection of conductive yarns as the primary material. Still, there is no one-size-fits-all solution and the winner will be specific to an end use and/or a production process.

This makes sense as the traditional textile world itself includes many fabric types, production processes, and end uses. Despite the appearance of familiarly, this is an incredibly diverse and complex industry.  The technology composition will therefore be a mixed bag in the medium-term as e-textile manufacturers will likely select their conductor of choice based on the specific requirements of each application and their own existing production processes.

In the long-term, e-textile conductive inks will have a larger addressable market than all the other solutions. This is because they offer the highest degree of universal applicability: their integration is a post-production process that can be used by almost any textile manufacturer unless the fabrics cannot withstand high laminating temperatures or are very loose.

In the short to medium term, the risk however is that some end applications are more equal than others. For example, IDTechEx Research finds that smart sports clothing alone will make up 65% of the market by 2020. The challenge is therefore in identifying, targeting and winning in specific high-growth application sectors. IDTechEx Research can help you find and penetrate these sectors.

For more information please refer IDTechEx Research report, Conductive Ink Markets 2016-2026: Forecasts, Technologies, and Players.

Not the finished article yet

The ink technology however is not yet finished article. Achieving washability, direct-on-fabric printability, and high stretchability are challenging technical requirements. The industry is only beginning to accumulate expertise here. Therefore, this is the beginning of the beginning and we expect better e-textile conductive inks in the future.

The process currently is too complicated because the inks need to be printed and cured on a substrate such as TPU before being encapsulated using a similar substrate. The film then needs to be hot laminated over the fabric. This approach improves washability and durability, and does away with the technical headache of having to develop a different ink optimised for each fabric substrate, but screams out to be simplified.

TPU itself is the first choice of encapsulate but not likely to be the last. This is because it is not the most stretchable thus restricting the clothing-like feeling of e-textiles particularly if large areas are covered. Already companies are experimenting with othermaterial systems such as TPU/silicone combinations.

Silver costs can also be a limiting factor. This opens the way for carbon or graphene based inks in applications where high conductivity is not required. In the long term copper inks may also be an option but they have a long way to go to prove their reliability and technology maturity.

Silicon-carbide (SiC) power electronics from STMicroelectronics has enabled the creation of ZapCharger Portable, the world’s smallest, smartest, and safest electric-car charging station from Zaptec, an innovative start-up company that has revolutionized the transformer industry.

The market-first portable electric-car charger with built-in electronic transformer, ZapCharger works with any electric car on any grid. Excellent power-conversion capabilities of ST’s SiC MOSFET devices have enabled Zaptec engineers to design a portable, yet powerful piece of equipment. Ten times smaller and lighter than products with the comparable performance, the 3kg, 45 x 10 x 10cm charger delivers an energy efficiency of 97%.

Uncompromising on safety, the water- and weather-proof ZapCharger is fully galvanically insulated and continuously monitors the grid it is connected to. It dynamically adjusts the amount of power it delivers and can shut down immediately if it detects a fault, to protect the car. The charger offers GPRS connectivity and operates over an extended temperature range from -40 degrees C to +55 degrees C.

Inside the ZapCharger, 32 high-voltage SiC Power MOSFETs from ST deliver efficient power conversion with minimum losses. Compared with traditional (silicon) solutions, these components can sustain much higher voltages, currents, and temperatures, and their power-conversion circuits operate faster, enabling smaller, lighter designs, higher system efficiency, and reduced cooling requirements.

“The key for us was to find a power technology with a very high efficiency so we could reduce the overall size of the charger without compromising performance. ST’s silicon-carbide offering was the perfect match,” said Jonas Helmikstol, COO, Zaptec. “The support of ST as a strong and reliable partner helped us transform our invention into a product that dramatically changes the user experience and by allowing consumers to take their chargers anywhere eliminates ‘range anxiety” and can accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles worldwide.”

“Leveraging the exceptional efficiency of ST SiC Power MOSFETs, ingenious solutions like ZapCharger that can enable drivers to safely charge their vehicles anywhere are set to catalyze the growth of the e-car market and the smart-energy ecosystem as a whole,” said Philip Lolies, EMEA Vice President, Marketing & Application, STMicroelectronics. “Zaptec’s decision to rely on our advanced power technology confirms ST’s industry leadership and enabling role in the global trend towards Greener and Smarter Living.”

In addition to electric-car charging, Zaptec’s patented, prize-awarded electronic-transformer technology targets new applications in Industrial, Marine, and Space.

After successful field tests, ZapCharger is starting pilot production now, with volume ramp-up scheduled at the end of Q3 2016.

The 2015 analog market grew 2% to $47.0 billion.  Combined sales of general-purpose analog products (amplifiers/comparators, interface, power management, an signal conversion devices) increased 2% to $19.1 billion and sales of application-specific analog devices also improved 2% to $27.9 billion. Among analog IC products the market for signal conversion devices showed the largest increase in 2015, growing 14% to $2.9 billion.

IC Insights’ ranking of top analog IC suppliers for 2015 is shown in Figure 1.  Collectively, these 10 companies accounted for 56% of global analog sales last year, down slightly from 57% in 2014. Among the top suppliers, nine had analog sales in excess of $1.0 billion; five of these had sales in excess of $2.0 billion.  Only tenth-ranked Renesas fell short of the $1.0 billion mark.  With a 10% increase, NXP’s analog sales outperformed the total analog market by the widest margin (Figure 1).

Figure 1

Figure 1

Texas Instruments was again the leading supplier of analog devices in 2015 with $8.3 billion in sales, which was good for 18% marketshare.  TI’s analog sales slightly surpassed the combined revenue of the next three-largest analog suppliers, and represented 69% of its total semiconductor revenue last year.  TI has always been a major player in analog, but beginning in 2009, it doubled down on its long-term efforts to dominate this market segment. That year, TI became the first company to manufacture analog devices on 300mm equipment.  It purchased 300mm manufacturing tools from defunct Qimonda and transferred it to its existing fabs in Texas to build analog ICs.  In 2010, TI acquired two wafer fabs operated by Spansion in Aizu-Wakamatsu, Japan, and a fully equipped 200mm fab in Chengdu, China from Cension Semiconductor Manufacturing.  Both facilities were converted and immediately put to use making analog ICs.  In April 2011, TI acquired National Semiconductor—its rival in many analog markets—for $6.5 billion.

TI also strengthened its analog position by transitioning to 300mm manufacturing capacity at its newer RFAB and its older DMOS 6 fabs.  Aside from boosting its analog manufacturing capacity, moving to 300mm wafer helped reduce total production costs by 40%, according to the company.

Other changes seen in the 2015 ranking include Infineon moving up one place to become the second-largest analog supplier and Skyworks Solutions moving up two spots to #3.  ST slipped from #2 in 2014 to #5 in the 2015 ranking following its 13% decline in analog sales, which it attributed to soft equipment sales (computer, consumer, automotive, industrial) among its primary customers. Collectively, Infineon, NXP, and ST—Europe’s three-largest IC suppliers—accounted for 15% analog marketshare last year.

Skyworks continues to enjoy solid analog sales due to design wins with smartphones providers around the world. Skyworks Solutions makes analog and mixed signal semiconductors for Apple, Samsung, and other suppliers of mobile devices.  Many of Skyworks’ power amplifier components are found in Apple’s iPhone 6 models.  It has been estimated that Skyworks supplies $4 worth of content for every iPhone 6 handset.

Although highly focused in mobile markets, Skyworks plans to expand into the automotive, home, and wearable markets to develop its presence in applications linked to the Internet of Things.  Analog ICs such as audio amplifiers, op amps, and analog switches are building blocks for creating wearable applications. Skyworks’ wireless technology is used in General Electric healthcare equipment, and the company recently sealed a deal to supply high-performance filter solutions to Panasonic.

Analog Devices’ analog sales grew 2% last year.  One of its key analog ICs is a device that enables 3D/Force Touch, a feature available on the Apple Watch, the latest iPhones, and new generations of the iPad, that uses tiny electrodes to distinguish between a light tap and a deep press to trigger contextually specific controls.

IC Insights forecasts the total analog market to grow 4% this year, reaching $49.1 billion and then surpass the $50.0 billion mark for the first time in 2017 as analog sales climb to an expected $51.4 billion. From 2015 to 2020, the analog market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 6%, one point higher than the total IC market.

BioMEMS have been used for years, for plenty of applications. Some are linked to solid, mature, slow-growing industries, while others are part of booming applications that are adding new fuel to the bioMEMS market. According to Yole Développement (Yole) analysts, this market will triple from US$2.7 billion in 2015 to US$7.6 billion in 2021. Indeed, with the barrier between consumer and healthcare blurring, an increasing number of healthcare-related applications are using MEMS components, resulting in impressive market growth. Why is MEMS technology increasingly finding a sweet spot within the healthcare sector? What is the added-value of this technology? What are the drivers of this market? Who is developing what?…

Yole’s analysts propose today a high added-value survey of the BioMEMS components and their applications within the healthcare industry.

biomems_market_yole_april2016_433x280

Analysts from the “More than Moore” market research and strategy consulting company, Yole propose a comprehensive technology and market review of the microsystems for healthcare applications. Entitled BioMEMS: Microsytems for Healthcare Applications, this report provides an overview of the diverse bioMEMS components and applications, along with a detailed key players’ description at each level of the supply chain with market shares and related activities. It highlights threats and opportunities related to BioMEMS components along with market and technology trends. Yole’s analysis also details the challenges related to implantable devices and highlights the emergence of consumer healthcare with promising and booming applications.

Faced with an aging “baby boomer” population, healthcare is more important than ever. In-vitro diagnostics, pharmaceutical research, patient monitoring, drug delivery, and implantable devices: all of these fields is growing and system integrators need new innovative technologies. Adopting bioMEMS including accelerometers, pressure sensors, flow sensors, micropumps and others bring improved sensing and actuating functions for all of these healthcare fields. “MEMS components are increasingly used by healthcare system integrators,” says Sébastien Clerc, Technology & Market Analyst at Yole. “Indeed BioMEMS are used to bring new functionalities, improve performances and costs and enable miniaturized devices.”

And Yole details:
• Microfluidic devices will cover the largest part of the BioMEMS market in 2021 representing 86% of the total market. Microfluidic chips are increasingly used in life sciences applications. These components will enjoy a 19.2% every year between 2015 and 2021, driven by applications such as Point-of-Care testing.
• In parallel, silicon microphones and flow meters are showing a double digit growth during the 2015 – 2021 period (in value): respectively +23.3% and 18.3%. Though silicon microphones are still an emerging and small market, Yole’s analysts confirm the attractiveness of this MEMS technology for hearing aids application, where it brings higher performance than former technologies. They expect a fast penetration into these devices over the next five years. The trend is also positive for flow sensors: indeed the consulting company Yole highlights an increasing adoption of MEMS disposable devices for drug delivery applications. These disposable BioMEMS components are expected to take an important part of the MEMS flow sensor market in a near future. Until recently, flowmeters were relatively expensive devices and did not suit to drug delivery devices. However today the adoption of disposable sensors for this application opens new high-volumes opportunities for MEMS players. Price reduction was mandatory and MEMS technology successfully addressed the industry needs.

Many other bioMEMS components are also active within the healthcare industry. Yole’s analysts identified pressure sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microdispensers, temperature sensors and more… Their market dynamics highly depend on the related applications and on the ability of MEMS makers to innovate. Lack of strong technical innovations and emerging applications are the characteristics of certain BioMEMS markets. Yole’s analysts give some examples below:
• The pressure sensors market for healthcare applications is showing a slowly growth. 75% of the market is dedicated to the blood monitoring applications. Established for decades, this market is mature with no real disruptive technologies. Reduction of the number of players and attempt to increase volumes are the main trends of this sector for the next years, analyzes Yole in its bioMEMS report. • Accelerometers market is also showing slow growth opportunities. Such devices are today mainly used for CRM applications (implantable pacemakers and defibrillators) which are growing slowly. New applications such as ballistocardiography or fall detection have the potential to boost this market but still represent very low volumes right now.

However the emergence of consumer could change the game and become a real opportunity for MEMS manufacturers with huge volumes. MEMS companies, involved within the consumer market are already considering the consumer healthcare sector. In the meantime, consumer giants acquire promising healthcare and biotech startups and are positioning themselves to address this market. Despite the great promises of consumer healthcare, it will take some time to reach its full potential, highlights the consulting company in its bioMEMS report. Performance, consumer acceptance, reimbursement, reliability, data security… Yole identified numerous barriers preventing rapid explosion of consumer healthcare. Various players have to sit around the table and discuss to find solutions and thus knock down these barriers: Yole expects it will take a few years until consumer healthcare devices are widely adopted.

MACOM Technology Solutions reported the newest entries in its MAGb series of GaN on Silicon power transistors for use in macro wireless basestations.

According to a media release, based on MACOM’s Gen4 GaN technology, the new MAGb-101822-240B0P and MAGb-101822-120B0P power transistors harness the clear performance benefits of GaN in rugged, low-cost plastic packaging, enabling improved cost efficiencies that further distinguish MACOM’s GaN power transistors as the natural successors to legacy LDMOS offerings for basestation applications.

The Company noted that the new plastic TO-272-packaged MAGb-101822-240B0P and MAGb-101822-120B0P power transistors provide 320 W and 160 W output peak power, respectively, in the load-pull system with fundamental tuning only, and cover all cellular bands and power levels within the 1.8 – 2.2 GHz frequency range. These transistors’ ability to operate over 400 MHz of bandwidth precludes the need to use multiple LDMOS-based products, further optimizing cost and design efficiencies.

MACOM said that plastic-packaged MAGb power transistors deliver power efficiency up to 79 percent – an improvement of up to 10 percent compared to LDMOS offerings – with only fundamental tuning across the 400 MHz RF bandwidth, and with linear gain of up to 20 dB. These transistors provide an alternative to ceramic-packaged devices without compromising RF performance or reliability – thermal behavior is improved by 10 percent compared to ceramic-packaged MAGb offerings.

“DPD is critical to increase the efficiency of power amplifiers for 4G and 5G basestation applications and has a significant impact on network operators’ operating expenses and capital expenditures,” said Dr. Chris Dick, Chief DSP Architect at Xilinx. “Our joint demonstration with MACOM at IMS 2016 will showcase the combined DPD capabilities of MACOM’s Gen4 GaN-based MAGb power transistors and Xilinx’s complementary DPD technologies on our 28 nm Zynq SoC and 16 nm UltraScale+ MPSoCs. This joint solution highlights the time-to-market advantages that can be achieved with a proven, interoperable DPD solution.”

“Our collaboration with Xilinx demonstrates the linearity and ease of correction of our MAGb, especially with signals that are known to be challenging to correct using GaN-based solutions like multi-carrier GSM and TDD-LTE signals,” said Preet Virk, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Carrier Networks, at MACOM. “We believe that with the introduction of our new plastic-packaged MAGb power transistors, we’re further extending this price/performance advantage over competiting LDMOS and other GaN technologies, and accelerating the evolution to GaN-based PAs for wireless basestations.”

The detection of carbon monoxide (CO) in the air is a vital issue, as CO is a poisonous gas and an environmental pollutant. CO typically derives from the incomplete combustion of carbon-based fuels, such as cooking gas and gasoline; it has no odor, taste, or colour and hence it is difficult to detect. Scientists have been investigating sensors that can determine CO concentration, and a team from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST), in tandem with the University of Toulouse, has found an innovative method to build such sensors.

As a tool for CO detection, scientists use extremely small wires: copper oxide nanowires. Copper oxide nanowires chemically react with CO, creating an electrical signal that can be used to quantify CO concentration. These nanowires are so thin that it is possible to fit more than 1.000 of them in the average thickness of a human hair.

This is an adaptation of a scanning electron microscopy image of copper oxide nanowires bridging the gap between neighbouring copper microstructures. Credit: OIST

This is an adaptation of a scanning electron microscopy image of copper oxide nanowires bridging the gap between neighbouring copper microstructures. Credit: OIST

Two issues have hampered the use of nanowires. “The first problem is the integration of nanowires into devices that are big enough to be handled and that can also be easily mass produced,” said Prof Mukhles Sowwan, director of the Nanoparticles by Design Unit at OIST. “The second issue is the ability to control the number and position of nanowires in such devices.” Both these difficulties might have been solved by Dr Stephan Steinhauer, postdoctoral scholar at OIST, together with Prof Sowwan, and researchers from the University of Toulouse. They recently published their research in the journal ACS Sensors.

“To create copper oxide nanowires, you need to heat neighbouring copper microstructures. Starting from the microstructures, the nanowires grow and bridge the gap between the microstructures, forming an electrical connection between them,” Dr Steinhauer explained. “We integrated copper microstructures on a micro-hotplate, developed by the University of Toulouse. A micro-hotplate is a thin membrane that can heat up to several hundred Celsius degrees, but with very low power consumption.” Thanks to the micro-hotplate, researchers have a high degree of control over the quantity and position of the nanowires. Also, the micro-hotplate provides scientists with data on the electrical signal that goes through the nanowires.

The final result is an exceptionally sensitive device, capable of detecting very low concentrations of CO. “Potentially, miniaturized CO sensors that integrate copper oxide nanowires with micro-hotplates are the first step towards the next generation of gas sensors,” Prof Sowwan commented. “In contrast to other techniques, our approach is cost effective and suitable for mass production.”

This new method could also help scientists in better understanding the sensor lifetime. The performance of a sensor decreases overtime, and this is a major issue in gas sensing. Data obtained with this method could help scientists in understanding the mechanisms behind such phenomenon, providing them with information that starts at the very beginning of the sensor lifetime. Traditionally, researchers first grow the nanowires, then connect the nanowires to a device, and finally start measuring the CO concentration. “Our method allows to grow the nanowires in a controlled atmosphere, where you can immediately perform gas sensing measurements,” Dr Steinhauer noted. “Basically, you stop growing and start measuring, all in the same location.”

Inkjet printing market is in transformation: “Not a revolution, but an evolution,” announces Yole Développement (Yole) in its latest MEMS report, Inkjet Printhead Market & Technology Trends report. And MEMS technology is largely contributing to that changes.

This new Yole’s inkjet printhead report, is gathering technology and market data collected during interviews with system and device manufacturers and equipment & materials suppliers. Under this new technology & market analysis, the consulting company proposes an overview of the MEMS inkjet printhead industry including applications trends, market quantification, list of key players and related market shares. Yole’s analysts detail the printhead industry ecosystem with a relevant competitive analysis and a detailed description of the supply chain. This report also includes a comprehensive technology roadmap.

With a market reaching US$ 1 billion in 2021 (CAGR : 1.8% between 2016 and 2021), the MEMS printhead is one of the most mature MEMS devices.

Without any doubts, MEMS technology is one of the key factor fostering access to new applications and markets. Yole highlights for example the introduction of thin film PZT deposition processes for better control and higher resolution. Industrial companies are also offering better accuracy and scalability of MEMS dies for higher integration first and then to allow single pass printing for high quality and throughput. At the end, the use of semiconductor serial processes directly impacts the printhead price compared to conventional printhead allowing significant cost reduction.
The transition is not only coming from the technology evolution and the MEMS printhead manufacturers (technology push) but also from the market with specific requirements (market pull):

“Today, MEMS technology is not only offering printing capabilities,” asserts Jérôme Mouly, Technology & Market Analyst, Yole. And he adds: “MEMS will create a new ecosystem including services and products around printing from manufacturing to dispensing and IoT.”

Amid this market (r)evolution, MEMS printhead manufacturer landscape has changed in the last 5 years due to high competitiveness in printing industry:
• The industry is today mainly made of large enterprise, led by HP Inc., representing 57% market share followed by Canon and Epson.
• Some companies are currently developing new MEMS-based products. They will give a new leverage to MEMS printead mature market. These companies including XAAR, Konica Minolta, Ricoh and Océ, are already players in conventional printheads sectors

According to Yole’s analysts, the MEMS printhead market is still expected to change in the next period. Yole already sees signs of changes:
• Lexmark sold its inkjet business to Funai in 2013.
• The major players HP Inc., Canon and Epson are diversifying activity from consumer to new printing opportunities.
• Most of the conventional piezo printhead players is more and more interested in MEMS technology to reach new markets

What are inkjet printheads writing in the future? MEMS printhead market will generate revenues combining flat sales coming from consumer market with relatively lower volume with high value printheads. From the technology side, emerging solutions will increase resolution, speed of ink to fire and suppress lead-based actuator materials to more and more environmental solutions. And companies will continue to invest in MEMS technologies using foundry services, to use the foundries’ technical knowledge and optimize manufacturing costs.

A detailed description of the MEMS printhead report is available on i-micronews.com, MEMS & Sensors reports section.