Category Archives: MEMS

SEMI today announced the second annual edition of the SEMI European MEMS Summit, dedicated to MEMS and sensors, to be held on September 15-16. After a successful inaugural event in Milan that attracted 265 attendees, this year’s SEMI European MEMS Summit will convene in Stuttgart, one of the world’s major MEMS and Sensor hubs.

MEMS volumes are expected to nearly double, compared to today’s levels, and reach 30 billion units by 2020, based on a Yole Developpement forecast.  While the growth is impressive, challenges exist, and through the SEMI European MEMS Summit’s unique combination of plenary executive talks, exhibition and networking opportunities, major issues will be addressed for discussion and collaboration:

  • Making sensors smaller, smarter, and cheaper
  • Emerging technologies and readiness, maturity
  • Price and margin pressures and business models
  • Markets dynamics and new opportunities

In addition, leading companies will share key messages on their product and business strategic development.  Sessions will focus on automotive, consumer electronics and wearables, Internet of Things (IoT), and more.

“Stuttgart is the ideal location for the 2016 SEMI European MEMS Summit, and we look forward to exchanging views on the latest advances in the MEMS industry,” said Klaus Meder, president of Automotive Electronics at Robert Bosch GmbH.

The conference program is developed by a steering committee composed of industry and thought leaders including ASE, Bosch, Bosch Sensortec, CEA-Leti, EV Group, Fraunhofer ENAS, Fraunhofer IZM, IHS, NXP, Okmetic, Sencio, SPTS, STMicroelectronics, SUSS MicroTec, X-Fab, and Yole Developpement.  The program will feature executive speakers from organizations shaping the industry and will be announced in late spring.

Registration for the conference, exhibition and sponsorship packages are open for bookings with ‘early bird’ prices valid until May 31.  Visit www.semi.org/europeanMEMSSummit for details and more information.

MagnaChip Semiconductor Corporation, a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products, today announced that it is now shipping its e-Compass sensor (MXG2320) in China to a major smartphone manufacturer that is targeting mobile markets in China and India.

MagnaChip’s MXG2320 e-Compass product is a Hall effect magnetic direction sensor. The MXG2320 supports high resolution (0.6uT/bit) at low voltage (1.8V/3.3V) and is well-suited for mobile applications because of its small die size (1.2mmX1.2mm). The e-Compass design win in China is recognition of MagnaChip’s mixed-signal design and manufacturing expertise and reflects the potential for future design-win opportunities for its entire line of sensor products.

In addition to the MXG2320, MagnaChip is in the final development stages of a buffer-embedded, e-Compass sensor with the smallest footprint (1.2mmX0.8mm) currently available in the market. This product is now undergoing beta testing and is being evaluated for use by a major smartphone manufacturer.

The e-Compass has become an essential part of mobile device applications and has now found its way into new applications such as virtual reality, indoor navigation and drone control.  An e-Compass sensor interprets compass direction through the detection of the earth’s magnetic polar fields.

“MagnaChip has been developing e-Compass and other sensor products for mobile applications as part of its strategy to target emerging growth markets,” said YJ Kim, CEO of MagnaChip Semiconductor. “I am very pleased to say that this e-Compass design win is very significant because it marks the beginning of our expansion into the China mobile market with our line of sensor products.”

Headquartered in South Korea, MagnaChip is a Korea-based designer and manufacturer of analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products for high-volume consumer applications.

This article originally appeared on EECatalog.com.

By Venetia Espinoza, BrightVolt

Are the power solutions the IoT needs arriving quickly enough?

The massive game-changing potential of the Internet of Things (IoT) connected devices has been limited by a lack of effective power solutions. The solid-state thin film battery market is forecasted to reach $1.3 bil­lion worldwide by 2021 as published by Custom Market Insights. Fueling this growth is the rise of IoT—wear­ables, medical devices and sensors. Traditional battery technologies simply cannot provide the new features and designs that these new applications demand.

However, arriving on the market are thin-film, flexible batteries which are ultra-thin, flexible, rollable, stretch­able and can withstand high temperatures.

Many applications are still emerging, and their require­ments are evolving fast. Because target specs are also very diverse, each with unique requirements for power, thinness, cost, safety, shelf life, reliability, and flex­ibility, a customized power source makes sense.

BrightVolt is one company tackling the demand for small powered solutions.

Figure 1: Traditional battery technologies are giving way to new designs, which can reduce design complexity. (Courtesy BrightVolt)

Low power/long battery life—As IoT infrastructure becomes ubiquitous, many use-cases require designing and building low power and small form factor batteries, both primary and rechargeable. BrightVolt’s Flexion™ batteries have 3.0V, multiple capacity options such as 10, 14, 20, 25mAh and varied tab con­figurations such as extended tab, terminal support, terminal support with ACF. They also have attachment options such as ultrasonic welding, soldering, conductive epoxy and conductive film and a shelf life of 3-5+ years.

Customized—Battery designs are available that are as thin as 0.37mm. For example, BrightVolt Flexion batteries were designed to operate continuously over a wide temperature range (-10 ºC to +60 ºC). They utilize a patented solid polymer electrolyte and contain no volatile liquids or gelling agents. Self-connecting battery terminals using anisotropic conductive film. BrightVolt can custom-build the size, shape, power, capacity, tab configurations and attachment options that are needed for these diverse requirements.

Scalable Manufacturing—BrightVolt has already shipped millions of units. Scalability is our key differentiator. We can take a solution from prototype to full production and anything in between. Our enduring quality, durability, and built-in intelligence is what makes us the best choice for custom product designs.

Safe—It is now possible to find batteries that are non-toxic, non-corrosive and environ­mentally friendly. It’s also important to choose an Inherently safe design that reduces the need for additional battery safety circuitry. Polymer matrix electrolyte provides outstanding thermal stability with no volatile liquids or gels.

Medical Miracles and Thin Batteries

Nanotechnology itself dates back to the 1980s, when U.S. engineer Eric Drexler coined it. Today, nanotechnology and tiny batteries are changing the medical device industry.

Applicable medical uses include the ability to use small form batteries to power the circuitry associated wit skin-based monitoring devices that can detect the glucose levels, for example. Trans­dermal drug delivery and patches could change how injectable drugs are delivered in a more effective time-released manner through a battery-powered patch.

Additionally, the combination of a nanosensor used in conjunction with a smartphone could be used to track auto­immune diseases and cancer. It could also be an effective screening tool for rejection in patients with organ transplants.

Sensors, Smart Packaging and the IoT

It is anticipated that the temperature monitoring market will reach over $3.2 billion by 2020. Smart sensor labels answer the needs for numerous indus­tries, particularly perishable goods. These printed electronics devices and labeling enable the IoT to reduce waste and improve consumer safety.

This technology allows pharmaceutical companies to keep temperature-sensitive products safe and effective, while pre­venting the unnecessary ruin of usable products. Retailers who use temperature-monitoring labels during shipment of produce and other food products as well as cosmetics and off-the-shelf healthcare items will have immediate insight with regards to both shelf life and food safety.

Some of the most ubiquitous wearables are fitness trackers like FitBit and Jaw­bone that hit the market like wildfire in 2013. 1 in 5 Americans today wear this technology to track their activity levels, sleep and more. Wearables will continue to evolve in size, usability, form factors and diverse power needs.

Assisted living and eldercare is another compelling and demanding wearable technology market. Wearable sensors for this market pose massive potential in generating big data for IoT, with a great applicability to biomedicine and ‘ambient assisted living’ (AAL). ‘Ambient intelligence’ in eldercare is being sensi­tive and responsive to the presence of people. Recent advancements in several technological areas have helped the vision of AAL to become a reality. These tech­nologies include of course smart homes, assistive robotics, and, in small form: e-textile, mobile and wearable sensors.

Another significant advancement is detecting common medical issues such as sleep apnea, which used to require an uncomfortable in-clinic sleep study. No more. Today, a patient can wear a device overnight in the privacy of their own home and send the results off to their physician. Other exciting uses include trackers in clothing, interactive toys, games and more.

Embedding Security

Target’s $10 million 2013 class action data breach lawsuit and privacy issue hammered home just how devastating security fraud really is. Since that time, many credit cards are now embedded with an EMV chip but there’s an even better solution emerging. Not only will a small form battery the size of a postage stamp power these new cards, a com­puter chip randomizes the code number about every hour, adding to its security. This renders the card useless to anyone who has written down your card number, expiration date and code. This applica­tion will effectively eliminate ‘card not present’ fraud. Other ultra-thin battery uses in a credit card could allow for a tiny screen on your card itself that displays your balance.

When Apple launched its biometric ID fingerprint reader on its iPhone 5S, many people adjusted quickly to the convenience of the fingerprint password. Building on that same technology, travel documents including drivers’ licenses and passports, as well as vital health information, can be included in one ultra-thin battery-powered, pocket-sized card that fits in your wallet.

Conclusion

By assessing the considerations outlined in this article, a product designer can effectively achieve a small-form factor product able to reliably operate with the right battery. Custom batteries can eliminate design complexities and opti­mize battery use for many applications.

About the Author

Venetia Espinoza is in charge of market­ing at BrightVolt, a worldwide leader in the design, development and scale manufacturing of thin film batteries. She holds more than 25 years of marketing and product experience with premier technology companies. She also served as Vice President and General Manager of Softcard, a joint venture established by industry giants Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile. She holds an MBA and BS de­gree in Industrial Engineering.

By Rania Georgoutsakou, director of Public Policy for Europe, SEMI

In a global industry, monitoring regulatory developments across different regions can be a challenge. Add to that the additional complexity of communicating with a (global) supply chain, then consider that each company has to individually reach out to its suppliers and customers. This results in numerous communications on the same issue up and down the supply chain, and the benefits of industry collaboration within associations such as SEMI become clear.

To help companies keep up with the latest developments in the EU, here’s a list of recent and upcoming regulatory initiatives and how SEMI member companies are collectively addressing these:

  • SEMI FAQ – EU F-Gas regulation and semiconductor manufacturing equipment
  • Review of EU Machinery Directive now underway
  • EU PFOA restriction under discussion
  • 2016 EU Blue Guide is available

A SEMI webcast on EU regulatory developments (March 2016) provided a more detailed overview of these and other developments and how companies should prepare – the webcast is available to view for SEMI member companies only, please click here and select the “EU Regulation Webcast”.

Manufacturing equipment containing pre-charged chillers – new SEMI FAQ provides guidance on how to comply with EU F-Gas law

The EU F-Gas regulation that entered into force in January 2014 creates new restrictions on placing on the EU market pre-charged chillers containing certain fluorinated gases (F-gases).

A new SEMI FAQ on the EU F-Gas regulation provides guidance on what this law is about, how it impacts semiconductor manufacturing equipment and what steps companies importing affected equipment should be taking to ensure compliance.

If your company is importing semiconductor manufacturing equipment containing pre-charged chillers into the EU, then you need to make sure you can account for the f-gases in the chiller under the new F-Gas quota system that the law has established, by obtaining an ‘authorisation’ from a ‘quota holder’ and registering in the ‘EU HFC Register’.

For more details and compliance timelines, check out the SEMI FAQ.

EU Machinery Directive – review now underway – have your say!

The EU Machinery Directive sets out the basic requirements machines must satisfy in order to be placed on the EU market and is a major piece of EU law for semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

The review is part of the regular EU regulatory review process to ensure legislation is ‘fit for purpose’ and does not automatically imply that the Machinery Directive will be revised. It is being run by an external consultant and a final report is expected in April 2017.

The focus of the review will be on 9 product categories, including machines for metal working, engines and turbines, robotics and automation and will also explore whether there are discrepancies in the interpretation of the directive between various member states and to what extent it is aligned to other pieces of legislation.

SEMI is putting together a working group to contribute to review of the EU Machinery Directive. If you are a member company and want to get involved, please contact [email protected]

PFOA restriction under discussion – SEMI requests derogations for the industry

The EU is currently drafting a law to restrict the manufacture, use and placing on the market of PFOA, its salts and PFOA-related substances under EU REACH. The restriction would apply both to substances and mixtures and to articles containing these substances.

SEMI has been calling for a derogation for substances and mixtures used in photolithography processes and for articles contained in semiconductor manufacturing equipment.

SEMI has collected and submitted evidence to substantiate members’ recommendations for:

  • a derogation period of at least 10 years for semiconductor manufacturing equipment, to allow equipment manufacturers to communicate with their the supply chain, identify components potentially containing restricted substances, source substitute parts that are tested and validated and requalify the equipment.
  • non-time-limited derogation for spare parts for legacy semiconductor manufacturing equipment, i.e. equipment that was already on the EU market before the restriction entered into force and before the derogation for semiconductor manufacturing equipment expires.
  • non-time-limited derogation for second-hand semiconductor manufacturing equipment, to ensure that companies can still import used equipment from outside the EU or from another EU member state.

SEMI has also voiced its concerns around the proposed concentration limits and the non-availability today of standardized practicable analytical methods that can be applied to a variety of materials to test whether an article would comply with the restriction.

The EU proposed restriction will be published in the next month and the final decision on the restriction is expected by the end of 2016.

Product regulatory compliance in the EU – 2016 Blue Guide now published

The Blue Guide provides guidance on how to implement EU product rules, including for example the EU Machinery and EMC Directives. A 2016 revised version is now available to download – click here.

The Blue Guide addresses:

  • what constitutes placing a product on the EU market
  • obligations of the various actors in the supply chain (manufacturer, importer, authorized representative etc.)
  • product requirements
  • conformity assessment
  • accreditation
  • market surveillance carried out in the EU

For an overview of SEMI’s advocacy work in Europe, please click here.

To find out more and get involved, please contact [email protected]

Join us for the 10th SEMI Brussels Forum – the industry’s major annual event bringing together company executives and decision-makers to discuss opportunities for the micro/nano-electronics industry in Europe: www.semi.org/BrusselsForum

ams AG (SIX: AMS) today took a step forward in its long-term strategy of increasing manufacturing capacity for its high-performance sensors and sensor solution integrated circuits (ICs), holding a groundbreaking event at the site of its new wafer fabrication plant in Utica, New York.

An artist’s rendering of a semiconductor fab at the Marcy site.

The ceremony featured New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, Utica Mayor Robert Palmieri, local dignitaries and senior executives from ams and SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

ams sensor solutions are relied upon globally by manufacturers of smartphones, tablets and other communications devices, automakers, audio and medical equipment manufacturers and others. ams sensors are used in hundreds of millions of devices to recognize light, color, gestures, images, motion, position, environmental and medical parameters and more.

With construction work now underway on the new fab, ams remains on track to reach its target for the first batches of wafers made at the plant in the first half of 2018.

Production capacity at the Utica fab will supplement ams’ existing 180nm and 350nm CMOS and SiGe fab at its headquarters near Graz, Austria. Adding this additional volume to its in-house chip manufacturing facilities positions ams to meet the forecasted growth in demand for its high-performance sensor solution ICs.

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has made public-private partnerships an important part of this  Nano Utica initiative, which exceeds 4,000 projected jobs over the next decade. Designed to replicate the dramatic success of SUNY Poly’s Nanotech Megaplex in Albany, NANO Utica further cements New York’s international recognition as the preeminent hub for 21st century nanotechnology innovation, education, and economic development.

The Governor says the addition of ams and others to Nano Utica is creating an economic revolution around nano-technology in the Mohawk Valley region, and that the economy there is “gathering momentum unlike ever before.”

The new fab, which is being built to ams’s specifications and which ams will operate under a 20-year lease, is expected initially to offer capacity of at least 150,000 200mm-wafer equivalents per year. Planned expansion thereafter will eventually see the plant operating at a capacity of more than 450,000 200mm-wafer equivalents per year.

The new fab is located close to a campus of SUNY Polytechnic Institute in New York’s Tech Valley, the largest region focused on technology manufacturing in the US and home to other nanotechnology and semiconductor companies. The fab will be capable of producing wafers at the 130nm node, and more advanced nodes in the future.

Today’s celebratory event at the new fab site also marked the success of the partnership behind the project to build, equip and operate another high-technology manufacturing facility in the State of New York. This partnership has benefited from a wide-ranging collaboration between public sector bodies such as the New York governor’s office, the City of Utica and the State University of New York, and various private sector institutions including ams, the fab’s sole leaseholder.

Approximately 250 people gathered at the construction site to see Lt. Governor Hochul and ams CEO Alexander Everke break ground for the foundation of what will be, on completion in 2018, one of the world’s largest analog wafer fabs.

“Building this new wafer fab enables ams to achieve its plans for growth and to meet the increasing demand for sensor solutions produced at advanced manufacturing nodes. Our decision to locate the facility in New York was motivated by the availability of a highly skilled workforce, the proximity to prestigious educational and research institutions, and the favorable business environment, backed by public and private partners,” Mr. Everke said. “What we will create together in Utica will be the most productive ‘More than Moore’ fab worldwide,” he added.

Whether it’s the Internet of Things (IoT), wearables, or industrial automation, new devices and applications are portable, battery-operated and require continuous power.  Wireless connectivity is required for connecting to the Internet.  Today’s devices collect and transmit data from sensors, are always or almost always on and require power.  The semiconductor industry has met the challenge to design devices for low power operation.  But eventually batteries still run out of energy and have to be replaced or recharged.  Energy harvesting can extend battery life or possibly replace batteries altogether for continuous operation.  The new Semico Research report “Energy Harvesting: The Next Billion Dollar Market for Semiconductors” projects semiconductor sales for this market will reach $3 billion by 2020.

An energy harvesting solution requires more than just the energy harvester or transducer.  The key components include a power converter, power management IC (PMIC), MCU, and energy storage.  “An ecosystem of semiconductor vendors is emerging for the nascent energy harvesting market,” says Tony Massimini, Semico Research’s Chief of Technology.  “The ecosystems are gravitating around the vendors of key power components.  They are forming partnerships with producers of energy harvesters, battery suppliers, and other components.”

This study examines the market opportunity for energy harvesting outside of large installations and commercial power generation.  A broad range of markets will employ energy harvesting to either replace batteries or extend battery life. These applications cover wireless sensor nodes (WSN) for bridges, infrastructure, building automation and controls, and home automation (including lighting, security and environmental). Energy harvesting will grow in automotive applications, cell phones, wearables and other consumer electronics.

“The vendors of MCUs, sensors, RF, analog and other components will continue to develop lower power devices”, according to Massimini. “While this puts less drain on a battery and will extend its life, it also lessens the load for an energy harvesting solution.  Energy harvesting solutions are also expected to improve during the forecast period.”

The ASPs for the semiconductor components continue to decline, lowering the costs for an energy harvesting solution.  This is driving higher penetration rates.

Key findings of the report include:

  • The number of energy harvesting solutions will grow to 777 million units by 2020 (CAGR ’15 to ’20 = 80.6%).
  • Smartphone market will become the largest by volume by 2020.
  • WSN in commercial and industrial applications, including bridges, will be the second largest market by 2020
  • Semiconductor revenues in Energy Harvesting will reach $3 billion by 2020(CAGR ’15 to ’20 = 71.4%).

In its recent report “Energy Harvesting: The Next Billion Dollar Marketfor Semiconductors” (MP112-16), presents the market for energy harvesting by key end use markets and the semiconductor content.  Readers will see which market segment is growing fastest and which semiconductor components account for sales potential.  The report discusses the latest trends in energy harvesting, the growing ecosystem, and technical innovations.  Included are profiles of silicon vendors involved with energy harvesting and other key vendors in the ecosystem. The report is 70 pages long and includes 11 tables and 24 figures.

Companies cited in the report: Analog Devices, Atmel, Audience, Cherry Switches, Cymbet, Cypress, enOcean, Linear Technology, Maxim Integrated, Microchip Technology, NXP, Powercast, Renesas, Semtech, Silicon Labs, Silicon Reef, STmicroelectronics, Texas Instruments, Imprint Energy, Sakti3, Solid Power, Apple, Laird, MicroGen, Micropelt, Thermo Life, Thermogen Technologies, Sanyo, EnerBee, Energy Harvesters, K3OPS, Nikola Labs and Imec.

This report is part of Semico Research’s IoT and MEMS portfolios, which also include:

The Smart Economy: The Internet of Everything

IoT Security: At What Cost?

Sensors in Wearables and Mobile: The Many Players

The Smart Home: Big Brother or Swarm Intelligence?

One secret to creating the world’s fastest silicon-based flexible transistors: a very, very tiny knife.

Working in collaboration with colleagues around the country, University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have pioneered a unique method that could allow manufacturers to easily and cheaply fabricate high-performance transistors with wireless capabilities on huge rolls of flexible plastic.

The researchers — led by Zhenqiang (Jack) Ma, the Lynn H. Matthias Professor in Engineering and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in electrical and computer engineering, and research scientist Jung-Hun Seo — fabricated a transistor that operates at a record 38 gigahertz, though their simulations show it could be capable of operating at a mind-boggling 110 gigahertz. In computing, that translates to lightning-fast processor speeds.

It’s also very useful in wireless applications. The transistor can transmit data or transfer power wirelessly, a capability that could unlock advances in a whole host of applications ranging from wearable electronics to sensors.

The team published details of its advance April 20 in the journal Scientific Reports.

The researchers’ nanoscale fabrication method upends conventional lithographic approaches — which use light and chemicals to pattern flexible transistors — overcoming such limitations as light diffraction, imprecision that leads to short circuits of different contacts, and the need to fabricate the circuitry in multiple passes.

Using low-temperature processes, Ma, Seo and their colleagues patterned the circuitry on their flexible transistor — single-crystalline silicon ultimately placed on a polyethylene terephthalate (more commonly known as PET) substrate — drawing on a simple, low-cost process called nanoimprint lithography.

In a method called selective doping, researchers introduce impurities into materials in precise locations to enhance their properties — in this case, electrical conductivity. But sometimes the dopant merges into areas of the material it shouldn’t, causing what is known as the short channel effect. However, the UW-Madison researchers took an unconventional approach: They blanketed their single crystalline silicon with a dopant, rather than selectively doping it.

Then, they added a light-sensitive material, or photoresist layer, and used a technique called electron-beam lithography — which uses a focused beam of electrons to create shapes as narrow as 10 nanometers wide — on the photoresist to create a reusable mold of the nanoscale patterns they desired. They applied the mold to an ultrathin, very flexible silicon membrane to create a photoresist pattern. Then they finished with a dry-etching process — essentially, a nanoscale knife — that cut precise, nanometer-scale trenches in the silicon following the patterns in the mold, and added wide gates, which function as switches, atop the trenches.

With a unique, three-dimensional current-flow pattern, the high performance transistor consumes less energy and operates more efficiently. And because the researchers’ method enables them to slice much narrower trenches than conventional fabrication processes can, it also could enable semiconductor manufacturers to squeeze an even greater number of transistors onto an electronic device.

Ultimately, says Ma, because the mold can be reused, the method could easily scale for use in a technology called roll-to-roll processing (think of a giant, patterned rolling pin moving across sheets of plastic the size of a tabletop), and that would allow semiconductor manufacturers to repeat their pattern and mass-fabricate many devices on a roll of flexible plastic.

“Nanoimprint lithography addresses future applications for flexible electronics,” says Ma, whose work was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. “We don’t want to make them the way the semiconductor industry does now. Our step, which is most critical for roll-to-roll printing, is ready.”

Converting a single photon from one color, or frequency, to another is an essential tool in quantum communication, which harnesses the subtle correlations between the subatomic properties of photons (particles of light) to securely store and transmit information. Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have now developed a miniaturized version of a frequency converter, using technology similar to that used to make computer chips.

False-color scanning electron micrograph of a nanophotonic frequency converter, consisting of a ring-shaped resonator (shaded blue) into which light is injected using a waveguide (shaded red). The input signal, depicted as a purple arrow, is converted to a new frequency (blue arrow) through the application of two pump lasers (light and dark red arrows). Credit: K. Srinivasan et al./NIST

False-color scanning electron micrograph of a nanophotonic frequency converter, consisting of a ring-shaped resonator (shaded blue) into which light is injected using a waveguide (shaded red). The input signal, depicted as a purple arrow, is converted to a new frequency (blue arrow) through the application of two pump lasers (light and dark red arrows). Credit: K. Srinivasan et al./NIST

The tiny device, which promises to help improve the security and increase the distance over which next-generation quantum communication systems operate, can be tailored for a wide variety of uses, enables easy integration with other information-processing elements and can be mass produced.

The new nanoscale optical frequency converter efficiently converts photons from one frequency to the other while consuming only a small amount of power and adding a very low level of noise, namely background light not associated with the incoming signal.

Frequency converters are essential for addressing two problems. The frequencies at which quantum systems optimally generate and store information are typically much higher than the frequencies required to transmit that information over kilometer-scale distances in optical fibers. Converting the photons between these frequencies requires a shift of hundreds of terahertz (one terahertz is a trillion wave cycles per second).

A much smaller, but still critical, frequency mismatch arises when two quantum systems that are intended to be identical have small variations in shape and composition. These variations cause the systems to generate photons that differ slightly in frequency instead of being exact replicas, which the quantum communication network may require.

The new photon frequency converter, an example of nanophotonic engineering, addresses both issues, Qing Li, Marcelo Davanço and Kartik Srinivasan write in Nature Photonics. The key component of the chip-integrated device is a tiny ring-shaped resonator, about 80 micrometers in diameter (slightly less than the width of a human hair) and a few tenths of a micrometer in thickness. The shape and dimensions of the ring, which is made of silicon nitride, are chosen to enhance the inherent properties of the material in converting light from one frequency to another. The ring resonator is driven by two pump lasers, each operating at a separate frequency. In a scheme known as four-wave-mixing Bragg scattering, a photon entering the ring is shifted in frequency by an amount equal to the difference in frequencies of the two pump lasers.

Like cycling around a racetrack, incoming light circulates around the resonator hundreds of times before exiting, greatly enhancing the device’s ability to shift the photon’s frequency at low power and with low background noise. Rather than using a few watts of power, as typical in previous experiments, the system consumes only about a hundredth of that amount. Importantly, the added amount of noise is low enough for future experiments using single-photon sources.

While other technologies have been applied to frequency conversion, “nanophotonics has the benefit of potentially enabling the devices to be much smaller, easier to customize, lower power, and compatible with batch fabrication technology,” said Srinivasan. “Our work is a first demonstration of a nanophotonic technology suitable for this demanding task of quantum frequency conversion.”

This work was performed by researchers at NIST’s Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology.

“Efficient and low-noise single-photon-level frequency conversion interfaces using silicon nanophotonics.” Q. Li, M. Davanço and K. Srinivasan.  Nature Photonics, 18 April 2016. DOI: 10.1038/nphoton.2016.64

Leading innovators in today’s integrated electronics supply chain are preparing to showcase their products and services at SEMICON West 2016 on July 12-14 in San Francisco, Calif.  Attendees will discover new international partners and suppliers, learn about the latest start-ups, and view cutting-edge, critical manufacturing technologies.

The industry has seen dramatic changes since last year’s exposition. Consolidation, IoT, and system integrators increasingly calling the shots have transformed the landscape. Engaging customers and finding new ones have never been more important. SEMICON West 2016 reflects this major realignment — it’s not “business as usual” anymore.

The expanded show floor has been re-engineered to feature megatrend programs and displays, including: the Innovation Theater and four new Exhibit Zones — Advanced Substrate Engineering, Advanced Packaging, Sustainable Manufacturing, and 3D Manufacturing. International Pavilions include Europe, Silicon Saxony, and Malaysia.

SEMICON West 2016 also features three new forums: Advanced Manufacturing, Flexible Hybrid Electronics, and the World of IoT.  Popular recurring programs include the SEMI/Gartner Market Symposium, “Bulls & Bears,” Connect Executive Summit, plus forums addressing wearables, Big Data, mobile, automotive, and other areas of interest to players in these supply chains.

SEMICON West 2016 will attract a broader roster of market makers in today’s globally interconnected semiconductor supply chain, including many of the world’s leading electronics companies as well as their customers and suppliers. To exhibit, visit: www.semiconwest.org.

The 62nd annual IEEE International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM), to be held at the San Francisco Union Square Hilton hotel December 3 – 7, 2016, has issued a Call for Papers seeking the world’s best original work in all areas of microelectronics research and development.

The paper submission deadline this year is Wednesday, August 10, 2016. This deadline –– about 1½ months later than has been the norm for the IEDM – reduces the time between paper submissions and publication of the cutting-edge research results for which the conference is known. Also new for 2016 is that authors are asked to submit four-page camera-ready abstracts (instead of three pages), which will be published as-is in the proceedings.

Because of the more abbreviated schedule, only a very limited number of late-news papers will be accepted. Authors are asked to submit late-news abstracts announcing only the most recent and noteworthy developments. The late-news submission deadline is September 12, 2016.

“Because microelectronics technology changes so rapidly, it makes sense to shorten the time between when results are achieved and when they are discussed among the industry’s best and brightest who attend IEDM,” said Dr. Martin Giles, IEDM 2016 Publicity Chair and Intel Fellow and Director of Transistor Technology Variation in Intel’s Technology and Manufacturing Group. “This later submission deadline ensures that the freshest and most up-to-date work can be presented at the conference.”

Overall, the 2016 IEDM is seeking increased participation in the areas of power, wearable/Internet of Things (IoT), ultra-high speed, and quantum computing devices, which will be explored in depth in Special Focus Sessions in each area.

At IEDM each year, the world’s best scientists and engineers in the field of microelectronics from industry, academia and government gather to participate in a technical program of more than 220 presentations, along with special luncheon presentations and a variety of panels, special sessions, Short Courses, IEEE/EDS award presentations and other events spotlighting more leading work in more areas of the field than any other conference.

Papers in the following areas are encouraged:

  • Circuit and Device Interaction
  • Characterization, Reliability and Yield
  • Compound Semiconductor and High-Speed Devices
  • Memory Technology
  • Modeling and Simulation
  • Nano Device Technology
  • Optoelectronics, Displays and Imagers
  • Power Devices
  • Process and Manufacturing Technology
  • Sensors, MEMS and BioMEMS

Further information

For more information, interested persons should visit the IEDM 2016 home page at www.ieee-iedm.org.