Category Archives: MEMS

January 26, 2009: SiTime Corp., which develops MEMS-based silicon timing solutions, has introduced a new family of programmable oscillators that are designed to extend battery life in portable and consumer electronics by delivering what the company called the industry’s lowest power consumption and fastest start-up time.

SiTime said in a news release that the new devices are highly programmable — with frequencies, voltages and tolerances that can be configured easily — enabling shipment of customized samples in 24 hours and production quantities in two weeks. The oscillator packages have standard footprints and can be used as drop-in replacements for quartz devices, the company said.

“SiTime has sparked a major shift in the timing market by replacing decades-old quartz crystal technology with programmable, MEMS-based semiconductor products,” said Rajesh Vashist, SiTime’s CEO.

The first three solutions in this product family include: SiT8003, a low power programmable oscillator; SiT8003XT, a thin programmable oscillator at 0.25mm; and SiT8033, a two-frequency, low-power programmable oscillator.

The larger 200mm MEMS wafer size will allow DALSA to increase its production capacity and meet the growing demand from its customers to manufacture next generation MEMS chips that feature increased functionality, smaller package sizes, and lower costs. The increase in demand for MEMS accelerometers, gyros, microphones, and radio frequency devices is being driven largely by the explosive growth in consumer electronics devices including cell phones, PDAs, and game controllers.

January 8, 2009: Nanotechnology was incorporated into more than $60 billion in manufactured goods in 2008. By 2014, the market will grow to $2.6 trillion. By 2011, over $15 billion in nano-enabled drugs and therapeutics will be sold–up from more than $3 billion in 2006. And industry experts project that nanotechnology will be incorporated into $20 billion worth of consumer food products by 2010.

With this rapid commercialization — and with a new administration in power – all eyes are on federal government regulators to find out how they intend to deal with this burgeoning issue. Food and Drug Law Institute (FDLI), in partnership with Burdock Group and Arizona State University has assembled top officials at the agencies responsible for the regulation of nanotechnology products, including the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, to discuss their plans for managing and monitoring these products.

January 8, 2009: Qualcomm MEMS Technologies Inc., and G-CORE Co. Ltd. announced at International CES in Las Vegas this month, that G-CORE will be the first GPS device maker to feature Qualcomm’s MEMS-based mirasol display in the G-CORE Mini Caddy, a GPS golf range finder. By incorporating mirasol displays, the G-CORE Mini Caddy will enable golfers to view the range finder in direct sunlight and for extended periods of time.

Paul Lindner, Executive Technology Officer, EV Group, St. Florian/Inn, Austria

The macroeconomic issues that plagued the second half of 2008 will continue to impact the semiconductor and MEMS markets in 2009, specifically in segments that are automotive and consumer-product driven. Despite the effects, companies in these markets remain committed to innovation, and in turn, are expected to continue to invest in new manufacturing technologies (e.g., 3D/TSVs and nanoimprint lithography) to bring to market novel devices. We expect to see manufacturers first apply 3D/TSV and nanoimprint lithography technologies to low hanging fruit — for example, devices that are driven by stringent form factor and performance requirements.

As the industry strives to keep pace with Moore’s Law for advanced nodes, scaling down toward the 32nm and 22nm geometries significantly impacts device yield and performance. To overcome these challenges, manufacturers will continue to look toward 3D/TSV and nanoimprint lithography techniques, specifically for the manufacture of devices designed to be failure intolerant. Examples include 3D memory, which we expect to see brought to market in 2009, and chipsets with increased functional density. These new technologies will also impact the manufacture of backside-illuminated CMOS image sensors, where meeting cost, performance and quality requirements are critical.

Paving the road to increase adoption are the signature early new technology adopters — IDMs and foundries — that are driven by mobile consumer product development. In 2009, we expect to see these adopters establishing and proving the processes, which in turn will catalyze industry-wide adoption of 3D/TSV and nanoimprint lithography through the year and into 2010.

Bob Tucker, VP/GM, Entrepix, Inc., Tempe, AZ USA

Looking ahead to 2009, we believe the semiconductor market will continue further down the newly split paths as announced in the 2007 ITRS Roadmap. That is, there are now two distinct groups of device manufacturers: 1) The leading edge (scaling) — “More Moore,” with a focus on 300mm and larger wafers, and 90nm and smaller technology nodes; and 2) functional diversification/mainstream — “More than Moore,” with a focus on 200mm and smaller wafers, and 90nm and larger technology nodes. This functional diversification includes technologies such as analog, power, MEMS, nanotechnology, and photovoltaic, and often incorporates combinational technologies.

Both of these groups will continue to require unique support from equipment and material suppliers to address their very different needs. The challenge to support these needs will result in further partnering between the OEMs (who will focus primarily on “More Moore” toolsets) and third party partners who have an intimate understanding of the tools and processes to provide service, upgrade packages, and process development on the OEMs’ behalf.

The other main area of growth is in semiconductor-related applications, such as MEMS, nanotechnology, photovoltaic, advanced packaging and TSV arenas. All of these sectors lend themselves very well to the type of outsourced process and service models that deliver proven process competencies allowing manufacturers to bring novel devices to market faster. Expanded demand for a traditional semiconductor manufacturing processes such as CMP and wafer surface conditioning is also coming from the areas of analog, power and mixed signal, which further creates new demand for outsourcing. We expect that the novel device rate of growth will be significantly higher than traditional CMOS, and this will create additional opportunity across the semiconductor manufacturing equipment industry, or at least with those companies with the flexibility to adapt to the demands of these different markets.

Krister Shalm, Rob Adamson and Aephraim Steinberg of U of T’s Department of Physics and Centre for Quantum Information and Quantum Control, publish their findings in the January 1 issue of Nature.

January 8, 2009: DALSA Semiconductor , a supplier of custom wafer foundry services, announced the launch of the first phase of a 200mm MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems) manufacturing line at its semiconductor wafer foundry in Bromont, Quebec, Canada. The announcement closely follows several new MEMS supply contracts the company has recently received for delivery of product in 2009 and for new product development.

It is a place where efforts are under way to invest millions in resources to capture a portion of the projected $1 trillion U.S. nanoelectronics industry, especially research emerging from the Midwest Institute for Nanoelectronics Discovery (MIND) at Notre Dame, the newest of four national research centers funded by the nation’s leading computer chip makers.

January 6, 2009: Strasbaugh, a manufacturer of surfacing technology for the semiconductor, silicon, data storage, MEMS, LED, telecommunications and optics industries, has begun trading common stock on the OTC Bulletin Board under the symbol “STRB.”

Universities and technical colleges around the world are where people go to obtain “higher learning.” They are also the lifeblood of the industrial world, where new ideas are tested, new partnerships built and, increasingly, products commercialized.

In 2009, the Small Times Annual University Rankings will be presented in a special report format, available for download from the Small Times Web site (www.smalltimes.com). As in past years, the rankings will be based on a survey designed to evaluate which institutions are the “best of the best” in micro- and nanotechnology. Our in-depth questionnaire gauges each university’s capabilities and strengths in four areas: research, education, facilities, and technology commercialization. The information being gathered includes annual budget for the past year (including tool and equipment expenditures); number of full-time staff; if the facilities are available to the industry (if yes, for research, product development, manufacturing, or all three); and how many companies use the shared facilities. We also ask how many patents have been awarded in nanotech and MEMS, how many IP licenses were executed, the total amount of grant expenditures, and number of academic papers published.

Importantly–and here’s where you come in–these rankings also will include a “peer review” category for the top worldwide universities for nanotechnology and MEMS/microtechnology research and commercialization. This “Academy Awards” type of approach reveals average assessment among academe and also enables us to discuss universities that did not respond–in detail or at all–to our call for entries.

Please take a few minutes to review the listing of universities on pg. 28 of this issue. We’ve included a hyperlink to each university’s nanotechnology research/program, where available. (A couple of caveats: Due to space constraints we’ve only listed US universities, and this is by no means a complete roster–our apologies to those we’ve missed. You can help ensure that we do have a complete list by participating in the following short survey.)

Please give us your opinion on the following four questions:

  1. Top universities for nanotechnology research worldwide, up to 10, with #1 as the best.
  2. Top universities for MEMS/microtechnology research worldwide, up to 10, with #1 as the best.
  3. Top universities for nanotechnology commercialization worldwide, up to 10, with #1 as the best.
  4. Top universities for MEMS/microtechnology commercialization worldwide, up to 10, with #1 as the best.

Go to our Web site to take the survey, or simply send your responses to [email protected].

The institutions that rank highest in each category will also be invited to participate in a special hour-long webcast, to be held toward the end of March, where they will highlight their university micro- and nanotechnology programs.

Thanks for your help!

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Peter Singer is editor-in-chief of
Small Times. He can be reached
at [email protected].

by Sergis Mushell and Steve Ohr, Gartner

Since the early 1980s, companies have been trying to replace quartz with silicon MEMS-based oscillators as the frequency reference in clock and timing oscillators. Developments in semiconductor process technology, packaging, and the integration of circuitry have enabled some progress for MEMS resonators. The resonators are effectively time-base generators, or references, similar in operating principle to the mechanical tuning fork used to tune musical instruments. A separate electronic oscillator provides impetus that forces the crystal to vibrate at a precise frequency. Those vibrations are captured and output by a gain buffer, and a phase-locked loop (PLL) captures and distributes the reference signal generated by the resonator-oscillator combination.


SiTime’s 8003 low-power programmable oscillator.
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One of the most highly touted features of MEMS resonators is the integration they promise for integrated circuit (IC) timing circuits. Fabricated in silicon with bulk etching processes, MEMS resonators can in principal be tied to oscillator circuits and PLLs on the same silicon substrate. This would allow the clock and timing generators–together with the resonator–to occupy a single low-profile semiconductor package. This package, moreover, would support high-volume assembly techniques. Even where MEMS resonators and oscillators are separate chips, they could occupy the same package–one that would be smaller and easier to handle than the metal cans that currently house crystal oscillators. Thus, silicon MEMS-oscillator combinations are promoted as replacements for crystal oscillators in computers, communications equipment and digital consumer devices (like set-top boxes).

The lure of integration

Revenue for IC timing devices, which provide clock and trigger signals for all sorts of electronic circuits, is expected to grow as clock frequencies increase and the sequencing of electronic events becomes ever more precise. The stability of these silicon timing circuits–which constitute an estimated $3 billion market–depends on outboard precision time-based generators, which today are largely quartz crystal.


Figure 1: Architecture of a typical clock generator. (VCO = voltage-controlled oscillator). Source: Gartner, Discera
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A number of startup companies have proposed replacing outboard crystals with silicon-based devices, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) resonators, which would enable coupling with IC timing circuits on a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) system-on-chip (SoC).

But despite significant venture funding, resonator manufacturers have not resolved key technical and manufacturing issues. Consequently, they will be slow to displace less-costly crystal-based timing sources in systems.

Barriers to adoption

The goal of single-chip integration (the “holy grail” for the semiconductor timing industry) would be to include the resonator, the oscillator, the PLL and a temperature compensation circuit (TCC) on a single silicon substrate. The current structure of silicon MEMS-based devices utilizes a stacked-die arrangement, housed in a multi-chip package.


Discera QFN package oscillator.
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Single-chip integrations–and market acceptance of MEMS resonators–is impeded by four issues:

  • Manufacturing cost. The formation of a mechanical armature requires time-consuming bulk etching. In addition, the performance of the MEMS resonator is impacted by the presence of moisture in the MEMS cavity. Thus, specialized packaging and encapsulation are required.
  • Temperature stability. Quartz technology has been around for decades, and offers temperature and long-term stability, as well as high-frequency products (which are offered at a premium). First-generation MEMS resonators do not have the same temperature stability as quartz and require TCCs. This is not likely to occur (enough to generate significant revenue) within the next four or five years. So MEMS resonators are currently useful for lower-frequency timing references (kHz rather than MHz).
  • Low phase noise. MEMS resonators suffer from phase noise, which limits their utility in digital-communications applications. Higher market penetration could occur if these issues were resolved.
  • Power consumption. The high power consumption and initial frequency stability are major challenges for silicon MEMS in handheld products.
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    MEMS solutions currently have an initial frequency accuracy that can vary by as much as 100 parts-per-million (ppm) from their intended center frequency. Some manufacturers are claiming accuracy to within 25ppm, though this would require a costly hand testing and sorting process. Unlike quartz crystals, which can be scored with a laser to precisely trim the resonant frequency, MEMS cannot be fine-tuned. It is possible to utilize a “fractional-N” frequency synthesizer in conjunction with PLL to extract more precise timing signals from the MEMS resonator-oscillator combination, but this will raise the cost of the timing solution, as well as promote a very large die size for the integrated solution. MEMS resonators also will require digital temperature compensation circuitry, which contributes to die size. In addition, the compensation circuits make their own contributions to higher-phase noise and jitter; this makes MEMS timing devices less attractive to the communications market.

    Investments in MEMS resonator technology

    Since early 2003 there have been a slew of startups targeting the replacement of quartz as the sole frequency reference source available to the electronics industry. The quartz crystal is one of the last electronic components that have yet to surrender to silicon integration. The resonating quartz crystal provides the pulses for every electronic circuit, and is inside every electronic device and piece of equipment.

    Quartz has been used as a timing source since the early 1940s. No other material or technology has been able to replace the quartz crystal because of its exceptional temperature stability and low phase noise. Though companies such as Maxim and Micro Oscillator have offered “quartz-less” timing sources in the past, these products did not make any major impact on the marketplace, because of system requirements for precision and issues over their stability.


    Conventional beveling process (left) vs. Epson Toyocom’s QMEMS process (right). Photo: 2.0mm x 1.6mm AT-cut quartz crystal fabricated by QMEMS.
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    Among the newer startups, there are four main approaches to replacing quartz crystals. Since there is no potential for integrating quartz with silicon and quartz large packaging, startups believe that silicon resonators can solve these problems. The four main approaches are:

  • Silicon MEMS, with devices offered by SiTime, Discera, and Silicon Clocks;
  • A hybrid QMEMS approach combining quartz with micro machine technology, offered by Epson;
  • A self-perpetuating Mobius Loop offered by Multigig; and
  • Silicon RC oscillators offered by Silicon Laboratories and Mobius Microsystems. [Changed to distinguish properly between Multigig, a supplier of clock generators using “Mobius Loop” technology, and Mobius Microsystems, a manufacturer of CMOS oscillators said to compete with crystal based oscillators in size and performance. — Ed.]

    Note that silicon-based MEMS (Si MEMS) are fabricated on silicon, while QMEMS are fabricated on quartz using a photolithography process. Regardless of their manufacturing technology, the value proposition offered by all these vendors is the same: integration with CMOS, ideally lower costs, and standardized IC packaging–which will enable not just the use of low-profile packaging, but also the use of standardized IC pick-and-place assembly equipment. Regardless of the technology approach, the underlying issues addressed are the same.

    The three startup companies using Si MEMS have all based their technology on research from universities and research labs. SiTime’s initial research and technology came from Bosch labs and Stanford University, and it has secured three rounds of funding ($12 million in December 2004, another $12M in March 2006, and $20M in May 2007). Discera’s research came from the University of Michigan; it raised $4M in July 2001, $12M in April 2004, and $18M in April 2007. Silicon Clocks’ research came from UC Berkeley; it secured initial $10M funding in 1Q05, and another $8M in 3Q07. Silicon Clocks also merged with SiSync, a clock synthesizer startup.

    Other technologies and vendors

    While MEMS technology is being targeted at the displacement of quartz, other companies including Silicon Labs, Mobius Microsystems, and Multigig, are proposing alternative timing circuits, such as free-running LC oscillators. Silicon area is a concern, though. We believe these will have limited success, at least in the near term. [Tone softened to reflect improvements vs. crystal-based forerunners, when packaging benefits are taken into consideration. — Ed.]

    As startup MEMS vendors continue to sample parts, there have been few reports of success in any major applications that would drive high-volume production of MEMS resonators. One manufacturer claims to be sampling parts to a cellular handset manufacturer. There have also been signs of particular interest in this area from timing-circuit vendors, such as IDT, which supply the clock generators and clock buffers for PC, server and consumer markets. By incorporating the technology into its silicon timing solutions, IDT could become a large consumer of MEMS resonators; conversely, it could manufacture its own circuits, in competition with the startups–or perhaps make an acquisition. Either scenario could result in more development and deployment of silicon MEMS technology.

    Assuming vendors can deliver on their promises, the market for MEMS resonators could grow to $100 million in 2012. Wide adoption could start in late 2009 or early 2010 if certain technical problems are resolved. Improving the accuracy and stability of MEMS resonators would increase the number of applications and markets that could successfully use them.

    Sergis Mushell is a principal analyst with Gartner’s Technology and Service Provider Research group, with primary focus on the semiconductor, storage, and industrial markets.
    Steve Ohr is research analyst for analog and power management ICs. He tracks the market forces propelling the growth of analog semiconductor use.

by Jérémie Bouchaud and Richard Dixon, iSuppli Corp.

For the first time in its history, the MEMS market will fail to generate any growth in 2008. Global MEMS revenues of close to $6.5 billion are expected in 2008, down 0.1% from 2007. The market will recover in 2009 and is expected to reach pre-2008 growth levels in 2010, when global revenue hits $7.3 billion.

Several factors explain this quick recovery. The reverse in MEMS’ fortunes was already underway before the current economic crisis. Markets for inkjet heads and digital light projector (DLP) chips, which accounted for more than 50% of MEMS revenues, had begun to stagnate in 2007 and continued their slide in 2008. Superimposed on this, 2008 was one of the worse on record for the automotive industry, a sector that currently contributes over 20% of MEMS sensor revenues. By comparison, medical and industrial applications generally have been diverse and relatively stable markets, but not the major driver for MEMS. In fact, 2008 could have been much worse for MEMS, but multiple applications of sensors in consumer electronics and mobile applications underpinned the flat market and will help it grow tremendously in the next 3-4 years.


Figure 1. Dramatic expansion in applications for MEMS in the consumer and mobile space market will drive the MEMS market in the future. (Source: iSuppli)
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Now, consumer and mobile applications represent the new growth furnace for MEMS. Finally delivering on long-promised potential, shipments of MEMS sensors such as accelerometers, gyroscopes and microphones will more than quadruple to top 4.6 billion in 2012–an impressive five-year growth rate of 37%. This deluge of sensors will be accompanied by commoditization and high price erosion, but nevertheless the market will attain a very robust 19% growth to reach $2.5 billion in 2012, up from $1 billion in 2008.

Applications for consumer and mobile MEMS

MEMS sensors and actuators are present in an incredible number of consumer devices around us. iSuppli has referenced over 300 examples of mobile handsets and consumer products that use MEMS–everything from sport watches to laptops to camcorders and remote controllers that manage TV content.

A list of major end applications for MEMS sensors comprises:

  • Cell phones and smart phones
  • Laptops and hard disk drives
  • Game controllers
  • Digital still cameras
  • Camcorders
  • MP3 players and portable media players
  • Personal navigation devices
  • Remote controllers
  • Rear-projection televisions
  • Mini standalone projectors
  • Sports equipment
  • White goods, e.g., washing machines
  • Others: Toys, headsets, USB sticks, weather stations, etc.

The relative magnitude of these various applications on sensors is shown in Figure 2. By 2012, mobile phones and smart phones will dominate the demand for sensors with 50% of the total market against just over a quarter of the market five years previously. Motion sensors in the form of accelerometers will by far be the main contributor to revenue–with close to $1 billion in sales–ahead of gyroscopes and microphones.


Figure 2: Consumer and mobile MEMS market by end products in revenue, 2006-2012. (Source: iSuppli)
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Age of the accelerometer

Accelerometers are interesting for a number of motion-related measurements in consumer or handheld products, because relatively small accelerations can be easily detected. The sensor element itself usually comprises a movable mass whose movement is recorded compared to a fixed element. The signal is extracted using one of several methods, turned into a voltage and processed. Today these devices are provided with the ability to measure three axes of acceleration. In portable appliances, accelerometers typically measure accelerations in a range from 1-2g for simple tilting to 8-10g for games.

Suppliers of inexpensive 3-axis accelerometers today include market leader STMicroelectronics, Analog Devices, Kionix, Bosch Sensortec, and Freescale, and Hokuriku, MEMSIC, Hitachi Metals, etc. in Asia. VTI is expected to join the consumer accelerometer market shortly.

For several years now, accelerometers have made steady inroads in diverse applications such as pedometers, robotic toys, and projectors to protecting a HDD from a drop in a laptop or MP3 player. Accelerometers gained prominence recently as a motion sensor for Nintendo’s Wii game controller.

However, the latter half of 2008 saw seen an explosion of interest in accelerometers for both feature phones and smart phones including Apple’s iPhone 3G, the HTC Google G1 and Samsung’s Omnia. In 2008, we project penetrations of 10% of the 1.29 billion phones sold, compared to 3% the year before. And as the ASP falls quickly toward $0.50 for 3-axis accelerometers, these devices will become standard in many phones over the next five years.

Cell phone motion sensors are not a new phenomenon, though. So what is different? The mobile phone is turning into a hotbed for MEMS sensors, and the market finally seems to have moved away from years of technology push. As a result, high penetration rates allow economies for large-scale deployment. MEMS accelerometers in consumer electronics are in a “virtuous circle” today with lower prices stimulating the market and vice-versa.

Why image rotation was so important

What triggered this phenomenon? Apple’s first version of its iPhone featured some novel implementations of a large touch-screen and used a sensor to detect the device orientation to maximize its use. Specifically, this means rotating the large screen onto its longer axis for viewing script in a larger format, highly useful for reading Internet web pages, for example.

This use of a sensor to enhance content proved so compelling for users that other mobile phone manufacturers quickly followed suit. Nokia, Samsung, LG, Sony Ericsson, HTC, et al. now feature sensor-driven portrait-landscape orientation in their phones, demonstrating a (unashamedly) “me-too” attitude that ignites the market.

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Figure 3: Image rotation from Vodaphone in 2004 (top) and 3 years later in the Apple iPhone (bottom).
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Like most new trends, this is actually not new. Image rotation was offered by Vodaphone in 2004, but the phone had a small, almost square screen that did not impress per se. Today’s sensor implementation successfully marries the sensor application with the content, and the technology push model of the last 3-4 years gave way to market pull.

Importantly, Apple’s success has refocused interest on using motion sensors for other features such as simple position determination involving vertical or flat detection for power saving modes, shake mode for menu or MP3 track search, tap mode for muting, and so on. One of the most important applications for cell phones is for power-saving functionality.


Figure 4: Guitar Hero (top) and Lips (bottom) for Xbox 360.
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Another knock-on effect is the resurgence of accelerometers in MP3 players, now present the fourth-generation iPod Nano and Touch models. Accelerometers were previously used to protect the hard disc drives of high-capacity-storage MP3 players, until flash memory all but squeezed this format out of the market. Accelerometers now enjoy use in the interface as well as stimulate renewed interest for suppliers of games that benefit from motion sensors.

Play your heart out with MEMS

Gaming is another hotbed for sensors. The Nintendo Wii platform is to gaming what the iPhone is to the mobile phone world. MEMS motion sensors have been successfully deployed as a central part of a game and also its marketing strategy, and Nintendo has been successful in accessing a new demographic beyond its hard-core fan-base.


Figure 5: Nintendo’s Wii plus includes a plug-in gyroscope module to improve motion input.
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Recent TV commercials advertising Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming accessories such as Guitar Hero and the Lips microphones attest to the increasing interest in for example accelerometers to improve games. MEMS accelerometers are now central to many of these products, and amount to an interesting change of strategy at Microsoft, which eschewed accelerometers in its earlier games. The company now appears to have changed tactics since rival company Nintendo so successfully plumbed the untapped market for so-called “casual gamers” with its Wii.

Gyroscopes improve gaming experience

iSuppli believes the future of motion-based game controllers is not with single accelerometers, but combinations of accelerometers and gyroscopes. Together, these sensors will provide a much fuller representation of the movements of the players–as when flipping the wrist, for example.

Cost is the constraint. Today, discrete accelerometers and gyroscopes are purchased from companies including STMicroelectronics and Analog Devices and Murata, Epson Toyocom and InvenSense, respectively for the Wii and Sony’s Playstation 3.


Figure 6: Microphone on RIM Blackberry phone.
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Clearly, an IMU chip solution combining the gyroscope and accelerometer in a package in a single next-generation remote console would offer a lower-cost solution, and several companies possessing both technologies are chasing this goal.

Removing blur from your snaps

Digital still cameras have increased their pixel count significantly in recent years, partly driving the replacement market. Cameras costing as little as $200 now have more than 5 million pixels resolution, and large optical zooms to boot. But higher resolution has a downside. A larger number of pixel counts increases the potential for image blurring in low light conditions, where fast movement occurs or any situation dictating slow shutter speeds–in these new cameras, more pixels are available to detect any shake if it is present.

To remove this error at its source, MEMS gyroscopes sense the shake and stabilize the image by applying an equal and opposite correction to the lens motors. This represents the best solution to mitigate the effects of shake on images, and requires gyroscope measurements in two axes. This is performed using either two single-axis MEMS gyroscopes (usually piezoceramic or quartz type from Asian suppliers like Murata or Epson Toyocom), or with a single 2-axis silicon gyroscope (available today only from InvenSense).

Image stabilization has proved a popular differentiator for manufacturers in the past 1-2 years. More than 70 million units shipped in 2008, models from the likes of Sony, Canon, Panasonic, and others. A few million accelerometers also shipped for image stabilization, mostly for low-cost applications in camera phones. This is a compromise; for example, it is sometimes used to allow a photograph to be taken only when the camera is still.

Microphones

MEMS microphones are also emerging fast in cell phones and laptops for VoIP. This device performs better and is easier to implement than current ECM microphones–e.g., offering higher reflow temperatures and pick-and-place processes for high-throughput manufacturing.

As a result, the number of MEMS microphones on the market will grow rapidly to reach 1.3 billion units in 2012, up from 320 million units in 2008. The vast majority of these devices will find their way into cell phones and smart phones, but also laptops with VoIP, camcorders, headsets, toys, and any other device requiring an audio input.

Shipments could be much higher–but the market is being held back by the lack of a reliable second source. The main supplier to this market is Knowles Acoustics, with over 90% share. Cell phone OEMs are understandably wary of placing responsibility for production in the hands of just one main supplier.

On the other hand, the expected price dumping war has not taken place. The price of MEMS microphones–about 30%-50% higher than the average ECM today–is outweighed by gains in performance, size, and pick-and-place manufacturing and use of solder reflow processes. Using several MEMS microphones also enables beam forming and noise reduction.

After Knowles, Akustica and Sonion are names to watch, and 2008 saw two new suppliers enter: Analog Devices and Wolfson Microelectronics, both of which supply audio codecs to an existing customer base. As these companies flourish, prices will start to fall and OEMs will lose any hesitation over relying on a single source. iSuppli expects this factor will accelerate the penetration of MEMS microphones in the 2009-2012 timeframe.

Conclusion

These examples illustrate that the MEMS market is in more than just a healthy state, with at least five years of very robust growth ahead. Despite changes in fortunes for suppliers, products and economic woes, the diversity of the MEMS field allows it to continually reinvent itself and grow to new levels.

Jérémie Bouchaud is responsible for the MEMS service area for iSuppli. He founded and led MEMS research for Wicht Technologie Consulting, acquired by iSuppli in April 2008. Prior to WTC he oversaw technology transfer for sensors and MEMS at the German office of CEA-LETI. Email: [email protected].
Richard Dixon is senior analyst for MEMS at iSuppli, and was a senior MEMS analyst at WTC, where he led commercialization and road-mapping activities on European Commission-funded technology projects, including detailed MEMS chip cost analysis studies. Email: [email protected].