Category Archives: MEMS

July 2, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Tessera Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:TSRA) has received notice from Powertech Technology Inc. (PTI) that it will terminate its license agreement with the semiconductor packaging and optics technology company. Tessera also completed phase 1 of its acquisition of camera module technologies from Flextronics.

Tessera Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tessera Technologies Inc., received a letter from Powertech Technology Inc. (PTI) that purports to terminate its license agreement with Tessera Inc. PTI stated that on July 30, 2012, it will make a payment to Tessera Inc. in protest under the license agreement for the quarter ended June 30, 2012.

PTI filed a complaint against Tessera, Inc. in December of 2011, seeking a declaratory judgment that PTI had the right to terminate its license agreement due to a breach of contract by Tessera, Inc.

June 28, 2012 — An annual guide for navigating the micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) events at SEMICON West, July 10-12 at Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.

To get a sense of the scope of MEMS developments and trends, read Paula Doe’s preview articles, MEMS manufacturing changes with HV consumer apps and Maturing MEMS sector looks at ways to work together

TUESDAY, July 10, 10:30am-3:30pm

Taking MEMS to the Next Level: Transitioning to a Profitable High-Volume Business

Presented in cooperation with MEMS Industry Group (MIG)

We’ve expanded the MEMS program to all day this year, and invited speakers from around the world to address practical potential solutions to the major manufacturing issues for growing the sector to the next level. Yole Développement’s J.C. Eloy will give his views on the future of the industry and what it will take to get there. Harmeet Bhugra will talk about IC maker IDT’s entry into the MEMS timing business. Doug Sparks from the new Chinese MEMS IDM Hanking Electronics talks about the opportunities in the China market. Foundry executives Donald Robert from Teledyne Dalsa and Peter Hrudey from Micralyne examine possible collaborative solutions to speed time-to-market. Hillcrest Labs CTO Charles Gritton talks about issues of software integration and sensor fusion.

On the manufacturing technology side, Coventor’s Matt Kamon tells us what’s coming next in MEMS design automation software, Applied Materials’ Mike Rosa talks about next-generation DRIE and other new processes being developed specifically for MEMS production, ‘and Nikon’s Jumpei Fukui discusses the advantages of mini-steppers. In addition, Finnish startup ScanNano’s CEO Andrei Pavlov presents his work making low-cost cavities without etching and NIST’s Janet Cassard introduces standard reference materials and best practices for consistent characterization and troubleshooting of processes for calibrating instruments and communicating between customers and suppliers.

Location: Extreme Electronics TechXPOT at Moscone Center (South Hall). The stage is in the same place as last year, in the far back right-hand corner of the Moscone South exhibit hall.

 

WEDNESDAY July 11, 5:00-7:00pm

MIG Happy Hour

Save the date and time. MIG will host its annual Happy Hour at SEMICON West. Invitations will be sent soon.

THURSDAY, July 12, 10:30am-12:30pm

MEMS and Sensor Packaging

The SEMI Packaging Committee presents a program focusing on MEMS packaging technology issues, featuring Analog Devices’ Asif Chowdhury on issues of packaging MEMS for industrial applications, and Yole Développement’s Jerome Baron on the roadmap for MEMS packaging going forward. Florian Solzbacher from the University of Utah’s Utah Nanofabrication Laboratory presents on biomedical packaging issues, while Marc Bachman from the University of California talks about the future of MEMS manufacturing.

Location: TechXPOT North, Moscone Center (North Hall)

THURSDAY, July 12, 11:45-1:00pm

Flexible Batteries and Flexible Mounting of Thinned Silicon Die on Textiles, Skin Patches and Implants

MEMS folks interested in integrating sensors into innovative wearable, flexible, implantable applications may want to check out presentations in the Plastic Electronics program on patterning flexible batteries on unconventional substrates and embedding thinned conventional silicon die into flexible polymer packaging, from companies who don’t typically show up at MEMS events. Imprint Energy talks about its low-cost, high-energy density Zn polymer battery technology suitable for wireless and wearable sensors, Applied Materials presents its lower cost technology for making thin film batteries, and MC10 describes its conformal electronics packaging targeted at wearable and implantable sensors.

Location: Extreme Electronics TechXPOT, Moscone Center (South Hall)

For more information on SEMICON West 2012, please visit www.semiconwest.org. To register, click Register now.

June 27, 2012 — MEMSCAP (NYSE Euronext:MEMS), provider of micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) based technology, sold its 11.6% stake in INTUISKIN/ICOSMECEUTICALS.

The INTUISKIN/ICOSMECEUTICALS stake sold for net disposal proceeds of EUR 2.9 million in cash. The consolidated financial gain from this sale amounts to EUR 1.3 million.

Also read: MEMSCAP ships 1M MEMS-based thermally actuated VOA

This asset was not related to MEMSCAP’s core businesses. The MEMSCAP Group retains the ownership of the IOMA brand and certain related trademarks, which will yield royalty payments via an exclusive license agreement with INTUISKIN/ICOSMECEUTICALS. This license agreement includes a buy-out option on those assets, which can be executed by INTUISKIN/ICOSMECEUTICALS at any time, by the payment to MEMSCAP of EUR 3.5 million in cash.

MEMSCAP provides innovative micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS)-based solutions. MEMSCAP standard and custom products and solutions include components, component designs (IP), manufacturing and related services. The company’s shares are traded on the Eurolist of NYSE Euronext Paris S.A (ISIN: FR0010298620-MEMS) and belong to the CAC small, CAC Mid & Small, CAC All-Tradable and CAC All-Share indexes. More information on the company’s products and services can be obtained at www.memscap.com.

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The high-volume consumer applications driving the fast growth of the micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) market are putting new demands on MEMS development and manufacturing. Goals? Get products to market faster, make them easier to integrate into systems, reduce die size; and better control processes to bring down costs. That’s attracted investment from the supply chain in a range of new solutions, from innovative new process technologies and tools developed specifically for MEMS sector needs, to more efficient integrated design software.

June 27, 2012 — The MEMS sector is poised for a multiyear period of steady double digit growth, with 20% average annual increases in unit demand, as systems makers find ever more uses for low cost, easy-to-integrate silicon sensors and actuators, reports Jean Christophe Eloy, founder and CEO of Yole Développement, driving the MEMS market to double, to reach $21 billion by 2017. Volume consumer markets are driving much of this growth, as consumer applications accounted for more than 50% of total MEMS industry revenue in 2011. And that’s turning the once artisanal niche into a high volume production business, and bringing rapid technology change, with a push for speeding time to market, sharply scaling down die size, increasing integration of multiple sensors into combination units, and bringing more packaging value to the wafer level. “2011 has been the year of the transition of the MEMS market into big business with wide diffusion,” says Eloy. “But the ability of MEMS manufacturers to continue to scale size and cost, and to simplify development and system integration will directly impact the growth of MEMS business.”

Figure. Common model of an accelerometer being used as a block in the control system design stage. A common model reduces design iterations by allowing teams to easily move between design stages to identify failures and optimize the system. SOURCE: Coventor.

 

Meeting time-to-market needs with more efficient design tools
While decreasing time to market and cost reduction have always been key drivers, the short product cycle times associated with mobile consumer devices have forever changed the industry. “Development time is now measured in months, not years,” notes Mattan Kamon, Coventor’s Principal Technologist. “However, design is still mostly done using traditional research approaches, where different models are used at different stages of the design, costing valuable time.” Coventor’s approach accelerates MEMS product development by using a common model for all stages of design. An engineering team can use a single model to develop and optimize the MEMS device concept, tune and validate the design using 3D simulations, perform system simulation together with the ASIC, investigate packaging effects, and optimize yield. All of these steps can be performed using a single model, enabling MEMS teams to easily move back and forth between the design stages, identify failure mechanisms, and optimize the system.

Kamon argues this methodology has the accuracy to address integration effects and can optimize the nominal behavior and the range of behavior across a wafer due to fabrication variations. Coventor’s approach couples a library of high-order finite element models specialized for MEMS with judicious use of low-order finite element simulations, and uses the same simulators, namely MATLAB, Simulink, and Cadence Virtuoso, that are most widely used for analog/mixed-signal design. This holds potential for a MEMS verification flow that closely parallels the verification flow for analog/mixed signal design, and paves the way for a fabless MEMS industry complete with MEMS design kits (MDKs).

New processes to make low-cost cavities without etching

Finnish startup Scannano proposes that MEMS die size and cost could be significantly reduced, and performance improved, by creating sealed cavities in devices by using a controlled diffusion process, instead of by the traditional method of etching sacrificial layers and bonding on a cap wafer.

Following on from research with Nokia’s Research Center and Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory, company founders Andrei Pavlov and Yelena Pavlova came up with the idea of shrinking away buried layers in a device by through diffusion to create a vacuum gap, allowing the use of standard CMOS materials and equipment. The process deposits a proprietary multi-layer diffusion material, builds the MEMS structure over it, and then submits it to a series of processing steps to shrink the diffusion material. This creates a very accurate sealed vacuum cavity of the desired dimensions and configuration. “The gaps can be from a few nanometers to up to a micron deep, and can be vertical or at an angle, or multiple gaps could surround a structure, opening up the possibility of new types of MEMS designs,” says Pavlov. He also claims that shrinking features to 50-100nm can also reduce operating voltage to only a few volts and reduce heat, while the very smooth surfaces help to improve sensitivity, signal-to-noise ratio and performance.

The first application for Scannano’s Deep Vacuum Gap Technology is a tunable capacitor and switch for multiband tunability for mobile phones, under development with STMicroelectronics and tentatively targeted for initial trial production on a CMOS line by the end of the year. The new device adjusts operating frequencies by changing capacitance through moving membrane-like MEMS structures, created by adjusting gap dimensions above and below the membrane. Pavlov says work with ST has been progressing for about a year, and is now moving towards final device design and testing. Scannano is also working with other European CMOS device manufacturers to develop sensors for the automotive market, monolithically integrated with the ASIC in their CMOS fabs.

Figure. MEMS structures with aspect ratios of >100:1. SOURCE: Applied Materials.

Volume markets attract investment in dedicated MEMS processes and tools

Fast growing MEMS volumes have also attracted the attention of more semiconductor players, including equipment giant Applied Materials. Applied has invested aggressively in development of new film and process technologies to support current and future generations of MEMS production at ≤200mm wafer sizes, focusing on shrinking die size, improving throughput, and integrating MEMS processes into CMOS fabs, says Mike Rosa, MEMS product line manager. This includes DRIE technology critical for both increased productivity and process flexibility as next generation MEMS devices enter the sub-micron range of critical dimensions, with aspect ratios of >100:1 (see the figure above).

Applied Materials is also working on modifying its PVD and CVD equipment to make a variety of enabling films of new materials for MEMS, including thick (>20µm), low temperature CVD films (SiO2, SiGe, etc.); and PVD films such as magnetically aligned NiFe, high uniformity AlN and thick Al.

Tool vendors will need to be increasingly attuned to the MEMS device capability and technology requirements of their customers’ customers, the fabless device designers and systems companies, notes Rosa. “In the MEMS industry there is no traditional roadmap, like the ITRS, to define the future,” he says. “It will take a much more collaborative effort by all parties — tool vendors, device manufacturers, and end-market product developers — to define and deliver the next generation MEMS designs that are destined for the newest ‘next big thing’ products.”

Also focusing on enabling tools for next generation MEMS is Nikon, with a new stepper with a large depth of focus specifically for the 200mm MEMS market. Though MEMS makers have traditionally used lower cost aligners to make their relatively large patterns, now finer features and tighter design rules may increasingly require the higher resolution and better alignment accuracy of steppers. But IC steppers are typically expensive and not well suited to the extreme topographies of MEMS. This Mini Stepper has ≤0.35µm overlay accuracy and resolution to 2µm, and depth of focus capabilities up to 26 µm for the thick resists and deformed substrates typical of MEMS, reports Junpei Fukui, Nikon Engineering assistant manager. It also offer flexible alignment to compensate for MEMS’ process-induced distortions, as well as alignment by pattern matching and backside marks.

These and other speakers including IDT, Hanking Electronics, Teledyne DALSA, Micralyne and NIST discuss solutions for growing the MEMS sector to the next level at SEMICON West, July 10 -12 in San Francisco. See http://semiconwest.org/Segments/MEMS for the complete agenda, and http://semiconwest.org/Participate/RegisterNow to register.

Read on for a SEMICON West preview from Doe on collaboration in the MEMS ecosystem.

June 27, 2012 — Canon Inc. launched the FPA-3030i5+ i-line stepper for manufacturing micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and energy-efficient “green” devices such as power semiconductors in solar and wind applications and light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

Several upgrades were incorporated to the FPA-3000 series to meet the “unique process requirements” in these markets. The FPA-30303i5+ provides imaging resolution below 350nm while maintaining overlay accuracy of <40nm and throughput in excess of 104 wafers per hour (WPH).

The FPA-3030i5+ features an updated software structure and electrical control system that allow the application of advanced hardware and software options to support next-generation semiconductor manufacturing.

The FPA-3030 platform allows processing of silicon (Si), sapphire (Al2O3), silicon carbide (SiC) and a wide variety of wafer materials used in “green” device manufacturing. FPA-3030i5+ options include warped-wafer handling systems to allow processing of distorted substrates. The FPA-3030i5+ stepper can also be configured to process multiple wafer sizes, and hosts various options to improve productivity and efficiency.

Canon Inc. (NYSE:CAJ) provides digital imaging solutions. Internet: http://www.canon.com/.

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June 26, 2012 — Vacuum product and abatement system maker Edwards (NASDAQ:EVAC) introduced the iXH645H dry pump, optimized for metal-organic chemical vapor deposition, a key step in light-emitting diode (LED) and compound semiconductor (III-V materials) manufacturing.

The iXH645H delivers very high gas flow capability and can operate continuously at the high loads required for the latest-generation LED manufacturing tools. LED and compound semiconductor manufacturing processes typically use high flows of light hydrogen and highly corrosive ammonia gasses. The iXH645H reportedly offers superior hydrogen pumping performance and a corrosion-resistant design, including a patented nitrogen purge barrier to protect the pump seals. Its high-temperature capabilities help prevent condensation of any phosphorous compounds present.

Maintenance requirements are minimized to increase uptime. Advanced oil lubrication and seal technology eliminate periodic maintenance requirements, while its thermal and motor design prevent overheating, motor overloads or zones of limited operation. The pump’s optimized temperature control system ensures the pump is ready for process within approximately 30 minutes of start-up.

Also read: Growing market for LEDs fuels need for advanced abatement systems

Visit Edwards at North Hall, Booth 5351 during InterSolar and SEMICON West, taking place July 10-12 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. More SEMICON West products here.

Edwards is a leading manufacturer of sophisticated vacuum products and abatement systems and a leading provider of related value-added services for the manufacture of semiconductors, flat panel displays, LEDs and solar cells, as well as other industries. Edwards’ American Depositary Shares trade on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol EVAC. Further information about Edwards can be found at www.edwardsvacuum.com.

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June 26, 2012 — JP Sercel Associates Inc. released the IX-6168-PS picosecond-laser-based micromachining platform, using lasers with 5-500 picosecond pulse lengths.

The lasers machine glass, ceramics, metals and alloys, and other hard-to-process materials. With ultrafast laser processing, the pulse duration is shorter than the thermal diffusion timescale of the material, resulting in a direct solid to vapor transition that greatly reduces debris formation, and minimizes thermal impact on the surrounding area.

The JPSA picosecond laser platform is designed to accept multiple types of ultrafast lasers. Laser choices include infrared (IR), green or UV wavelengths, and a range of power and pulse rate options. The laser is accommodated in a slide-out service trolley within the workstation, and is fully integrated with the system control software. 

JPSA provides a dual-beam delivery configuration; a fixed-beam configuration can be used to produce a finely focused beam, with a precision air-bearing stage for precise feature positioning; for high-speed processing of complex shapes, a high-accuracy galvanometer configuration incorporates a step-and-scan function. The IX-6168-PS is delivered with both fixed beam and galvanometer scanning capability, and can be easily reconfigured on-site to suit individual needs.

The IX-6168-PS can be supplied as a manual-load system, or combined with JPSA’s Integrated Automation Platform for fully automated operation in semiconductor wafer applications. Configuration options include laser wavelength, power and repetition rate, and a choice of galvanometer scanner and lens systems to optimize large deflection field applications.

JPSA products and services include UV excimer, DPSS and ultra-fast laser micromachining systems, UV and VUV laser beam delivery systems, laser materials processing development, optical damage testing, and excimer laser refurbishment services. JPSA operates a high-performance laser job shop as well as a systems engineering and manufacturing business. For more information, visit http://www.jpsalaser.com.

MEMS in the mainstream — Music to my ears

June 25, 2012 — For the second year in a row, MEMS Industry Group was host to the Sensors Expo Pre-Conference Symposium, and this year’s theme was “MEMS in the Mainstream: Commercialization and Product Realization — Leveraging the MEMS Infrastructure.” I felt like a bandmaster — not trying to make the music, just trying to get the band with all its different instruments, rhythms, and tones to harmonize. 

It’s not a simple piece to orchestrate, because when you talk about commercialization and product realization and leveraging the micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) infrastructure, you are talking about lots of different perspectives from equipment vendors to materials suppliers, from foundries to device manufacturers (some captive-fab, some fab-lite, some fabless), as well as from end-users and OEMs. Each of these “bands” has its own instrument, its own sheet music, its own style and its own “special sauce.” You can see where I am going with this analogy. Like in music, MEMS can either work like a 10-piece orchestra in total sync and harmony, or it can sound like something the cat dragged in!

Thankfully, at our Sensors Expo pre-conference, we sounded a lot more like the 10-piece orchestra. We focused on utilizing the MEMS infrastructure to produce harmonious communication with our customer and our customer’s customers, in order to get the product out in time, at cost, and in the right form factor.

Each of our presenters and panelists shared their own perspectives.  They didn’t always agree (oftentimes they didn’t) and that’s OKAY — because MEMS by its nature is not one-size-fits-all.  Approaching the topic of MEMS foundry models from differing angles, John Chong of Kionix and Rob O’Reilly of Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) both gave fantastic overviews of MEMS foundry models, digging into which approaches work for them and why.

IMT’s Craig Trautman and Silex’s Peter Himes carried the foundry discussion a little further. As foundry companies, they were able to rise above the idea that everyone should go fabless, in support of the diversity and maturity of the MEMS industry. I think Craig summed it up well when he said: “There’s no free lunch. There are pros and cons for various models of MEMS fabrication: fabless vs. captive). As a foundry, we have five customers ‘living’ at IMT. We give them free office space because a lot of the things that we do are really hard. The customer needs to collaborate to make it all work.”

I loved hearing from the end-users, and those working closest to the end-users as these are the people who are truly driving the market for MEMS (and our future). As eloquently stated by Jim Clardy of Dell, “I want to avoid end-user scenarios where people have to wave a tablet around to get magnetometer calibrated. Sensors are collecting ambient data. What are the privacy and security concerns? Data must be shared with the cloud. Someone must track the user, his/her location, etc. Whoever controls those ecosystems is going to know A LOT about the end-user. This could be an adoption barrier.”

We in the MEMS industry really need to listen to folks like Jim! We need to be thinking about the sensor fusion of all of these sensors; the security of that data; and the human who is interfacing with the device. We need to remember that MEMS is just an instrument. Sitting by itself untouched, it is nothing.  But when it’s played by the right artist, placed in the right band, it can harmonize and make beautiful music. And yes, that is music to my ears.

Contact Karen Lightman, managing director of MEMS Industry Group at [email protected], 412-390-1644. Read her other blogs:

June 22, 2012 — Motion processing technology company Movea is collaborating with Freescale Semiconductor, provider of embedded processing solutions. Freescale will integrate Movea’s MotionCore motion processing software modules with its ColdFire-based processors, creating an intelligent motion-sensing platform. MotionCore software modules are optimized for mobile, motion-based applications, helping reduce power consumption at an economical price point.

Photo. In the demonstration, the chip is plugged into a larger applications board for testing and programming. The smaller chip on the right is a magnetometer.

Demonstrated at the Freescale Technology Forum (FTF) Americas, this week in San Antonio, TX, the combination targets mobile applications. At FTF, the companies integrated Movea’s MotionCore Foundation package, including calibration and orientation modules, with a Freescale ColdFire-based processing platform. The system used onboard micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) sensors to drive mobile applications such as gesture recognition, pedometer functionality, tilt-compensated eCompass, and continuous auto calibration. The combined system is part of Freescale’s Xtrinsic family of intelligent sensor platforms.

Movea’s MotionCore data-fusion software is platform agnostic, with customers from sensor, processor and mobile platform vendors targeting smartphone and tablet designs. Consumers are rapidly adopting motion-sensing-enabled devices for a more adaptive and aware user interface and enhanced services, said Bryan Hoadley, EVP of marketing and sales and president of Movea Inc.

Also read: You make MEMS. Should you make sensor fusion software?

The Xtrinsic family of intelligent sensors with embedded compute capability offers a sophisticated motion processing solution, said Wayne Chavez, consumer & industrial sensor operations manager of Freescale’s Sensor & Actuator Solutions Division. The SmartMotion IP from Movea enables Freescale’s Xtrinsic hardware.

Movea and Freescale will co-promote their combined solution to handset manufacturers, mobile operators and device manufacturers for applications including:  indoor/pedestrian navigation, activity monitoring, motion gaming, augmented reality and gesture-based device/application control. MotionCore IP cores are available for licensing from Movea.

Movea provides motion sensing and data fusion software, firmware, and IP for the consumer electronics, mobile and tablets, sports and fitness and eHealth industries. For more information, visit www.movea.com

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June 21, 2012 — Wafer processing equipment supplier SPTS Technologies joined the MEMS Consortium, led by the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a member of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) in Singapore.

Micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) are used in next-generation motion sensors, microphones, oscillators, and other devices. IME established the consortium to spearhead research and development of these cutting-edge MEMS technologies with the support and participation of key manufacturing suppliers. The three focused product areas for the consortium’s work are oscillators for mobile phone timing circuits, magnetometers for compassing functions in mobile phones and energy harvesters; and devices that capture energy such as wearable components to convert self-generated kinetic energy into a power resource.

“Our goal is…to boost MEMS manufacturing within Singapore and in the region,” said Professor Dim-Lee Kwong, Executive Director of IME. “The MEMS consortium provides a platform for researchers and key players spanning the value chain to form a strategic alliance, share knowledge, and develop innovations to tap into new opportunities in the global MEMS market.” IME announced Phase II of the MEMS Consortium this month.

IME is one of Asia’s leading organizations focusing on microelectronics research and development.

SPTS Technologies (a Bridgepoint portfolio company) designs, manufactures, sells, and supports etch, PVD, CVD and thermal wafer processing solutions for the MEMS, advanced packaging, LEDs, high speed RF on GaAs, and power management device markets. With manufacturing facilities in Newport, Wales, Allentown, Pennsylvania, and San Jose, California, the company operates across 19 countries in Europe, North America and Asia-Pacific. For more information about SPTS Technologies, please visit www.spts.com

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