Category Archives: MEMS

MEMS isn’t NEW


May 30, 2012

Karen Lightman, MEMS Industry Group (MIG), lets us in on the real meaning of MEMS new product development. MEMS are micro electro mechanical systems.

May 30, 2012 — What do you think of when I say the words “MEMS new product development?” Do you envision new categories of newly discovered MEMS hatching somewhere in a university lab? If your answer is “yes,” perhaps you should rethink that — because MEMS isn’t new.  If we are to grow this $9 billion/year industry to a hundred-billion or even trillion dollar industry as some predict, we need to think of new MEMS in terms of how the “regular, everyday” MEMS we have right now are used in development of new end products.  Whether these new MEMS-enabled products come from a combination of market pull and/or technology push, there are challenges and hurdles that the industry must come together to address, now!

That is why we focused the MEMS Industry Group (MIG) Member-to-Member (M2M) Forum® on MEMS “New Product Development” earlier in May — because it is so time-critical for the MEMS industry to come together and address these barriers and challenges to commercialization that are hindering growth. Barriers that I like to call the “stickiness of MEMS,” which include the “S” word of MEMS — “Standards” for things such as testing, packaging…not the sexy, shiny, bright things that are hatched in the lab and then probably never make it to the market.

I invited Len Sheynblat of Qualcomm CDMA Technologies (QCT) to give the keynote, “Sensor Systems Integration Challenges,” which spelled out in very specific terms what the MEMS industry needs to do, specifically, Sensor API Standardization. He shared QCT’s commonly requested sensor vendors: 18+! With 26+ sensor product lines! And on top of this, there are numerous handset and tablet OEMS with different ecosystems: Android, Windows, RIM (which used to be Palm), etc.  They all want to be loved, and this makes developing with MEMS just a smidge complex.

Sounds a bit nightmarish, don’t you think? I sure do, and MIG will be working with our members and strategic partners, including the MIPI Alliance, to address these challenges and issues of the stickiness of MEMS. I urge you to contact me and become active and involved in our M2M Action Item Task Forces.

That’s also why the MIG Technology Advisory Committee (MIG TAC) chose Mary Ann Maher, CEO of SoftMEMS, as the winner of our first-ever white paper competition, because she discussed the important issue of co-design and yes, standards. And because Mary Ann was the evening speaker, she also made the presentation into a drinking game. (Every time she said “co-design,” you were to take a sip; I gave up after the 15th time.)

And as we have every year, since MIG began with DARPA funding, we also had working groups to dive deeper into the conference topic. Our working group leaders (Jim Knutti of Acuity, Mike Mignardi of TI, Jason Tauscher of MicroVision and Valerie Marty of HP) did a fantastic job of moderating the rich discussions we had in the working group breakout groups on “Market Pull vs. Technology Push” and “MEMS Technology Development.” I encourage you to check out the MIG resource library to see the body of knowledge and case studies we’ve gathered; and MIG action item task forces will be forming soon to carry out several of the recommendations.

M2M Forum also featured a panel of speakers expressing diverse opinions and perspectives on new product commercialization — from those involved heavily and not so heavily with MEMS. The panel included: Anne Schneiderman of Harris Beach, an expert in IP law; Stefan Finkbeiner, a MEMS device manufacturing veteran with Bosch/Akustica; Matt Apanius with SMART Commercialization Center for Microsystems, who is well versed in tech transfer from lab to fab; and Ivo Stivoric with BodyMedia, someone who embodies a MEMS supplier’s dream of an end-user company.

My favorite part of the panel was when Ivo described the challenges in understanding/analyzing the “white space in the market.” He warned that as a consumer of MEMS, he oftentimes doesn’t need a new device; he just needs a tweak or two and then wants the device manufacturer to “just go away” so he can go back to his customers. Amen, brother. I want that for you, too. Because the truth is that MEMS isn’t new, and so we need to find the solutions to these challenges to commercialization, and then move on to conquer the other white space in the market.

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

May 29, 2012 – PRWEB — CrossFiber Inc.’s Quality Management System has been certified to ISO 9001:2008 standards by registrar PJR Inc. CrossFiber provides all-optical photonic switching solutions for data centers and fiber optic telco networks.

CrossFiber’s LiteSwitch photonic switches combine 3D micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) micro-mirrors on silicon, non-invasive beam steering (NIBS), and custom ASICs.

The company was certified to ISO 9001:2008 quality standards in its first attempt. It is important to have strong quality management in place as CrossFiber rapidly ramps production of LiteSwitch products for data center and telco customers, said Hus Tigli, president and CEO of CrossFiber.

ISO 9001:2008 standards provide assurance about a company’s ability to satisfy quality requirements and to maintain and enhance customer satisfaction. These standards are maintained by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and administered by accreditation and certification bodies.

CrossFiber develops and manufactures breakthrough photonic switches. More information can be found at www.crossfiber.com.

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May 29, 2012 — Ricoh Company, Ltd. developed an ink-jet printing (IJP) technique that can produce lead zirconate titanate (PZT) piezoelectric material in a voluntary pattern shape at 2µm film thickness. Ricoh made PZT material into an ink. Ricoh simultaneously developed a lead-free piezoelectric material, bearing the same deformation properties as the PZT material on a silicon substrate.

Combining both technologies will allow users to manufacture a lead-free piezoelectric device that is functionally equivalent to PZT at a low cost, on a silicon substrate using the additive IJP fab process. (PZT contains lead but is exempted from the EU RoHS Directive banning lead in electronics.)

The IJP technique was used to create an actuator. IJP makes more efficient use of materials and labor than traditional semiconductor manufacturing processes, and can be configured to make diverse products in small lot sizes. It also reduces manufacturing costs and environmental impact, the company reports.

Ricoh controlled ink ejection for drawing precise patterns, modifying hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of a substrate surface, and eliminated discards during firing thick film. This enabled 2µm film thickness, about 50 times that of the film formed with the usual IJP method. There are unique devisals on the nature of a solvent and drying speed control, which are needed to prepare film at a uniform thickness.

Ricoh’s lead-free material has about the same deformation properties (deformation amount when applied voltage) as PZT and could be used as a replacement. It is a system of materials of lead-free barium titanate with tin added (BSnT). This material needs to be fired at high temperature to form a high-quality film. To do so, Ricoh raised the thermal stability of the under layer (electrode layer provided under the piezoelectric material) of the substrate and enabled film formation of BSnT with properties at a practical level on the silicon substrate. Ricoh has adopted a method to use the precursor of BSnT in liquid form, for ink, unlike the conventional powder method. The lead-free material can therefore be used to make micro electro mechanical system (MEMS).

Ricoh will first manufacture a prototype of an actuator, then work on technical solutions, targeting commercialization. Piezo MEMS are used to monitor seismic activity, in information technology, and in other fields.

Ricoh announced both technologies at "The 29th Meeting on Ferroelectric Materials and Their Applications (FMA29)," in Kyoto, Japan, this past week.

Ricoh makes printing technologies. Learn more at http://www.ricoh.com/.

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Below: Surface morphology of the BSnT films fired at different temperatures. The one on the right fired at higher temperature shows larger grain size, indicating better film properties.

May 28, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — VTI Technologies, a leading manufacturer of 3D micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) sensors that has formed part of Murata since January 2012, is now Murata Electronics Oy.

Following the acquisition of VTI Technologies Oy by the Japanese company Murata Manufacturing, VTI has recently changed its company name. The new company name is Murata Electronics Oy. At the same time, the company has adopted Murata’s visual identity with the Murata logo.

"The change of company name and visual identity clearly and strongly highlights the fact that this company is now an integral part of Murata," said Tsuneo Murata, president of Murata Manufacturing. "Our aim is to strengthen the Murata brand worldwide, and this change supports our strategy. VTI has been recognized as a pioneer in MEMS technology, and now we want Murata to be the top-of-mind name also for high-quality MEMS sensors, in addition to other Murata products."

Shinji Ushiro, the new CEO and president of Murata Electronics Oy as of 1 June, added that Murata’s objective is to become one of the main global MEMS companies. "By exploring the market needs and by developing competitive MEMS products, we believe that we can reach this objective."

With the new company name, a new website has also been launched for Murata MEMS sensors: www.muratamems.fi. The website presents MEMS accelerometers, inclinometers and gyroscopes, as well as MEMS sensor elements (die) manufactured by Murata Electronics Oy — the former VTI.

Murata Manufacturing Co., Ltd. is a worldwide leader in the design, manufacture and sale of ceramic-based passive electronic components & solutions, communication modules, power supply modules and MEMS sensors. For more information, go to www.murata.com.

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May 26, 2012 — Intel Corporation (INTC) will invest more than $40 million over the next 5 years in a worldwide network of university research communities called the Intel Collaborative Research Institutes (ICRI). The ICRI program is based on Intel’s US-based Intel Science and Technology Centers (ISTCs), and will bring together experts from academia and industry to help explore and invent in the next generation of technologies.

"The new Intel Collaborative Research Institute program underscores our commitment to establishing and funding collaborative university research to fuel global innovation in key areas and help address some of today’s most challenging problems," said Justin Rattner, CTO, Intel. "Forming a multidisciplinary community of Intel, faculty and graduate student researchers from around the world will lead to fundamental breakthroughs in some of the most difficult and vexing areas of computing technology."

The three ICRIs will collaborate with their own multi-university communities and other ICRIs, as well as the US-based ISTCs. Each institute will have a specialized focus, but is encouraged to incorporate the unique environments within their region, country and area of research.

The IRCIs include 2 established centers and 3 new ones:

The 2 previously established centers include Intel Visual Computing Institute (Saarland University) and the Intel-NTU Connected Context Computing Center (National Taiwan University).

The 3 new ICRIs include-

The ICRI for Sustainable Connected Cities, United Kingdom. This joint collaboration among Intel, Imperial College London and University College London aims to address challenging social, economic and environmental problems of city life with computing technology. Using London as a test bed, researchers will explore technologies to make cities more aware and adaptive by harnessing real-time user and city infrastructure data. For example, through a city urban cloud platform, the city managers could perform real-time city optimizations such as predicting the effects of extreme weather events on the city’s water and energy supplies, resulting in delivery of near-real-time information to citizens through citywide displays and mobile applications.

The ICRI for Secure Computing, Germany. At this Institute, Intel and the Technische Universität Darmstadt will explore ways to dramatically advance the trustworthiness of mobile and embedded devices and ecosystems. For example, the joint research will seek ways to develop secure, car-to-device communications for added driver safety; new approaches to secure mobile commerce, and a better understanding of privacy and its various implementations. By grounding the research in the needs of future users, the institute will then research software and hardware to enable robust, available, survivable systems for those use cases.

The ICRI for Computational Intelligence, Israel. In a joint collaboration with the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, the ICRI will explore ways to enable computing systems to augment human capabilities in a wide array of complex tasks. For example, by developing body sensors that continuously monitor the owner’s body, researchers could then pre-process this information and take appropriate actions. The system can continuously monitor human functions from the brain, heart, blood, eyes and more, and send this data to a remote server that will combine them with other data such as environmental weather conditions, along with historical data, and could proactively warn people about a potential headache or dizziness during driving.

Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a world leader in computing innovation. The company designs and builds the essential technologies that serve as the foundation for the world’s computing devices. Learn more at www.intel.com.

The first MEMS Business Forum, sponsored by MEMS Journal and MEPTEC (MicroElectronics Packaging and Test Engineering Council) was held May 24 at the Santa Clara Biltmore Hotel. Ten speakers presented on topics ranging from near- and mid-term business opportunities to roles of MEMS in broad visions for the future. Registered attendance was just over 90.

Sandhi Bhide, Intel’s Senior Strategist and Futurist, opened the meeting with a discussion of emerging uses and applications for sensors in 2016 and beyond. He opened with a theme from yesterday’s MEPTEC meeting: machines need to become aware of the user’s context and intent, rather than humans conforming to the machine requirements. The fusion of sensors and interpretive software can enable devices to be aware of their connectivity surroundings, environmental changes, and user activity context to modify the presentation and responsiveness of the device. Domains include personal health and safety, social interactions, and relevant business and news events. The notion of proximity detection to help enforce restraining orders against ex-spouses seemed to resonate with this audience. I’m just saying… Extension of this concept to machine-to-machine awareness and interaction melds nicely into the CeNSE (central nervous system for the earth) being promoted by HP. Demands on data processing and storage, bandwidth and energy consumption will be huge, and system reliability will be critical. He anticipates it will take another 8-10 years for the market to reach the trillion sensor level, including both MEMS and other sensor technologies.

Jérémie Bouchaud of IHS iSuppli speculated whether the market for MEMS in consumer electronics will keep growing forever. MEMS microphone revenue jumped 63% in 2011, with background noise suppression driving redundancy and media tablets opening new demand. RF MEMS tuners are starting to show up in mobile handsets in place of analog, facilitating a smaller antenna volume. Based on the current consumer product mix, MEMS annual growth is projected to drop below 10% in 2015 following a +29% peak in 2011. However, there are plenty of ‘next big thing’ candidates that collectively seem to hold the promise of sustaining a healthy growth rate. MEMS for drug delivery and energy scavenging are two leading prospects, with environmental and biosensors in handsets and tablets also very promising. Breath analyzers for a variety of target compounds range from alcohol (excessive consumption) to acetone (hunger and fat burning) to many other biomarkers still in early development. I’ve been hearing more and more that future growth is dependent, at least in part, on “whatever Apple is working on.”

Shahin Farshchi of Lux Capital Management described the role of MEMS in enabling distributed healthcare. VC activity today is weighted toward mobile/social/internet opportunities and healthcare, with lower emphasis on the energy and semiconductors & related equipment segments. The rising prevalence of diabetes and obesity in the US suggests some promising targets. Over 22% of healthcare expenditures are spent on the sickest 1% of the population; 50% of the expenditures care for the 10% most chronically ill. The smart phone platform is gaining broader acceptance as a diagnostic and health data communications tool. Perspiration, respiration, excretion, blood, heart signals and brain waves are relatively accessible data sources with technology that is available or being readied for market today.

Jeffrey Hilbert of wiSpry presented the emerging opportunities for RF MEMS in mobile applications. They manufacture the first MEMS tuner to be implemented in high volume manufacturing in a smart phone (Samsung). Demands for multi-band and multi-mode support, high data rates, power efficiency and decreasing form factor make this an exercise in compromised RF performance. The heart of wiSpry’s approach is an array of MEMS parallel plate capacitor tunable over a wide range using conventional CMOS interconnect materials built atop a 4LM CMOS circuit. The infamous ‘Antennagate’ episode brought to light by the iPhone 4 was resolved by implementing the wiSpry tuner. (The core issue was that the RF antenna tuning and available power changes the instant you touch your phone or put it near your ear. Touchless levitating iPhones were not considered a viable solution.) Tuners alone are a $150M market opportunity. Other applications include tunable antennae, notch filters, power amps and duplex filters. Field demonstrations of complete 1st generation multiband tunable radio front ends can be anticipated in ~6 months.

Prof. Gabriel Rebeiz at UCSD and Director of the DARPA/Industry Center on RF MEMS elucidated the commercialization trends and business opportunities presented by RF MEMS switches and tuners. One shortcoming of RF MEMS is that they require voltage up conversion to 25V or higher for reliable operation; they do not operate at 5V. From 2002 to 2012, front end RF integration has allowed the industry to reduce the RF front end area 13.5x from 5400mm2 to 400mm2 while increasing the number of radios in that space 8x from 2 to 16. For antenna tuning, RF MEMS competitors Cavendish Kinetics and wiSpry compete very well on performance, but SOS/SOI alternatives like Peregrine do much better on manufacturing and device cost. Antenna tuning will be the big market driver through 2018, followed by power amp tuning with filter tuning trailing; the CAGR over the next 7 years will be an impressive +99%. He expects that all smart phones will have tuners by 2014.

Frank Melzer, CEO of Bosch Sensortec shared his perspectives on the interplay between technologies, software and sensor fusion as they conspire to deliver MEMS sensor performance. Barometric pressure devices for geopositional sensing require much greater accuracy than pressure sensors for automotive applications. Ten DoF (degree of freedom) systems have become the benchmark challenge for smart phone integration. The gyroscope component is the limiting factor in terms of size, power management and complexity in 10 DoF systems.

Prof. Al Pisano of UC Berkeley updated the group on the requirements for harsh environment MEMS wireless sensors for energy and power applications. Unlike the miniature, low cost, low power devices needed for smart phones and tablets, these devices may operate at 600°C and cost $100k each. A 1% efficiency gain in a large gas or steam generator can allow it to produce an additional 17 GWH/year of energy, worth almost $2M in additional revenue. In one design, MEMS sensors are bonded to the surface of gas turbine blades, without degrading the necessary aerodynamics, to fine tune the gas flow direction for a more uniform burn and squeeze out an additional percent or two or efficiency. Sensors based on SiC and AlN have been developed for geothermal energy systems that operate at 400°C to 600°C in order to allow in situ subterranean imaging for optimum well identification. This is 4x hotter than oil and gas wells. JFET and bipolar transistors have been fabricated in SiC to operate in this environment. A 20nm layer of graphene is the secret sauce to preserve ohmic contacts and prevent formation of PtSi. The subterranean systems are powered by vibrational energy harvesters based on rapid local pressure fluctuations rather than mechanical vibration.

Harmeet Bhugra of IDT’s MEMS Division explained why people want to buy MEMS alternatives to quartz crystal oscillators. MEMS resonators claim greater reliability and tunability than quartz, with the ability to offer reliable just-in-time delivery akin to related semiconductor technologies. Piezoelectric MEMS oscillators require no DC bias or narrow gaps like capacitive MEMS oscillators, so piezoelectric is the focus for future commercialization. Current aging data shows a frequency stability of ±0.5ppm over 21 months so far.

Prof. Marc Madou of UC Irvine described a sensor technology based on suspended carbon nanowires as a proxy for insight into several new and creative directions into which MEMS fabrication may develop. Structures are formed lithographically using polymer precursors that are pyrolized to glassy carbon. These materials have excellent electrochemical electrode performance, and can be intercalated with materials such as Li (think Li+ battery applications). The suspended nanowires are fabricated with an electrospinning technique that string the fiber between individual posts. In a sense, this addresses the controlled assembly deficiencies associated with carbon nanotubes. Suspension provides 360° access to the sensing element without contamination or undesirable interactions with the surface. In addition to this family of applications, the technique can be applied to fabricate structural colors, which are surfaces that derive their color from microstructural light scattering effects.

Kurt Petersen of KP-MEMS wrapped up the meeting with a retrospective view on MEMS: how did we get here? He published a seminal paper “Silicon as a structural material” 30 years ago, and had been working in MEMS 7 years already before that. The MEMS market today is 3.5% the size of the semiconductor industry, up from 1% in 1986. Market ‘desperation’ can be identified for each incremental jump in the MEMS market dating back to 1985 and HP’s response to dot matrix printer shortcomings with inkjets. The proliferation of MEMS microphones in cell phones was largely driven by the fact that conventional microphones were incompatible with wave soldering, thus requiring that they be hand soldered at assembly. As to the elusive goal of $1T or 1T units, we are presently short by a factor of 100x. As a benchmark, it took the semiconductor industry 35 years to grow 100x. Kurt foresees a 25 year runway for MEMS to achieve this 100x milestone, gated largely by ‘the transformation of the infrastructure of the planet’ associated with CeNSE and the internet of things.

In an exclusive series of blogs, imec’s science writers report from the International Technology Forum (ITF) last week in Brussels. This year, ITF’s theme was “It’s a changing world. Let’s make a sustainable change together”.

Testifying to the growing affinity between micro-electronics and healthcare research, ITF has seen a growing number of presentations centered on healthcare.

This year’s first bio-presentation was from Denis Wirtz, co-director of the John Hopkins Institute for NanoBio Technology. He started out with some remarkable observations about the status of today’s cancer research. According to him, in the past 40 years, not much progress has been made, and people diagnosed with cancer still haven’t got a much better prospect than a few decades ago. This despite a massive effort from the healthcare research community.

According to him, most approaches to fight cancer have been focused on developing chemicals to fight the burden of primary tumors. However, a majority of cancer patients who succumb of their disease die as a consequence of metastasis, i.e. secondary tumors that spread around the body. Early detection and treatment of these secondary tumors could have significant impact in a wide range of cancer types

Recent work now suggests that cancer cells that form secondary tumors can be recognized on the cell level (rather than on the molecular level of the genetic makeup). This would mean that we can actually detect these malignant cells through e.g. optical screening of cells. However, for this to have any practical use, you’d need extremely fast and high-throughput tools.

Mr. Wirtz then went on to present the efforts of his institute at Johns Hopkins University where he and his students went on a veritable hunt for cell-level markers that can distinguish the really harmful cells, those that may form secondary tumors, from the primary tumor cells. If his team’s findings prove successful, they could mark a new beginning in the transformation of cancer to what he called “a manageable disease”.

Jan Provoost, science writer imec

May 24, 2012 — Jackie Sturm, VP of TMG and GM of Global Sourcing and Procurement at Intel, will bring to light some of the emerging, growth markets for semiconductors, and what they mean for chipmakers and the fab suppliers in the first session of The ConFab, “The Economic Outlook for the Semiconductor Industry.”

Sturm will join Dan Hutcheson, CEO and Chairman, VLSI Research; and Jim Feldhan, president, Semico in the Session, chaired by Solid State Technology editor-in-chief Pete Singer. The ConFab takes place June 3-6 in Las Vegas and is an invite-only meeting of semiconductor executives and the supply chain.

The worldwide chip market is expected to suffer a slow year in 2012 ($323.2 billion), as global economic prospects remaining uncertain. Although spending on fab equipment is expected to drop in H1 2012, it is then expected to sharply increase in H2. What is driving the semiconductor market? Is the semiconductor market universally maturing? No, says Sturm. The aggregated, popular indicators of slow growth mask the bright stories and opportunities in emerging markets, innovative devices for consumers, and business refresh cycles. What this means for the semiconductor industry, for chipmakers as well as their materials suppliers and equipment suppliers, is opportunity.

Jackie Sturm has been at Intel since 1993, serving as VP of Finance for Technology and Manufacturing and NAND Systems Group, Intel Capital, New Business Group and Intel Communications Group. Prior to Intel, she worked for Hewlett Packard and Apple Computer.

Learn more about The ConFab at http://www.theconfab.com/index.html

More ConFab session previews:

Bridging the fabless-foundry gap

EUV lithography readiness

Packaging progress

Visit the Semiconductors Channel of Solid State Technology!

May 24, 2012 — Mobile phones and tablet PCs each integrate about 5-10 micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) per device. These “New MEMS” — consumer and mobility use MEMS — will benefit from the growth in smartphones and tablets, which will hit 2.9 billion units in 2017, said Laurent Robin, Activity Leader, Inertial MEMS Devices & Technologies, Yole Développement.

“MEMS in cellphones and tablets will grow 19.8% to reach a $5.4 billion value in 2017,” said Robin. The MEMS industry will be largely impacted by global trends in mobile devices: connected devices, video and music consumption, social networking, diversity of users and usages, mobile advertising. This booming demand for smartphones and media tablets can be partly explained by the integration of MEMS sensors, which provide new functionalities, Yole notes.

Figure. Maturity of cell phone MEMS devices in 2012. SOURCE: MEMS for Cell phones & Tablets, Yole Développement, May 2012.

10 new MEMS applications will to be worth more than $100 million in 2017, versus 3 categories of MEMS devices in high-volume production today, Yole says. These include motion sensors, microphones, and BAW filters and duplexers.

Motion sensors include accelerometers, magnetometers and gyroscopes. They are the hottest market segment of MEMS currently, growing quickly with multiple business and technical evolutions. Combo sensors are being introduced, increasing MEMS integration and adding sensor fusion algorithms. Also read: Bosch Sensortec debuts 6DoF MEMS IMU with sensor fusion software

MEMS microphones are replacing electret condenser microphones (ECM), and are enabling new user functionality when multiple MEMS microphones are used per device.

BAW has been popular for many years, Band 2 in particular. New opportunities will appear with some of the bands that will be used in 4G standards

Novel applications will bring more MEMS opportunities in the market — pressure sensors + inertial sensors for location based services, RF MEMS switches for antenna tuning, oscillators to replace TCXO quartz oscillators and for resonators, MEMS auto-focus to replace voice-coil motor (VCM) technology, microdisplays, microspeakers, environmental sensors, touchscreen, joystick, etc., etc. Also read: MEMS alternatives for miniature auto-focus cameras

Top MEMS players have evolved as the market has grown — tripling from 2009 to 2011. STMicroelectronics (ST, STM) was #3 in cell phone applications in 2009 and is now by far the #1 supplier with $477 million cellphone and tablet revenue in 2011. ST dominates the MEMS accelerometer market and had an impressive start with MEMS gyroscopes. InvenSense is challenging ST, and the companies recently became involved in a legal dispute over patents.

ST will become a one-stop supplier as it expands into different MEMS architectures. It lists Apple, Samsung, Nokia, RIM, and HP among its clients. Other large players are very focused on their core markets: AKM is the #2 with $260 million sales of magnetometers for electronics compass solution, Avago is leading the BAW filters and duplexers market with $244 million sales, and Knowles is #4 with $233 million revenues from MEMS microphones.

Many start-ups are about to introduce disruptive technologies for emerging markets (RF MEMS switches and variable capacitors, scanning mirrors for picoprojectors, silicon timing devices, speakers, auto-focus) and current large markets (MCube for inertial sensors, 3S for microphones).

Large semiconductor companies are now eyeing MEMS as well: Fairchild and Maxim already made the move through acquisitions, and others should follow.

As new business models are developing, with some players specializing on a specific part of the value chain (MEMS manufacturing, signal processing) and others offering complete solutions (e.g. combo sensors that integrate MCU and software).

“MEMS for Cell Phones & Tablets” is a new report from Yole Développement, by Laurent Robin, head of MEMS & Sensors market research.

Companies cited in the report:

3M, 3S, AAC Acoustics, Acutronic, ADI, Aichi MI, AKM, Akustica, Amazon, Amkor, Anadigics, APM, Apple, ASE, ASG, ASMC, ASTRI, Asus, Atmel, Audience, AudioPixel, Avago, Bambook, Baolab, Barnes, & Noble, Bluechiip, Bosch Sensortec, BSAC, BSE, Btendo, Carsem, Casio Micronics, Cavendish Kinetics, CEA Leti, Cheng Uei Precision Industry Co, CSR, Dalsa, DelfMEMS, Discera, DXO, EoSemi, EpiCrystals, Fairchild, etc.

Yole Développement is a group of companies providing market research, technology analysis, strategy consulting, media, and finance services. Learn more at www.yole.fr.

Visit the MEMS Channel of Solid State Technology, and subscribe to our MEMS Direct e-newsletter!

May 24, 2012 – PRWEB — The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has awarded $1,200,000 to MicroGen Systems Inc., to commercialize its proprietary micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) enabled vibrational energy harvesters. This grant comes on the heels of a 2009 NYSERDA investment of $300,000, which helped MicroGen create early prototypes. The start-up originally came to NY because of funding offered by Senator Charles Schumer via the Infotonics Technology Center (Canandaigua, NY).

MEMS-based vibrational energy harvesters create energy to power autonomous and wireless sensors in applications where battery power is impractical due to sensor network size or location, or the form factor desired. They can also be used to recharge batteries. MicroGen uses piezoelectic materials that generate electricity when compressed.

MicroGen, which is based in Ithica and Rochester, NY, is matching NYSERDA’s investment with already acquired outside investment, an in-progress funding round, and investment from founders and management. The sum funding will help commercialize MicroGen’s technology with initial product launches, establish partnerships, and transfer MEMS fab to a foundry. The MEMS chips are being developed at the Cornell Nanoscale Science and Technology Facility, located on the Cornell University Campus in Ithaca, with additional assistance from emc2, the Energy Materials Center at Cornell.

The grant allowed MicroGen to add 3 engineering and business professionals from the MEMS industry. By 2016, MicroGen will be running an assembly plant employing 40 people, the company told the Cornell Chronicle last year.

The MicroGen BOLT product family converts ambient vibration into electrical energy to power sensors and wireless radios used to monitor and reduce energy usage, or enable other functions, in residential, consumer, commercial, industrial, and military uses. Last year, MicroGen and Infinite Power Solutions Inc. demonstrated a complete Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) powered by their products at Sensors Expo and Tradeshow.

MicroGen systems Inc. is developing products based on its proprietary piezoelectric vibrational energy harvester (PZEH) technology to power wireless sensors and recharge mobile devices. Contact: http://www.microgensystems.com.

Since 2007, NYSERDA has provided funding to help New York State companies develop or expand facilities to manufacture innovative renewable, clean energy or energy efficient products.

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