Category Archives: MEMS

April 5, 2012 — STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM, ST) expanded its consumer and mobile micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) lead in 2011, thanks in part to significant sales to Apple Inc. ST enjoys exclusive design wins in the iPhone, iPad and iPod lines. Apple alone accounted for half of STMicroelectronics’ MEMS revenue in 2011.

STMicroelectronics’s consumer and mobile MEMS chips brought in $638.7 million in 2011, an 81% increase in revenue over 2010’s $353.3 million, according to the IHS iSuppli MEMS & Sensors Service. ST saw the most growth among the top 10 suppliers of consumer and mobile MEMS, increasing its market share and leadership margin over #2 Knowles Electronics (see the table).

Table. Top 10 consumer and mobile MEMS suppliers by revenue for 2011 ($M). Source: IHS iSuppli Research, April 2012.

Rank Company   2011 Revenue ($) 2010 Revenue ($) Y/Y Growth/Decline (%)
1 STMicroelectronics  638.7 353.3 80.8%
2 Knowles 270.9 191.5 41.5%
3 Texas Instruments 204.6 161.4 26.8%
4 Avago 190.6 207.3 -8.1%
5 InvenSense 142.8 92.9 53.7%
6 Bosch 127.2 118.5 7.3%
7 TriQuint 85.2 74.7 14.1%
8 Panasonic 85 86.5 -1.7%
9 Kionix 74.6 63.8 16.9%
10 Analog Devices 59 50.4 17.1%
Revenue Total from Top 10 1878.6 1,400.3 34.2%
Revenue Total from Overall Market 2,159.9 1,642.5 31.5%

The Top 10 suppliers of consumer/mobile MEMS devices accounted for 86% of the market’s overall revenue in 2011, making about $1.9 billion of the $2.2 billion total revenue for the sector. Combined revenue from the Top 10 this year was up 34%. Consumer and mobile — smartphones, media tablets, etc — are the most dynamic and largest MEMS applications.

In 2011, STM held 30% market share of the overall consumer and mobile MEMS market, up 8 percentage points year-over-year. STMicroelectronics has held the #1 spot since 2009. ST was “the first company to fully believe in the consumer MEMS business,” said Jérémie Bouchaud, director and senior principal analyst for MEMS & sensors at IHS. STMicroelectronics had no difficulties ramping up and producing MEMS in mass volume when the market exploded starting in 2007.

STMicroelectronics is the top supplier of motion-sensing accelerometers to cellphones, tablets, laptops and video game consoles. ST “invested heavily” in 3-axis gyroscopes, enabling wins in the iPhone 4 and the Sony PlayStation Move controller. STMicroelectronics is the only provider of accelerometers and gyroscopes — which improve the motion-based interface — for Apple’s iPhones, iPads and iPods. Also read: Gyroscope MEMS depose accelerometers in 2011 revenues

STMicroelectronics also cooperates with other MEMS companies to shorten time to market, working with Honeywell in the electronic compass business, and Omron on MEMS microphones.

STMicroelectronics last year shipped an estimated 15 million digital MEMS microphones into handsets made by Nokia Corp., as well as into laptops from Hewlett-Packard and Taiwanese computer maker Asustek Computer Inc. In the process, STMicroelectronics became the top MEMS microphone supplier to Nokia ahead of former front-runner Knowles, achieving the feat in less than one year.

Knowles rose one spot from #3 in 2010, with a 42% jump in MEMS revenue to a record $270.9 million. Despite erosion in its market share last year, Knowles still largely dominates the MEMS microphone business with 73% share of revenue, remaining highly competitive with a roster of top customers such as Samsung Electronics, Apple and LG Electronics. Knowles also introduced a fourth-generation MEMS microphone last year into the iPhone 4S featuring a 35% reduction in silicon area compared to its previous-generation product.

Texas Instruments jumped one spot as well, with a 27% increase in consumer and mobile MEMS revenue. Pico projectors are its principal revenue growth driver, as the company’s digital light processing (DLP) technology currently dominates the projector space.

Avago slipped from #2 in 2010 to #4. Avago remains the top manufacturer of bulk acoustic wave filters, but price erosion was stronger than unit growth in 2011, causing Avago’s revenue to drop to $190.6 million, down 8% from $207.3 million in 2010.

InvenSense saw 54% revenue growth last year, to $142.8 million. While STMicroelectronics was the sole supplier of 3-axis gyroscopes for Apple, InvenSense dominates the 3-axis gyroscope market for other original equipment manufacturers. InvenSense also ships dual-axis gyroscopes into sectors like gaming, and has achieved some success with single-axis gyroscopes for toy helicopters and other consumer goods. The company has managed to reverse its heavy dependence on gaming, diversifying into mobile handsets and tablets last year.

IHS (NYSE: IHS) is a leading source of information, insight and analytics in critical areas that shape today’s business landscape. Learn more at www.ihs.com.

The overall market for MEMS grew 17% to $10.2 billion in 2011, according to Yole Développement. The top 2 suppliers — Texas Instruments (TXN, TI) and STMicroelectronics (STM, ST) — neared $1 billion in sales each.

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April 5, 2012 — While micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) devices are seen in some high-volume applications, the industry is restrained by its reliance on semiconductor manufacturing technology, which requires high capital investments to produce MEMS. MEMS structures are diverse, adding specialization to the cost of manufacture. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) say new maskless patterning techniques and improved computer-aided design (CAD) tools would break through these limitations.

Henry Smith, a professor of electrical engineering at MIT, is developing a scalable MEMS manufacturing technique without photomasks. The process produces patterns using an array of 1,000 tiny lenses. A wafer moves back and forth beneath the lenses, as the light for patterning switches on and off. Smith’s technique can impart a single pattern to the entire surface of a 6" wafer. The lenses and light patterning method can switch pattern from wafer to wafer.

Smith founded a company, called LumArray, to commercialize his system. The firm has sold one machine to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and is delivering another to the Defense Microelectronic Activity.

Martin Schmidt, a professor of electrical engineering and associate provost at MIT, is making MEMS by depositing metallic nanoparticles on a substrate via ink-jet printing. The "rudimentary MEMS structures" Schmidt has created "have functionally the same behavior as MEMS formed using conventional techniques." Vladimir Bulović’s laboratory is investigating low-cost methods of manufacturing MEMS by stamping patterns into plastics.

Research at MIT is also going into shared MEMS fabs and retrofitting of older chip manufacturing facilities. Jacob White, the Cecil H. Green Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, has worked on CAD systems for MEMS. White notes that IC designers have such complete CAD and simulation tools available, that their 1st attempt at fabricating a new device is likely to work. This kind of assurance in MEMS design and development could enable higher production yields on MEMS devices, and component designs that are better tailored to the processes available at particular manufacturing facilities.

Learn more about MIT’s MEMS work via these links:
Martin Schmidt: http://www-mtl.mit.edu/mems/documents/schmidt.pdf
NanoStructures Laboratory: http://nanoweb.mit.edu/
Luis Fernando Velásquez-García: http://www-mtl.mit.edu/wpmu/lfv/research
Computational Prototyping Group: http://www.rle.mit.edu/cpg/

Courtesy of Larry Hardesty, MIT News Office.

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April 4, 2012 — CALIENT Technologies Inc. promoted Jitender K. Miglani to vice president of engineering, reporting to Gregory Koss, chief development officer. Miglani made significant contributions to the development of CALIENT’s new S320 optical switch, demonstrating "his technical expertise and ability to lead," said Koss.

Miglani is now responsible for all new product development activities, as well as providing technical direction, guidance and support throughout product implementation. The goal is to bring photonic switches into the mainstream for high-speed networking. CALIENT enables photonic networks with its 3D micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) switches, which have shown 8 years of successful continuous operation in more than 80,000 optical terminations. In late 2011, CALIENT raised a $19.4 million round of venture financing to expand into data center and cloud computing markets and ramp its new portfolio of 3D MEMS photonic switching systems and modules.

Miglani joined CALIENT Technologies in 2010 as director of software engineering and was responsible for overseeing all aspects of software-related projects for the company’s full range of photonic switches. He has previous experience in data center connectivity at Juniper Networks; engineering and operations at 3Com’s India Development Center; and software engineering at Lucent Technologies, Bay Networks/Nortel, and Essar Telecom. Miglani holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the Regional Engineering College in Kurukshetra, India.

CALIENT Technologies provides adaptive photonic switching with systems that build service providers, cloud computing, content delivery and government networks. For more information, visit http://www.calient.net.

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April 3, 2012 – PRNewswire — Combining sensors with analog technology to enable sensor fusion will create intelligent devices for automotive, consumer, and industrial markets, said Vijay Ullal, group president of consumer and automotive solutions at Maxim Integrated Products Inc. (MXIM).

Ullal spoke at the 2012 DESIGN West Conference in San Jose, CA in March.

Motion, touch, pressure, and temperature sensors are used in applications from cars and smartphones to smart homes and medical instruments. Analog integration with sensor fusion will pave the way for a new world of devices with which humans will interact in a natural way, Ullal said. Technology’s next phase enables it to "virtually disappear," said Ullal, with pervasive sensors and controls in smartphones and wireless networks. Highly integrated systems on chips (SoCs) will enable these new interactions.

Applications:
In the home, lighting, heat and air, security, and safety monitoring systems will become accessible and manageable via a cell phone. Clean, conscious and connected automobiles will save many of the more than two million lives lost each year due to traffic accidents and outdoor air pollution. In healthcare, portable diagnostic and imaging devices will enable in-home monitoring, thus enhancing patient care. In our communities, the measurement of energy creation, distribution, and usage will be available via highly integrated metering systems-on-chips (SoCs).

Maxim makes highly integrated analog and mixed-signal semiconductors. In July 2011, Maxim acquired SensorDynamics, a privately held semiconductor company that develops proprietary sensor and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). For more information, go to www.Maxim-ic.com.

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April 3, 2012 — The innaugural MEMS Industry Group (MIG) MEMS Executive Congress Europe, held in March in Zurich, included keynotes on automotive, healthcare, and consumer micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) applications.

Smart industrial systems will use sensors and software algorithms to interpret data from electronic devices, said Siemens’ Thomas Scheiter. Scheiter called MEMS “the nervous system of machines.” Along the same vein, VTI Technologies’ Hannu Laatikainen called MEMS a way for automobiles to "see, feel, hear, smell and taste."

Gyroscopes and radio-frequency (RF) MEMS enable biofeedback for athletes in multi-level sensor networks, noted Suunto’s Terho Lahtinen. This is one of many healthcare applications, where MEMS are "essential" to bringing the patient and healthcare closer together, said Philips Research Laboratories’ Hans Hofstraat. MEMS can help promote self-management of chronic disease, and are the basis of many effective, minimally invasive therapies, Hofstraat said.

Speaking on the industry as a whole, Karen Lightman, managing director of MEMS Industry Group, noted that "MEMS is growing at an exponential pace," in consumer, automotive, smart industrial systems, and quality of life (QoL)/biomedical devices. "MEMS is enabling functionality that we have only just begun to imagine, such as cars that drive themselves, or biomedical systems that minimize surgery and miniaturize therapy for diseases such as diabetes and Parkinson’s. While the design of these applications is vastly different, a common interest in integration, mass production, safety and reliability applies across the board.”

Read Lightman’s op-ed on the MEMS conference here

MEMS Executive Congress Europe 2012:
Attendees: 150+
Ssponsors:
Platinum- EV Group.
Gold- Applied Materials and SPTS Technologies.
Silver- Analog Devices and Semefab.
More- ACUTRONIC, AEPI, A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates, Asia Pacific Microsystems, Bosch, Bosch Sensortec, CEA Léti, CSEM, Freescale Semiconductor, Fries Research & Technology (FRT), GSA, IHS iSuppli, imec, iNEMI, IVAM, Plan Optik, Maxim, MST BW, NMI, Okmetic, Smart Systems Integration, SEMICON Europa, Solid State Technology, SVTC and Yole Développement.

The US edition of MEMS Executive Congress will be held November 7-8, 2012 at The Westin Kierland Resort & Spa, Scottsdale, AZ. MEMS Industry Group (MIG) is a trade association for advancing MEMS across global markets. For more information, visit www.memsindustrygroup.org.

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April 3, 2012 — The MEMS packaging sector is growing 2x faster (~20% CAGR) by unit shipments than the larger IC packaging industry, shows Yole Développement in its report “MEMS Packaging.” Wafer level packaging (WLP) and through-silicon via (TSV) technologies will see the fastest growth, with leadframe and organic laminate-based packages hitting 16% CAGR over the next 5 years.

There are plenty of MEMS and sensors to be found in recent smartphone designs: MEMS accelerometers, gyroscopes, pressure sensors, electronic compass magnetometers, multiple silicon MEMS microphones, FBAR / BAW filters & duplexers, RF switches and MEMS oscillators: there is no doubt that MEMS content is growing faster than standard IC content.

Figure. Key elements of a MEMS package. SOURCE: MEMS Packaging Report, Yole.

In terms of how the packaging is involved, it’s all about orchestrating the assembly of MEMS sensor and their related ASIC inside a module. But this is costly: packaging, assembly, test and calibration steps account for nearly 35% to 60% of a total MEMS packaged module’s cost.

MEMS types of packaging are more complex than most standard IC packages because they require “System-in-Package” type of assembly. Additionally, most MEMS packages are connecting sensors to their final environment, bringing very specific constraints at the module level such as building a cavity, a hole in the substrate or metal lead for pressure sensor and microphones, an optical window for optical MEMS, a full vacuum hermeticity at the die level.

The application scope of MEMS is broad and very diversified. Since its early beginnings, the MEMS industry faced the issue of being a highly fragmented market, with NO manufacturing standards clearly emerging.

However, the MEMS law “One MEMS = 1 Device with 1 Process with 1 Package” is now changing as several packaging platform standards are now clearly emerging (such as WLP & TSV interconnects, SiP module assembly based on molded or cavity packaging for e.g.)
This Yole Développement’s report is featuring a full analysis of packaging, assembly & test requirements application by application as well as a dedicated focus on MEMS package substrates such as ceramic, leadframe and organic laminates.

While there are a lot of developments happening for high reliability, low cost MEMS packages in the automotive, medical and industrial application space, the number of MEMS and sensors going into mobile, consumer and gaming applications is expected to continue to skyrocket, driving integration of an incredibly high number of MEMS and sensor devices in unprecedented volume. As a result, OSAT and wafer foundry players are getting more and more interest in MEMS module packaging, as volume and complexity of
MEMS SiP modules is increasing dramatically, implying several key trend in this space:
— IDMs needs to find second sources partners and qualify some OSATs in order to secure their supply chain
— Standardization (coming from both foundries, OSAT, WLP houses or substrate suppliers) is critical and necessary to implement in order to keep the packaging, assembly, test and calibration cost of MEMS modules under control.

More than ever, system-level integration (including package co-design & software competencies, SiP module assembly, passive integration and 3D TSV / WLP capabilities) will be key to leverage a high added value solution to final OEM customers as well as an efficient infrastructure to support the high volume grow of consumer MEMS applications. “There are many different players with different designs, and it’s not likely we’ll see one solution adopted by all the players. Expect to see a blooming of several “big niches” standards in the future, driven by the biggest and most successful players,” says Laurent Robin, Activity Leader,

Report authors:
Jérôme Baron is the business unit manager of the advanced semiconductor packaging market research at Yole Développement. He has been following the 3D packaging market evolution since its early beginnings at the device, equipment and material levels. He was granted a Master of Science degree from INSA-Lyon in France as well as a Master of Research from Lyon Institute of Nanotechnology.

Laurent Robin is in charge of the MEMS & Sensors market research at Yole Développement, with a focus on inertial sensors and RF-MEMS related technologies. He holds a Physics Engineering degree from the National Institute of Applied Sciences in Toulouse, plus a Master Degree in Technology & Innovation Management from EM Lyon Business School, France.

Companies cited in the report:
AAC Acoustic Technologies, Aichi MI, AKM, Akustica, Amkor, Analog Devices, ASE, Avago Technologies, bTendo, Bosch, Carsem, Canon, China WLCSP, Colibrys, DALSA / Teledyne, DelfMEMS, Denso, Discera, DRS, Epcos – TDK, EPWorks, FLIR Systems, Freescale, Fujifilm Dimatix, Fujikura, GE Sensing, Goodrich-AIS, Hana Microelectronics, Honeywell, Hosiden, HP, Infineon, Invensense, Ion Torrent, JCAP, J-Devices, Kionix, Knowles Electronics, KYEC, Kyocera, Lemoptix, Lexmark, Lingsen, MEM Hitech, Melexis, MEMJET, MEMSiC, Microvision, Miradin, Murata, NEC / Schott, Oak-Mitsui, NXP Semiconductor, Olympus, Omron, Panasonic, PlanOptik, PoLight, Pyreos, Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Raytheon, Rohm, Rood Microtec, Sand9, Sencio, Seiko-Epson, Sensata, Sensonor, Sensor Dynamics, Shinko, SiTime, Silex Microsystems, Silicon Sensing Systems, Sony, SPIL, StatsChipPAC, STMicroelectronics, Systron Donner Inertial, Taiyo-Yuden, Tecnisco, Teramikros, Texas Instruments, Tong Hsing Electronics, Triquint Semiconductor, Tronics Microsytems, TSMC, ULIS, Unimicron, Unisem, UTAC, VTI Technologies, WiSOL, Wispry, X-Fab, Xintec, Yamaha…

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

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Karen Lightman, the Managing Director of the MEMS Industry Group, blogs from the MEMS Executive Congress Europe, which was held March 20th, in Zurich, Switzerland.

ST’s Carmelo Papa boldly declared that “MEMS is only limited by the imagination” during his opening keynote at MEMS Executive Congress Europe last week.  In many ways this phrase exemplifies the conference itself. All of the speakers on our four panels  — industrial, biomedical/Quality of Life (QoL), automotive and consumer – as well as our keynotes — conveyed that frontier feeling that MEMS can truly change the world. Sure we have some challenges to overcome (the biggest being packaging), but the potential of having MEMS (frickin’) everywhere is a very tangible reality.

Thankfully the media who attended the Congress Europe have already done an impressive job of highlighting the panelists’ and keynotes’ more technical points. (Please refer to our Congress press coverage for the growing list of stories.)  So instead of retelling you who said what regarding which ISO qualification, I’ll use this blog to give you the more colorful side of the Congress (shocking disclosure, I know).  And speaking of color, MIG’s Monica Takacs did a great job of capturing the Congress in pictures and we’ve posted them on our Flickr site; you will want to check it out.

I am going to give you a taste of the Congress by sharing with you my favorite quotes, saving my very favorite for last. I’ll start with one by our opening keynote, Carmelo Papa. When Carmelo was talking “off the ST script,” his playful Italian personality made him a crowd favorite. Like when he said that he couldn’t reveal ST’s biggest customer “even under torture,” but he’d give us some hints: “It is green, round and delicious to eat.” What a great way to describe Apple.  I also liked how he described MEMS as the “mouse for portable devices” as it enables a new realm of gesture.

My next favorite quote was from VTI’s Hannu Laatikainen.  I began to think of him as a “Finnish Haiku Poet” when he said that we needed to “treat the car more like a human that can see, feel, hear, smell and taste.” Great stuff.  I absolutely enjoyed hearing every single word coming out of the mouth of Dr. Berger of Clinatec and it wasn’t just because I am a sucker for a French accent. I loved his description of connecting technology with medicine and his passion for patient health, safety and welfare.  He urged that there must be more money for clinical trials of technology for medical treatment to prove efficacy (not just money for consumer-inspired sport applications masking as healthcare products). I couldn’t agree more. 

I laughed when Stefan Finkbeiner introduced himself and stated that his company, Akustica, hailed from Pittsburgh, the “MEMS center of the US.” Stefan then modified the statement by saying that Pittsburgh is the “MEMS capital of Pennsylvania” and “definitely the MEMS capital of Western PA.” My hometown is a lot of things, but not yet the MEMS capital of the US.

But my absolute favorite quote from MEMS Executive Congress Europe came from Continental’s Bernhard Schmid. When someone from the audience asked the panelists if visual sensors will replace MEMS on automotive, Bernhard responded with a rhetorical question: “Have the eyes cannibalized the ears? No. Both senses/sensors are needed for smart automotive.” I guess he was inspired by Hannu’s earlier comment about the car’s senses being more human. I wouldn’t have expected such eloquence from a bunch of automotive engineering executives.  But like the Congress in general, these guys impressed and surprised me.

MEMS Executive Congress Europe was a fantastic success. I was expecting 100 attendees; we had 155. I thought we had a handful of sponsors; we had over 30.

While pausing momentarily to reflect on the highlights of our European event, my staff and I are looking forward to building the content for this year’s upcoming MEMS Executive Congress US in Scottsdale (November 7-8). And yes, we are looking at another Congress event in Europe in 2013 and possibly in Asia as well.

By design, MEMS Executive Congress is unique in the industry. Involving only minimal bribery (just the chocolate in Zurich at our European event!), we have been fortunate to engage MEMS suppliers and their end-user customers in thoughtful, sometimes spirited discussions about the use of MEMS in commercial applications. With our success in both the US and now in Europe, MIG is meeting a need in the market. Good thing it’s also lots of fun.

April 2, 2012 — Intel, SEMATECH, and other top chip makers, suppliers, and research organizations will send speakers to SEMICON West, July 10-12 in San Francisco. The event will single out new transistor architectures, advanced lithography, 450mm wafers, and other major developments for the microelectronics sector.

Shekhar Borkar, director of Extreme-scale Technologies at Intel Labs, will provide the technology keynote on Intel’s mid- and long-term development efforts in IC scaling, power reduction, and performance improvements. Attend at 9:00am, July 10.

SEMI plans 3 TechXPOT sessions at SEMICON West: Fully depleted transistor architectures on Tuesday, next-generation lithography on Wednesday, and the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) on Thusday.

Learn about advances — and challenges — in fully depleted devices and III-V channel materials for new transistors at 10:30am, July 10, in the South Hall TechXPOT session. Speakers:

  • Raj Jammy, VP, Materials and Emerging Technologies, SEMATECH
  • Carlos Mazuré, EVP  and CTO, Soitec
  • Kaizad Mistry, VP, director of Logic Technology Integration, Intel
  • Aaron Thean, director, Logic Program, imec

Lithography achievements, technology roadmaps and development efforts will be discussed in the July 11,10:30am, South Hall TechXPOT session. Learn about extreme ultraviolet lithography (EUVL) readiness from transmission and conversion efficiency to mask and resist work. The session will also cover double-patterning and the role of complementary technologies, such as e-beam lithography. Speakers:

  • Yan Borodovsky, senior Intel fellow, director, Advanced Lithography, Intel
  • Stefan Wurm, director, Lithography, SEMATECH
  • Hans Meiling, director, Product Management EUV, ASML
  • Franklin Kalk, CTO, Toppan Photomasks
  • Serge Tedesco, IMAGINE (MAPPER), program manager, CEA-Leti
  • Donis Flagello, NRCA fellow, Nikon Research Corporation of America

The International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors (ITRS) sessions will be part of the TechXPOT and Extreme Electronics platforms, July 12.

The Test Vision 2020 Conference will be held in conjunction with SEMICON West, on July 11-12.

A special session on supply chain opportunities in 450mm wafers will be held on July 12.  

Other TechXPOT sessions, yet to be announced, will address new materials, advances in 3D-IC, MEMS, test, advanced packaging, LEDs, OLEDs, and productivity solutions for 200mm and 300mm fabs.  

Register through April 12 for a free Expo Only badge. For more information, including keynotes, programs, registration, and exhibiting, please visit www.semiconwest.org.

SEMI is a global industry association serving the nano- and microelectronics manufacturing supply chains. For more information, visit www.semi.org.

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March 30, 2012 — Movea, motion-sensing and motion-control technology provider, formed a technology partnership with fabless Nordic Semiconductor ASA (OSE:NOD) to develop motion-enabled 2.4GHz RF remote control reference designs.

Nordic’s ultra-low power RF semiconductor chips will work with Movea’s motion-processing technology, providing low-cost RF connectivity to support motion control for navigating complex multimedia user interfaces. Also read: Sensor fusion opens MEMS supply chain to sensor management players

The nRFready Smart Remote is a complete hardware and software reference design for advanced browsing control of Internet-/Web-2.0-enabled TVs and set-top boxes. The nRFready 2.4GHz RF Smart Remote reference design features a multi-touch-enabled TouchPad, a 6-axis motion sensing module (3-axis accelerometer and 3-axis gyroscope) and ultra-low-power accelerometer, and a miniaturized QWERTY keyboard. RF connectivity is enabled by Nordic’s nRF24LE1 System-on-Chip (SoC) and Gazell 2.4GHz RF protocol stack. Movea’s SmartMotion firmware is ported to the SoC’s integrated microcontroller.

Nordic expects smart TVs to hit 800 million units by 2016.

Motion-control "smart" remotes must replace button-cluttered designs to keep up with the new applications, streaming capabilities, and other options on next-generation televisions, said Sam Guilaumé, CEO of Movea. "Motion control bundled with Movea’s gesture libraries delivers a more intuitive and efficient way to navigate the user interface." Pixel-accurate in-air pointing and advanced gesture recognition enable faster, easier user interface experiences, said Svenn-Tore Larsen, CEO, Nordic.

Movea provides motion processing software, firmware, and IP for the consumer electronics industry. Further information about Movea can be found at www.movea.com.
 
Nordic Semiconductor is a fabless semiconductor company specializing in ultra low power (ULP) short-range wireless communication in the license-free 2.4GHz and sub-1-GHz Industrial, Scientific and Medical (ISM) bands. Nordic is a Norwegian public company listed on the Oslo stock exchange (OSE:NOD). To learn more about Nordic, visit www.nordicsemi.com.

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March 30, 2012 — Semiconductor fab equipment supplier SUSS MicroTec has acquired Tamarack Scientific Co. Inc. in a share purchase of $9.34 million, plus an additional variable earn-out component which depends on the development of revenues for the next 3 financial years.

Tamarack makes ultraviolet (UV) projection lithography tools and laser micro-structuring systems for manufacturing 3D semiconductor packages, micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), and light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Laser processing tools include excimer and solid state; photolithography tools include proximity and projection.

Tamarack products are installed from R&D facilities to high-volume manufacturing plants. The company in based in the US, with an applications lab, cleanroom, and short-run manufacturing support in addition to its capital equipment offering.

The acquired intellectual property (IP) complements SUSS’s exposure technology portfolio with projection lithography. The additional core technology and product line for back-end semiconductor lithography gives SUSS a range of price/performance offerings for customers, said Frank P. Averdung, president and CEO of S