Category Archives: MEMS

December 6, 2011 – PRNewswire – SEMICON JAPAN — Asahi Kasei E-Materials Corporation, the core operating company of the Asahi Kasei Group for electronics materials, energy materials, photosensitive materials and epoxy resins, purchased an IQ Aligner UV nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) system from EV Group (EVG).

The IQ Aligner performs multiple wafer-level camera manufacturing steps. It will be used by Asahi Kasei to develop materials for high-resolution wafer-level optics. Materials research and development is needed to create high-clarity, high-heat-resistant materials for optical and display components used in mobile electronics equipment, noted Shoichi Furukawa, GM, Electronics Materials Division, for Asahi Kasei.

With wafer-level cameras incorporating optical polymer lenses and glass carrier and spacer wafers, material characteristics are limiting resolution and image quality. The IQ Aligner includes EVG’s Monolithic Lens Molding (MLM) process to eliminate glass substrates, freeing up the optic and lens stack design. The polymer is molded between two stamps and UV-cured for thinner lens wafers and shorter optical stacks. The room-temperature molding achieves more accurate lens alignment than thermal imprinting.

Target devices for high-resolution cameras include mobile devices like smartphones, pico projectors, and more consumer products, said Paul Lindner, executive technology director, EVG.

Asahi Kasei E-materials is the core operating company of the Asahi Kasei Group, making electronics materials, energy materials, photosensitive materials, and epoxy resins.

EV Group (EVG) makes wafer-processing solutions for semiconductor, MEMS and nanotechnology applications. More information is available at www.EVGroup.com.

More news and product launches from SEMICON Japan:

December 5, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — USHIO Inc. is introducing three models of its UX4 Series of modular full-field projection lithography tools. One is the UX4-MEMS FFPL 200 with the overlay accuracy of 0.5µm for manufacturing micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) devices, mounted with the newly developed lens module having a maximum depth of focus of 500µm and the auto mask changer module for manufacturing multiple device types.

The other systems are the UX4-ECO FFPL 150 for manufacturing power devices compatible with mirror projection mask aligner (MPA) masks and the UX4-3Di FFPL 300 mounted with a full-field projection lens of 300mm in diameter for manufacturing 3D LSI devices on 300mm wafers.

UX4-MEMS FFPL 200 is a 200mm-wafer, full-field projection lithography tool for manufacturing MEMS devices. The lithography tool can be customized and optimized for each MEMS device type via a flexible combination of high-performance modules. Alignment accuracy is 0.5µm or less. These modules include a newly developed lens module with a maximum depth of focus of 500µm, a 30-stage auto mask changer, and a specially designed wafer transfer module that can handle warped wafers and special substrates. The double-alignment camera (DC) system enables simultaneous projection of the top- and backside of a wafer for high-precision machining from both sides. The tool is available this month.

UX4-ECO FFPL 150 is a 150mm-wafer, MPA-mask-compatible, full-field projection lithography tool for manufacturing power devices. It uses a high-performance 150mm-diameter lens for resolution of L/S = 2/2µm. This updates the lithography tool without changing the existing manufacturing process and enhances the throughput of full-field projection. The tool will be available in June 2012.

UX4-3Di FFPL 300 is a 300mm wafer, full-field projection lithography tool for manufacturing 3D LSI devices. USHIO achieved throughput of 120 300mm wafers per hour, as well as up to 50% of reduction in CoO by mounting the new 300mm full-field projection lens on the same platform as the UX4-3Di FFPL 200, released this September. Learn more.

USHIO will complete development and start marketing these models one-by-one within the next six months.

These three models will be exhibited and detailed through a panel display as well as a stage presentation at USHIO booth No. 5A-606 (Hall 5) during SEMICON Japan 2011, December 7-9 at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.

More debuts at SEMICON Japan:

USHIO INC. handles a variety of light sources for a broad range of industrial applications. USHIO also manufactures and markets products incorporating its own light sources, such as optical systems for manufacturing FPDs and other electronics components and devices as well as imaging equipment. Visit http://www.ushio.co.jp/en/.

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December 5, 2011 — Applied Materials Inc. (AMAT) launched the Applied Producer Optiva chemical vapor deposition (CVD) system for back-side-illuminated (BSI) image sensor manufacturing. It deposits low-temperature conformal films that boost the low-light performance of the sensor while improving its durability.

The product’s target customer makes image sensors for advanced smartphone, tablet, and digital camera applications, said Applied Materials’ representatives.

The Producer Optiva system coats the microlens of an image sensor with a transparent, durable, and thin film layer to avoid reflections, scratches, and other enviromental damage. The Optiva CVD tool enables >95% conformal deposition at temperatures below 200°C, enabling use of temperature-sensitive polymers and adhesives used in sensor fabrication. The microlens sits directly above image sensors’ photodiodes to increase light gathering.

Bill McClintock, vice president and general manager of Applied’s Dielectric Systems and Modules business unit, called BSI image sensors a "new opportunity" for AMAT’s manufacturing equipment expertise, and a "rapidly growing market…with an estimated 300 million BSI image sensors expected to be needed by 2014."

The Applied Producer Optiva CVD system can also be used to deposit conformal insulating liners for through-silicon vias (TSVs) in 3D chip packaging. In this application, low process temperatures protect the adhesive used to bond the wafer to its temporary carrier.

For more information on this product, please visit www.appliedmaterials.com/technologies/library/producer-optiva.

Applied Materials, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMAT) provides equipment, services and software to enable the manufacture of advanced semiconductor, flat panel display and solar photovoltaic products. Learn more at www.appliedmaterials.com.

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December 2, 2011 — Led by University of Maryland (UMd) researchers, a multi-institution team has produced a cobalt/iron alloy that could be the basis for a new class of sensors and micromechanical devices controlled by magnetism. The alloy does not use rare-earth elements to achieve its properties.

Materials scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) contributed precision measurements of the alloy’s structure and mechanical properties to the project.

Figure. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) image taken at NIST of an annealed cobalt iron alloy. The high magnetostriction seen in this alloy is due to the two-phase iron-rich (shaded blue) and cobalt-rich (shaded red) structure and the nanoscale segregation. SOURCE: Bendersky of NIST.

The alloy exhibits a phenomenon called "giant magnetostriction," an amplified change in dimensions when placed in a sufficiently strong magnetic field. The effect is analogous to the piezoelectric effect. They can be used as sensitive magnetic field detectors and tiny actuators for micromechanical devices. Unlike piezoelectrics, magnetostrictive elements require no wires and can be controlled by an external magnetic field source.

The team used a combinatorial screening technique, fabricating hundreds of 10mm-long test silicon cantilevers and coating them with a thin film of alloy, gradually varying the ratio of cobalt to iron across the array of cantilevers. They also used two different heat treatments, including one in which the alloy was heated to an annealing temperature and then suddenly quenched in water.

Quenching is a classic metallurgy technique to freeze a material’s microstructure in a state that it normally only has when heated. In this case, measurements at NIST and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) showed that the best-performing alloy had a delicate hetereogenous, nanoscale structure in which cobalt-rich crystals were embedded throughout a different, iron-rich crystal structure. Magnetostriction was determined by measuring the amount by which the alloy bent the tiny silicon cantilever in a magnetic field, combined with delicate measurements at NIST to determine the stiffness of the cantilever.

The best annealed alloy showed a sizeable magnetostriction effect in magnetic fields as low as about 0.01 Tesla.

The results, says team leader Ichiro Takeuchi of UMd, are lower than, but comparable to, the values for the best known magnetostrictive material, a rare-earth alloy called Tb-Dy-Fe (Terbium-dysprosium-iron), but with the advantage that the new alloy doesn’t use rare earths. "Freezing in the heterogeneity by quenching is an old method in metallurgy, but our approach may be unique in thin films," he observes.

The quenched alloy might offer both size and processing advantages over more common piezoelectric microdevices, says NIST materials scientist Will Osborn. "Magnetorestriction devices are less developed than piezoelectrics, but they’re becoming more interesting because the scale at which you can operate is smaller," he says. "Piezoelectrics are usually oxides, brittle and often lead-based, all of which is hard on manufacturing processes. These alloys are metal and much more compatible with the current generation of integrated device manufacturing. They’re a good next-generation material for microelectromechanical machines."

The effort also involved researchers from the Russian Institute of Metal Physics, Urals Branch of the Academy of Science; Oregon State University and Rowan University. Funding sources included the Office of Naval Research and the National Science Foundation. SSRL is part of the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, operated under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy.

The research is reported here: D. Hunter, W. Osborn, K. Wang, N. Kazantseva, J. Hattrick-Simpers, R. Suchoski, R. Takahashi, M.L. Young, A. Mehta, L.A. Bendersky, S.E. Lofland, M. Wuttig and I. Takeuchi. Giant magnetostriction in annealed Co1-xFex thin-films. Nature Communications. Nov. 1, 2011. DOI: 10.1038/ncomms1529. Access it here: http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v2/n10/full/ncomms1529.html

Also read: IDT MEMS oscillator commercializes piezoelectric resonators and Microfabricated piezoelectric creates hyper-active MEMS

Learn more about the National Institute of Standards and Technology at www.nist.gov.

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December 1, 2011 – PRNewswire — STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM), MEMS maker, named a winner in its 2011 iNEMO Campus Design Contest in China: Sky Worker Team 1 from Tsinghua University. ST operates the open competition in China and Taiwan, and the US.

Nearly 100 students and young engineers in China submitted 57 designs to the 2011 iNEMO contest. Designs are based on ST’s iNEMO evaluation and development tool offering 10-axis MEMS sensing managed by an STM32 32-bit microcontroller. Entries were judged based on a combination of function and practicality, implementation, creativity, presentation and final demonstration.

Sky Worker Team 1 comprised a group of students from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, who used the iNEMO evaluation board and 10 degrees of freedom to control the flight attitude for their winning Quad-Tilt Rotor design. The STM32 microcontroller and on-board sensing switch the rotors from vertical to horizontal, converting the aircraft from helicopter-like operation to fixed-wing flight mode. The quadcopter design demonstrated the usefulness and enhancements that sensor technologies offer to electronic design. ST granted a prize of RMB20,000.

A quadcopter took the top prize in the US student competition as well.

In addition to the champion, the judges selected two first place winners, three second place winners and four third place winners, which were granted respectively, prizes of RMB10,000, RMB5,000 and RMB2,000 each.

Finalists came from Shenzhen University, Xi’an University of Electronic Science and Technology, Shandong University, South China University of Technology, Guilin University of Electronic Science and Technology Institute of Information Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology, Southern College, Sun Yat-sen, Tsinghua University, Shanghai Jiaotong University, and Huazhong University of Science and Technology.

Further information at http://2011inemo.eefocus.com.

STMicroelectronics provides semiconductors for multimedia convergence and power applications. Further information on ST can be found at www.st.com. 

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December 1, 2011 — ULVAC Inc. developed the ENTRONTM-EX2 W300 CVD-Ni/CVD-Co system for CVD-Ni and CVD-Co silicidation of 3D semiconductor gates and MEMS. The system is a response to a semiconductor industry transition from PVD to CVD in advanced 3D gate structure film step coverage, ULVAC reports.

The system processes silicide applications as well as micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) with Ni and Co films. It features 100% step coverage for the desired feature size, reduced film impurity, high throughput CVD, thin film capability for future-node scaling, and high volume production speed with low COC.

The ENTRONTM-EX2 W300 CVD-Ni/CVD-Co system offers 2 pretreatment types for silicide processing: in-situ single-wafer chemical dry treatment (CDT) with CVD-Ni/CVD-Co, or ex-situ batch CDT RISE with CVD-Ni/CVD-Co.

By incorporating an annealing module in the ENTRONTM-EX2 W300, the whole silicidation process can be performed on this one system.

The ENTRONTM-EX2 W300 has single and tandem-type platforms; tandem platforms can integrate more complex processes (such as back-end processes).

Options include a process data monitoring system (EDPMS), a non-contact radiation temperature monitor, and an ULVAC compact residual gas analysis monitor (Qulee).

The new

December 1, 2011 — Semiconductor magnetic sensors can improve automotive safety, convenience, and fuel efficiency. The market is right for this automotive sensor sector to grow, with a near-40% revenue expansion in 2012, continuing a 3-year upward trend, according to an IHS iSuppli MEMS & Sensors special report on magnetic sensors from IHS (NYSE: IHS).

Revenue derived from the use of magnetic sensors in automotive motors will reach $160.3 million in 2012, up 38.2% from $116.0 million in 2011. The automotive industry currently accounts for half of semiconductor magnetic sensor market revenue. After 2012, revenue will grow in the single-digit range annually, leading to a five-year compound annual growth rate (2010-2015) of 16%. By 2015, magnetic sensor revenue in automotive motors will hit $193.6 million.

2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
$93.9M $116.0M $160.3M $172.2M $184.5M $193.6M
Figure. Worldwide revenue forecast for magnetic sensors in automotive motors. SOURCE: IHS iSuppli 2011.

Also read: Low-cost MEMS sensors drive automotive integration at all levels and 2012 sees automotive sensor market back to healthy growth track

Low-end to mid-range cars use 10 or more electric motors on average. Luxury cars have almost 100 motors. The average car uses small motors for power steering, HVAC fans, sunroof operation, seat positioning, headlight motion, etc., said Richard Dixon, senior analyst for MEMS & sensors at IHS. Magnetic sensors ensure safe and efficient operation of these motors.

Efficient motors use less energy, requiring less fuel and releasing less carbon dioxide. Trends include the electrification of pulley-driven motors and replacement by brushless DC motors. These efficient motors allow on-demand operation of the main powertrain components, such as water-cooling pumps, oil pumps and other auxiliary pumps, and to reduce overall energy needs.

Another application of magnetic sensors to motors is in shaft position encoding, such as in power windows for cars, in which the sensors determine how many complete turns a shaft has made in order to control the length of travel of the window lifter. Unusual loading conditions due to the presence of a hand also can be detected by the sensor to provide a so-called anti-pinch functionality, which results in the motor turning backward if an obstruction is encountered.

Electronic power steering is a fast-growing direct motor application, replacing electro-hydraulic alternatives that use a pump to build pressure; electronic power steering increases fuel efficiency. The sensor requirement is in commutation of the motor and also in sensors that detect current.

In hybrid electric vehicles, magnetic sensors monitor auxiliary motor inverters, where the battery direct current needs to be changed to the motor alternating current. Such a conversion requires the use of three current sensors — one for each phase of the motor.

In general, automotive motors use Hall integrated circuit (IC) sensors in a three-phase motor for commutation. A three-phase motor typically has six states, measured by three digital Hall ICs for closed-loop regulation. In some cases, magnetic sensors may not be required, and Hall ICs may be replaced by simple current measurement in the circuit. However, in advanced motors where load changes and knowledge of torque is needed, Hall ICs or anisotropic magnetoresistive (AMR) sensors are required  to measure the motor position of the shaft.

AMR sensors will grow market share in the next five years, used for the tachometer motors used to indicate speed and RPM instruments, and other applications.

NXP Semiconductors is a major ARM sensor provider, while Hall sensor IC alternatives are supplied by Micronas, Infineon Technologies, Allegro Microsystems, Melexis N.V., and Asahi Kasei Microsystems.

Learn more in the IHS report: Digital Compasses Pick up Reins of Magnetic Sensor Market available at http://www.isuppli.com/MEMS-and-Sensors/Pages/Digital-Compasses-Pick-up-Reins-of-Magnetic-Sensors-Market.aspx

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November 30, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Mixed-signal semiconductor supplier Integrated Device Technology, Inc. (IDT, NASDAQ:IDTI) developed and demonstrated commercially available oscillators incorporating piezoelectric micro electro mechanical system (pMEMS) resonators.

The IDT pMEMS resonator uses piezoelectric material and single-crystal silicon, which provides stability and low damping. IDT holds or is waiting on more than 40 patents related to the MEMS technology. The company says its passive pMEMS resonator is the world’s smallest hermetically sealed wafer level package (WLP) resonator. pMEMS oscillators will be available in industry-standard pin- and function-compatible plastic packages.

pMEMS resonators have "high native frequencies," which IDT capitalizes on to replace traditional quartz-based oscillators for cloud computing designs requiring high reliability and resistance to shock and vibration, consumer applications requiring multiple outputs, and communications and networking equipment that need low phase jitter. Ted Tewksbury, Ph.D., president and CEO of IDT, called MEMS a "natural step" in the company’s silicon timing product progression.

Also read: MEMS resonators vs. crystal oscillators for IC timing circuits

Integrated Device Technology Inc., the Analog and Digital Company(TM), develops system-level mixed-signal products for the communications, computing and consumer segments. IDT stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Stock Market under the symbol IDTI. Additional information about IDT is accessible at www.IDT.com.

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November 29, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Drug delivery companies Leonardo Biosystems Inc. and NanoMedical Systems Inc. (NMS) will collaborate, with NMS developing and establishing a commercial process to manufacture nanoporous silicon particles for Leonardo’s multi-stage drug delivery system.

"The expertise in the fabrication of massively-parallel nanofluidic structures in silicon gained in the development of our own drug delivery products enables us to support Leonardo in bringing their manufacturing process to a commercial performance level," said Randy Goodall, president and CEO of NanoMedical Systems. "Our medical device engineering quality system is designed to produce an FDA-compliant process that will bring Leonardo to the doorstep of clinical testing of their innovative drug delivery products."

With the support of university researchers and NMS, Leonardo has formed prototype particles, demonstrating all the necessary unit processes to make the particles. Under the collaboration, NMS will engineer, refine, and integrate these steps in a manner that prepares Leonardo for manufacturing particles suitable for clinical trials.

"NMS’s familiarity with silicon materials and their capability to do the work under an FDA-compliant quality system makes them an ideal partner," said Bruce D. Given, M.D., CEO of Leonardo Biosystems. "Creation of a commercial-scale manufacturing process compliant with regulatory requirements is on the critical path for Leonardo to translate its exciting animal proof of concept data into clinical reality. With NMS as a partner, we look forward to moving ahead aggressively with our development program."

Leonardo’s lead technology consists of fully biodegradable, porous silicon particles smaller than a red blood cell, which can be loaded with a diverse array of secondary nanoparticles such as liposomes, micelles, carbon nanotubes, dendrimers and metallic nanoparticles. In addition to bypassing many of the body’s natural defenses that lead to rapid clearance of nanoparticles administered alone, Leonardo’s particles can be designed to seek out tumor vasculature and can be tuned to create an intravascular depot, providing sustained release following a single intravenous injection.

Leonardo Biosystems is a drug delivery company built around technology developed by Dr. Mauro Ferrari, an original innovator in the field of Bio-MEMS. Leonardo has a multi-stage delivery platform that has been shown in animal models to be highly effective in targeting delivery of siRNA and small molecule drugs. Leonardo is a portfolio company of Arrowhead Research Corporation. For more information, please visit www.leonardobiosystems.com.

NanoMedical Systems is a drug delivery company developing implantable devices that use silicon nanochannel technology, also based on Dr. Mauro Ferrari’s work. NanoMedical Systems implant platform, the Personalized Molecular Drug-delivery System includes a first generation device (PMDS-1) customizable for months of constant release of a wide range of drug and biologic molecules with a second generation device (PMDS-2) that will provide variable controlled release via programming, remote control, and sensors. The PMDS-1 has demonstrated the sustained delivery of therapeutics from small molecules to peptides and proteins in both in vitro and in vivo studies. For more information, please visit www.NanoMedSys.com.

November 28, 2011 – PRWEB — Innovative Solutions Bulgaria Ltd. acquired Bulgaria’s largest micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) fab, built north of Sofia in 2004. This new facility provides Innovative Solutions Bulgaria, manufacturer of the BudgetSensors line of atomic force microscopy (AFM) probes and AFM calibration standards, with space to expand its production capacity.

The deal is expected to close by the end of 2011.

Innovative Solutions Bulgaria has been at nearly full capacity for over 2 years, noted Dr. Kamen Nikolov, founder and CEO. The added facility will support sales growth for another 5-10 years, the company expects.

Innovative Solutions Bulgaria Ltd. (ISB) is mainly focused on the manufacturing and distribution of Probes and Calibration Standards for Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) under the brand BudgetSensors. See more at www.budgetsensors.com or go to www.isb.bg.

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