Category Archives: MEMS

CEA-Leti will host a workshop for industrial companies to present its latest advances in MEMS and an overview of the success of its recent MEMS startup, Wavelens, during Transducers’ 2013 and Eurosensors XXVII in Barcelona, Spain.

Workshop: 6:30-8 p.m., June 18, Rooms 118-119, CCIB Barcelona

The session features three brief presentations from 6:30-7:10 p.m.: 6:30-6:40 p.m.: Overview of CEA-Leti, from technologies to applications.  Jean-René Lèquepeys, head of Leti’s Silicon Components Division, which is involved in micro- and nanoelectronics, micro- and nanosystems, and 3Dstacking.

6:40-7 p.m.: Presentation of Leti’s most recent major achievements in the MEMS field, with a focus on advanced multi-purpose MEMS and NEMS platforms. Dr. Julien Arcamone, manager for MEMS business development in the Silicon Components Division.

7-7:10 p.m.: Update on Wavelens, a recent Leti startup that is focused on improving the performance of miniature cameras with innovative MEMS optical solutions. Dr. Arnaud Pouydebasque, Wavelens CTO.

A networking and cocktail event will follow the workshop from 7:10 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Leti is an institute of CEA, a French research-and-technology organization with activities in energy, IT, healthcare, defence and security. It specializes in nanotechnologies and their applications, from wireless devices and systems, to biology, healthcare and photonics. NEMS and MEMS are at the core of its activities. CEA-Leti operates 8,000-m² of clean room space on 200mm and 300mm wafer platforms. It employs 1,700 scientists and engineers including 320 Ph.D. students and 200 assignees from partner companies. CEA-Leti owns more than 2,200 patent families.

Photonics societies across the United States today announced the launch of the National Photonics Initiative. These societies, comprised of the IEEE Photonics Society, the Laser Institute of America, Optical Society of America, SPIE and the American Physical Society, intend for this initiative to be a collaborative alliance that will unite industry, academia and government experts to identify and advance areas of photonics critical to maintaining US competitiveness and national security.

“Life without photonics is almost unimaginable. From the moment you wake up to the alarm on your smartphone, to swiping your credit card to pay for coffee, to logging into your computer and connecting with the world through the Internet, photonics makes it possible,” said OSA CEO Elizabeth Rogan. “The NPI will work to advance photonics in the areas that are most critical to the US, like improving the economy, creating jobs, saving lives and sparking innovation for future generations.”

Photonics generates, controls and detects light to advance manufacturing, robotics, medical imaging, next-generation displays, defense technologies, biometric security, image processing, communications, astronomy and much more. Photonics forms the backbone of the Internet, guides energy exploration and keeps men and women in uniform safe with night vision and physiological feedback on the battlefield.

In 1998, the National Research Council released a report, “Harnessing Light,” which presented a comprehensive overview of the potential impact of photonics on major industry sectors. In response, several worldwide economies moved to advance their already strong photonics industries. The United States, however, did not develop a cohesive strategy. As a result, the US lost its competitive advantage in a number of cutting-edge technologies as well as thousands of US jobs and companies to overseas markets.

“The EU, Germany, Korea, Taiwan and China all recognize the importance of photonics, and have taken action,” said SPIE CEO Eugene Arthurs. “The US Department of Defense, for example, has long supported photonics, but more photonics research is needed to maintain our national security in the face of non-traditional threats. The time is now for the US to make the right investments in the crucial capabilities of the future.”

In 2012, the National Research Council released “Optics and Photonics: Essential Technologies for our Nation” that called for a national photonics initiative to regain US leadership in key photonic-driven fields. In response to that call, the NPI was established to raise awareness about photonics and the impact of photonics on our everyday lives; increase collaboration and coordination among US industry, government and academia to advance photonics-driven fields; and drive US funding and investment in areas of photonics critical to maintaining US competitiveness and national security.

“The NPI offers an opportunity for us to show how critical it is for federally funded research to flourish in this country,” said Kate Kirby, executive officer of APS. “So many of the technologies that we use have come from the results of basic research funded by the federal government.”

As part of the NPI effort, more than 100 experts from industry, academia and government collaborated to draft a white paper detailing recommendations to guide funding and investment in five key photonics-driven fields: advanced manufacturing, communications and information technology, defense and national security, health and medicine and energy. New opportunities in these fields such as 3-D printing, more efficient solar power, improved nuclear threat identification, more accurate cancer detection and the growth of Internet speeds and capacity, offer the potential for even greater societal impact in the next few decades.

“There are thousands of companies that have sprung up in the last decade or so that produce the photonics devices and systems that we all depend on now, but there’s plenty of room for growth,” said Richard Linke, executive director of the IEEE Photonics Society.

In order to capitalize on new opportunities and regain global leadership and economic prosperity, the white paper also provides key recommendations to the United States government that apply across all five of the fields:

  • Drive funding and investment in areas of photonics critical to maintaining US competitiveness and national security—advanced manufacturing, defense, energy, health and medicine, information technology and communications; 
  • Develop federal programs that encourage greater collaboration between US industry and academia to better support the research and development of next-generation photonics technologies;
  • Increase investment in education and job training programs to reduce the shortage of technically skilled workers needed to fill the growing number of photonics-based positions;
  • Expand federal investments supporting university and industry collaborative research to develop new manufacturing methods that incorporate photonics such as additive manufacturing and ultra-short-pulse laser material processing; and
  • Collaborate with US industry to review international trade practices impeding free trade, and the current US criteria restricting the sale of certain photonic technologies overseas.

The NPI maintains that fulfillment of these recommendations will position the United States as a global leader in photonics research and development, and will grow the US economy and add jobs at home.

“Our objective is to direct funding intelligently to research, implementation and education and training, with the ultimate goal of restoring US competitiveness, thereby improving our security, our economy and our quality of life,” said LIA Executive Director Peter Baker.

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this article, the Optoelectronics Industry Development Association was listed in the first paragraph among the societies launching this initiative. This information was incorrect. Solid State Technology apologizes for the error.

Worldwide semiconductor revenues decreased by 2.2 percent year over year to $295 billion in 2012, according to the latest version of the International Data Corporation (IDC) Semiconductor Application Forecaster (SAF). The industry witnessed a slowdown during the second half of 2012 on weak consumer spending across PCs, mobile phones, and digital televisions (DTV), as well as in the industrial and other market segments. The European economic crises and a slowdown in China also had an impact on global demand while the lackluster launch of Windows 8 failed to stimulate PC sales and turn the tide. Meanwhile, competitive suppliers from China continued to pressure average selling prices, dragging down overall revenue growth. IDC expects the semiconductor market to return to growth in 2013 with revenues forecast to increase by 3.5 percent this year.

IDC’s SAF tracks more than 120 semiconductor companies. Most companies saw their revenues decline during the year, including eight of the top ten companies. Only 17 companies, with revenues of a billion or more, grew at a rate above 5 percent last year. Among the 25 largest companies covered in the SAF, only seven had positive top-line growth, including: Qualcomm, Broadcom, NXP, NVIDIA, MediaTek, Apple, and Sharp Electronics. AllWinner, a tablet application processor supplier, was the fastest growing company in 2012.

The largest semiconductor company, Intel, saw its revenues decline to $50.0 billion in 2012, down 3 percent from 2011 largely due to weak PC demand, and minimal traction in tablets and smartphones. Samsung Electronics, the second largest supplier, saw revenues drop 6 percent on weak DTV demand, loss of market share at Apple, and volatile memory prices. Meanwhile, Qualcomm, the largest fabless semiconductor supplier, ranked third last year as revenues grew 34 percent to $13.2 billion due to its leadership in modem technology and success of its Snapdragon application processor in smartphones. Texas instruments, the number four supplier, saw revenues decline by 6 percent due to falling analog, DSP, and MPU revenues and the company’s exit from its wireless business. Rounding out the top 5, Toshiba revenues were off by 13 percent from the previous year due to declining revenues for its analog, ASSP, and memory products. Renesas, Hynix, Broadcom, STMicroelectronics, and Micron filled out the top 10 spots. From this group of companies, only Broadcom saw revenues grow last year. Combined, the top 10 vendors represented 52 percent of worldwide semiconductor revenues, declining 3 percent when compared to 2011. The top 25 semiconductor firms brought in $206 billion, declining 3 percent year over year.

Within the semiconductor device types, performance was mixed. Sensors and actuators grew the fastest at 11 percent year over year, but with 2012 revenues of $7 billion the segment only accounted for 2 percent of industry revenues. ASSPs, the largest category of semiconductors with 32 percent of the overall opportunity, grew by 4 percent for the year on strength in media, graphics, and application processors and RF and mixed-signal ASSPs. Finally, optoelectronics, with 6 percent of total semiconductor revenues, grew 5 percent, mostly from image sensors and LEDs. Revenues for microcomponents declined by 5 percent, driven by lower revenues for MPUs and MCUs. Memory, representing 17 percent of the industry, saw its revenues decline by 10 percent. Finally, Analog, which accounted for 7 percent of revenues last year, declined by 7 percent.

"Beyond the slowdown in end-market demand, the challenge for semiconductor companies is to zero in on their key value propositions. Whether that is in modem or connectivity technologies, sensors, mixed-signal processing, or power management, there are areas of the market showing strong potential. However, competing in crowded segments with little differentiation has contributed to the slowdown in semiconductor revenues," said Michael J. Palma, research manager, Semiconductors at IDC, who led the study and compiled the SAF results. "Large vendors have been going through a process of narrowing their product portfolios to focus resources on profitable lines where their IP and experience provide an edge in the market."

"As we mentioned in our Top 10 Predictions for the 2013 worldwide semiconductor market, investment in R&D and capital in the semiconductor industry remains very high and focused on innovation and addressing the competitive dynamics of a diverse set of industries that semiconductors support. In fact, the overall market landscape and reach of semiconductors continues to expand with the rise of Intelligent Systems and will play a critical role in the overall health and growth of the market," said Mario Morales, program vice president for enabling technologies and semiconductors.

IDC’s Semiconductor and Enabling Technologies research team manages the Worldwide Semiconductor Applications Forecaster database, which is a focal point for IDC’s semiconductor research efforts. This database contains revenue data collected from more than 120 semiconductor companies and forecasts the markets to 2017. Revenue for over twelve semiconductor device areas, four geographic regions, six major vertical markets, and over 90 system devices markets are also part of the SAF coverage.

STMicroelectronics today announced the winners of the Singapore Area University iNEMO Design Contest 2013. The winning teams successfully conceptualized, developed and built demonstrable prototypes of entirely new applications using ST’s iNEMO MEMS sensor-fusion modules.

"We are impressed by the students’ ability to quickly grasp this technology to create working prototypes addressing new and diverse areas of application such as fitness, recreation, healthcare, navigation and industrial applications,” said Fabio Pasolini, general manager of the Motion MEMS division at STMicroelectronics. “These achievements perfectly reflect the vision STMicroelectronics has for MEMS technology, pushing its boundaries beyond the applications in smartphones, consumer electronics and automotive safety that we are more familiar with to create new applications and markets."

The objective of the iNEMO Design contest is to encourage students to think outside the box and create entirely new applications for MEMS sensors. MEMS technology essentially provides the "Smart" functionality in modern-day electronics, making it able to "sense" specific changes in its environment and react accordingly.

The contest participants, comprised of selected final-year engineering students from the National University of Singapore and the Nanyang Technological University, were paired in teams of two. Twelve teams competed, sponsored by ST with iNEMO modules, technical support and the financial support of SGD 1,000 per team for the purchase of 3rd-party materials. The submissions for the iNEMO contest were also part of the students’ final-year project.

The challenge to develop original life-enhancing applications with the latest sensor technology spurred the students to stretch their creativity while acquiring a clear understanding of market needs, said Professor Cheng Tee Hiang of Nanyang Technological University.

“This is the real industry environment they will have to function in and this program is a powerful teaching tool to that end,” he concluded.

ST sees MEMS technology bringing a lot of "Smart" features into many diverse areas including healthcare, wellness, recreation, navigation, security and industrial applications. The students participating in the iNEMO Design Contest were encouraged to create new applications in such areas and originality of ideas and real-life practicality were among the key winning criteria.

The champion team, comprised of Joel Ye Zhu’En and Benjamin Pong Xiang Ming from The National University of Singapore, developed a video camera stabilizer for aerial videography. The volatile swaying experienced in aerial videography makes it impossible for a video camera to fix its frame of focus on a specific target. Using the iNEMO to sense the multi-directional movements experienced by the camera, the module controls multiple motors attached to the camera platform to compensate for any swaying in any direction so that the camera maintains its frame of focus on a specific target. Joel and Benjamin’s idea has many possible industrial applications involving aerial and marine surveillance or videography where the camera platform suffers from volatile swaying or movement. The champion team wins a SGD 10,000 cash prize sponsored by ST.

The first runner-up team comprising Li Shiwei and Wu Haozhou from The Nanyang Technological University developed a "smart" dumbbell that is able to manage the entire training regimen of the user, as well as detect if the swing angle and velocity of the lift is incorrect and inform the user, improving their exercise skills. The first runner-up team wins a SGD 5,000 cash prize sponsored by ST.

The second runner-up team comprising Pushpaleela Prabakar and Nallasamy Suriya from The National University of Singapore used the iNEMO technology to transform an ordinary bicycle into a "smart" bicycle. The application measures the distance cycled and calculates the calories burnt, as well as it offers safety features such as automatically ringing a bell when turning a blind corner or indicating to the user the presence of nearby vehicles. The second runner-up team wins a SGD 3,000 cash prize sponsored by ST.

last power logoLAST POWER, the European Union-sponsored program aimed at developing a cost-effective and reliable technology for power electronics, today announced its three-year program achievements.

Launched in April 2010 by the European Nanoelectronics Initiative Advisory Council (ENIAC) Joint Undertaking (JU), a public-private partnership in nanoelectronics, LAST POWER links private companies, universities and public research centers working in the field of wide bandgap semiconductors (SiC and GaN). The consortium members are STMicroelectronics (Italy), project coordinator, LPE/ETC (Italy), Institute for Microelectronics and Microsystems of the National Research Council -IMM-CNR (Italy), Foundation for Research & Technology-Hellas – FORTH (Greece), NOVASiC (France), Consorzio Catania Ricerche – CCR (Italy), Institute of High Pressure Physics – Unipress (Poland), Università della Calabria (Italy), SiCrystal (Germany), SEPS Technologies (Sweden), SenSiC (Sweden), Acreo (Sweden), Aristotle University of Thessaloniki – AUTH (Greece).

The main achievements in SiC-related efforts were based on the demonstration by SiCrystal of large-area 4H-SiC substrates, 150mm in diameter, with a cut-off angle of 2°-off axis. The material quality, both in crystal structure and surface roughness, is comparable with the standard 100mm 4°-off material available at the beginning of the project. At LPE/ETC, these substrates have been used for epitaxial growth of moderately doped epi-layers suitable for the fabrication of 600-1200V JBS (Junction Barrier Schottky) diodes and MOSFETs, owing to the development of a novel CVD reactor for the growth on large-area (150mm) 4H-SiC.

The quality of the epitaxial layer enabled the fabrication of JBS (Junction Barrier Schottky) diodes in the industrial production line at STMicroelectronics. The characterization of the first lots showed electrical performance comparable with the state-of-the-art 4°-off material. In this context, the fundamental technological step was the chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process — StepSiC  reclamation and planarization — implemented at NOVASiC, which is a key issue both for the preparation of the substrates before epitaxial growth and for the sub-nanometric control of the surface roughness of the device active layers. Within the project, the same company also developed epitaxial growth capability for both MOSFET and JFET devices.

Additional research activities in SiO2/SiC interfaces have been carried out in collaboration with ST and IMM-CNR to improve the channel mobility in 4H-SiC MOSFETs.

Finally, novel technological modules for high-temperature 4H-SiC JFETs and MOSFETs have been developed in collaboration between Acreo and FORTH, with the support of CCR for the study of molding compounds and "lead-free" die-attach materials for reliable packaging solutions.

The LAST POWER project also researched the use of GaN-based devices in power-electronics applications. In particular, ST successfully obtained the development of AlGaN/GaN HEMTs epitaxial structures grown on 150mm Si substrates, reaching a target of 3mm thickness and 200V breakdown. LAST POWER worked with IMM-CNR, Unipress, and ST to develop the technological steps for normally-off AlGaN/GaN HEMTs with a "gold-free" approach. The process modules are fully compatible with the device-fabrication flow-chart set in the ST production line and are being integrated for HEMTs fabrication. The fruitful interaction between the project partners working on material growth and device technology has enabled important steps towards monolithic integration of GaN-based and SiC-based devices, as both technologies have been successfully proven on 2°-off axis 4H-SiC substrates.

Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) are increasingly turning to electronics manufacturing service (EMS) providers to better handle the escalating volumes of electronic content in the medical industry. With opportunities for high-level product assembly and complete build projects expected to increase, the potential for EMS in the medical industry will progress gradually over the next few years

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, “EMS Opportunities in the Medical Industry,” research finds that the market earned revenue of more than $16.43 billion in 2012 and estimates this to reach $34.38 billion in 2019.

 “The challenge in maintaining certified, state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities and complex supply chain operations is that it strains OEMs’ profit margins, compelling them to adopt EMS,” said Frost & Sullivan Electronics and Manufacturing Equipment Research Analyst Lavanya Rammohan. “EMS providers, with their exposure to various verticals, are the ideal solution to manage the electronics boom in healthcare brought about by the use of wireless communications, robotics and software.”

Rising demand for engineering support as well as improving EMS competencies in product introduction, manufacture design and value-add services will boost EMS growth in the medical industry.

However, despite EMS providers’ growing expertise, the risk of liabilities prevents OEMs from outsourcing several services. Stringent regulations place medical OEMs under huge scrutiny, thereby limiting their outsourcing to tactical operations, such as printed circuit board assembly and sub-system assembly.

Strict regulations also lengthen the outsourcing cycle, as OEMs are cautious in decision-making and favor EMS vendors with proven expertise. Manufacturers’ preference to retain intellectual property and strategic customer touch points reduces revenue possibilities for EMS dealers.

“EMS suppliers need to focus on developing strong relationships with original equipment manufacturers to build trust and capability, as OEM-EMS partnerships require long-term commitment in order for outsourcing to increase,” concluded Rammohan. “Service providers must be aware of industry trends, including financial models, long sales realization cycles, manufacturing challenges, supply chain complexities, certifications and audits, to offer all-round services.”

MEMS Industry Group (MIG), the industry organization advancing MEMS across global markets, today announced its conference and exposition line-up for the 2013 Sensors Expo and Conference, an event in North America for designing sensors and sensor-integrated systems. Joined by member-companies, MIG will examine MEMS sensor fusion through a pre-conference symposium. MIG speakers will also address MEMS in consumer, industrial and medical/healthcare markets through a MEMS conference track and MEMS Pavilion exhibition area on the show floor.

Pre-conference Symposium: MEMS Sensor Fusion

During the MEMS Pre-conference Symposium—“MEMS Sensor Fusion: Faster: Stronger. Smarter.” on June 4, MIG speakers will discuss how sensor fusion—the intelligent combination of data from several sensors for the purpose of improving application or system performance—is moving rapidly into the commercialization phase.

“MEMS sensor fusion offers the leading approach to meeting or exceeding power, performance and cost requirements in heterogeneous embedded systems—including mobile handsets and tablets,” said Karen Lightman, executive director, MEMS Industry Group. “And with MEMS sensors critical to the Internet of Things, embedded systems designers are increasingly hungry for information on sensor fusion tools and techniques. That is why, in our third consecutive year of playing a significant role at Sensors Expo, we decided to focus our symposium on this exciting topic.”

The MEMS Pre-conference Symposium will feature:

  • Introduction—Karen Lightman, executive director, MEMS Industry Group
  • MEMS Analyst Panel: Sensor Fusion Growth and Trends—Marwan Boustany, senior analyst MEMS + SENSORS, IHS iSuppli; Laurent Robin, market and technology analyst, Yole Développement; Tony Massimini, chief of technology, Semico Research
  • Simplifying Sensor Fusion—Marcellino Gemelli, senior marketing manager, Bosch Sensortec
  • How to Use Always-On Sensors for Context Awareness: Getting More Out of Mobile Devices—Kevin Shaw, CTO, Sensor Platforms
  • Architectures for “Always-On” Motion Sensor Fusion for Mobile Devices—Per Slycke, CTO and  founder, Xsens Technologies BV
  • Piezoelectric MEMS MicroPowerGenerators for Smart Wireless Sensor Networks—Kathleen Vaeth, vice president of engineering, MicroGen Systems
  • How the Micro-Amp Magnetic Gyro Opens up New Possibilities for Mobile Applications—John Chong, director, product engineering, Kionix
  • Android as a Platform for Sensor Fusion Education and Evaluation—Mike Stanley, systems engineer, Freescale Semiconductor
  • Sensor Modeling for MEMS Sensor Fusion—MaryAnn Maher, CEO and founder, SoftMEMS
  • MEMS Sensor Fusion Panel: A Dive into Standardization—David DiPaola, principal, DiPaola Consulting; Ken Foust, sensor technologist, Intel Corp.; Becky Oh, president and CEO, PNI Sensor Corporation; Satwant Singh, MIPI Alliance
  • Thinking Outside the (Mobile) Box: Other Important High-Value Applications for Sensor Fusion—Alissa Fitzgerald, founder and managing member, A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates

For more information on the MEMS conference track and more at the 2013 Sensor Expo and Conference, visit http://bit.ly/MIGse13.

MEMS Industry Group (MIG) is the trade association advancing MEMS across global markets. More than 140 companies and industry partners comprise MIG, including Analog Devices, Applied Materials, Bosch, Freescale Semiconductor, GE, Honeywell, HP, Intel, InvenSense, Murata Electronics Oy, OMRON Electronic Components, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., STMicroelectronics and Texas Instruments.

David DiPaola is managing director for DiPaola Consulting, a company focused on engineering and management solutions for electromechanical systems, sensors and MEMS products.  A 17-year veteran of the field, he has brought many products from concept to production in high volume with outstanding quality.  His work in design and process development spans multiple industries including automotive, medical, industrial and consumer electronics.  He employs a problem solving-based approach working side-by-side with customers from startups to multi-billion dollar companies.  David also serves as senior technical staff to The Richard Desich SMART Commercialization Center for Microsystems, is an authorized external researcher at The Center for Nanoscale Science and Technology at NIST and is a senior member of IEEE. Previously,he has held engineering management and technical staff positions at Texas Instruments and Sensata Technologies, authored numerous technical papers, is a respected lecturer and holds five patents. Visit www.dceams.com.

After a functional A-sample prototype is built, it doesn’t take long for a project to gain traction that has market pull.  This is usually the point that a project becomes highly visible within a company and it enters the Technology Development Process (TDP). The TDP is made up of multiple phases including concept, prototype, pilot and production with gates at the end of each phase.  Design and process reviews are required at each gate but may also occur within a phase. These reviews are an open forum for communication of project progress and gaps towards technological, business and schedule milestones. Furthermore, the product is constantly evaluated against the market need and potential changes in market that may have occurred. The audience for the reviews at a gate include peers and management, who provide feedback on the project to date and collectively decide whether additional work is needed to complete the current phase or the completed work is sufficient to allow the project to proceed to the next phase with additional funding.  In certain instances, a project that has not met all of the deliverables may be allowed to proceed to the next phase, but under strict conditions, that must be fulfilled within a given timeline.  The goal of the TDP is to focus the team on high quality execution, effectively screen projects allowing only the best to proceed and hence accelerate successful innovation and profitability. 

The MEMS Industry Group (MIG) Technology Development Process Template is an excellent tool for companies to use to implement the TDP within their organization (Marty et al. 2013). The goal of the TDP was to create a simplified frame work that could be easily customized to fit a company’s needs. The TDP structure shown below is a slightly modified version of the TDP developed by MIG.  In this version there are four major phases including concept, prototype, pilot and production with three major gates. 

 

Figure 1

TDP Structure

MEMS new product development

 

 The concept phase is where ideas are generated and the initial A-samples are developed. It is also where the business case is first generated and the market need is defined.  It is highly desirable to have market pull at this point. The prototype phase is where the design is developed in detail and B-samples are fabricated to support various levels of validation. The outcome of the prototype phase is to have design that can be manufactured in volume production. Towards the end of the prototype phase, production tooling is often released. The pilot phase is where production tooling is built and qualified.  In addition, the product is made on production tooling (C-samples) and revalidated. It is important to note that there should be no change in the product design between the last revision in prototype and the first samples off the production tooling. The production phase is low to high volume production ramp. Often customers will require revalidation of products in production once a year for the life of the product.   

At each gate, there is a design and process review for the project. In order for the team to be focused and efficient, there needs to be a clear set of deliverables defined for completion of each phase.  These deliverables range from business and market definition to project technical details to production launch.  This checklist provides an in-depth set of deliverables for the design reviews at each gate that can be tailored to the specific needs of an organization. It is noted that a fourth gate is common 3-6 months after production launch to review project status but is not depicted in Figure 1.

This table can be downloaded from the following link in PDF format.  Many of the items listed above are self-explanatory.  Others are explained in more detail in previous blogs posts such as DFMEA and tolerance stacks.  

The Technology Development Process is an essential element of successful MEMS new product launches.  The Design Review Checklist can also provide a frame work for discussion between management and engineers on required deliverables to pass a particle gate.  With improved communication and efficient execution of technology development, the TDP is a great tool for accelerating innovation and profitable MEMS products.  In next month’s blog, the necessary attributes of a MEMS engineer for new product development will be discussed.  

Works Cited:

Marty, Valerie, Dirk Ortloff, and David DiPaola. "The MIG Technology Development Process       Template." MEMS Industry Group, Mar. 2013. Web. 28 Apr. 2013.

 

Combo MEMS sensors for automotive applications are off to another exhilarating ride this year as revenue continues to climb, spurred by rapidly accelerating use in car safety systems, according to an IHS iSuppli MEMS and Sensors Report from information and analytics provider IHS.

Global revenue in 2013 for combo inertial sensors used in motor vehicles will reach a projected $163 million, up a notable 77 percent from $92 million last year. The anticipated increase continues a hot streak for the market, which saw a phenomenal 338 percent surge last year from just $10 million in 2011, as shown below.

MEMS combo sensors

Combo inertial sensors are multiple-sensor devices integrating accelerometers, gyroscopes into a single package, providing inertial inputs to the electronic stability control (ESC) system in cars to prevent or minimize skidding.

“ESC systems are mandated in North America, Europe and in other areas where the edicts are maturing, such as Australia, Japan, Canada and South Korea,” said Richard Dixon, Ph.D., principal analyst for MEMS and Sensors at IHS. “But a huge growth opportunity exists in untapped territories like China, which would significantly impact the penetration of ESC worldwide given the vast size of the Chinese market. Such gains, in turn, would provide tremendous impetus and momentum for automotive combo sensors overall.”

Why combos?

Three architectures are currently possible for ESC systems in cars: on a printed circuit board as a separate ESC engine control unit (ECU); attached to the brake modulator to save cabling; or collocated in the airbag ECU. Of these three usable locations, the current trend favors placing ESC systems in the airbag ECU to achieve a smaller footprint and greater efficiency, given that there is a space constraint for the ECU in this position near the cup holder in a vehicle, which favors an architecture of reduction.

All told, as much as a fivefold reduction in space could be achieved for the sensors in a combo-sensor ESC system made by a manufacturer like Continental, compared to the same accomplished via separate sensors.

A non-combo solution also exists in the form of the sensors separately mounted on the printed circuit board. But deploying the sensors in a combo form factor saves not only on packaging cost but also on expensive real estate for the semiconductors being used, since the two sensors in the combo package share the same application-specific integrated circuit.

Cost is a factor

A paramount issue for ESC systems is cost. Cost is especially important because ESC formerly was considered an optional feature—but since being mandated by governments—it now has attained the same required status as the seat belt.

As a result, the entire supply chain and price structure for automotive combo sensors has been experiencing huge pressure, exerted from car makers down the chain. Tier 1 companies then pass on this pressure to their suppliers, accounting for the accelerated move to provide efficient combo sensor solutions for inertial sensors in the system.

Because of such pressure, some top-tier companies have indicated that only legacy businesses will use older arrangements featuring separate sensors—not a combo solution—on a printed circuit board in the future. All new car models will use combo sensors.

Top suppliers identified

The major suppliers of automotive combo inertial sensors are Bosch of Germany and Japan’s Murata (formerly VTI). Two other potential manufacturers, Panasonic of Japan and Massachusetts-based Analog Devices, will need to develop similar solutions to have a chance in the market.

For its part, Panasonic has indicated that a product will be available by 2014. Panasonic Industrial makes the gyroscope part of the solution, while Panasonic Electric Works makes the accelerometer component.

However, the two entities do not have a good track record of working together, so it remains to be seen how soon a unified combo sensor solution from Panasonic will come to market.

Meanwhile, Analog Devices is divulging little information, but it will almost certainly develop a combo sensor solution, IHS iSuppli believes, based on an analysis of developments surrounding the competition.

Researchers from IMDEA-Nanociencia Institute and from Autonoma and Complutense Universities of Madrid (Spain) have managed to give graphene magnetic properties. The breakthrough, published in the journal ‘Nature Physics’, opens the door to the development of graphene-based spintronic devices, that is, devices based on the spin or rotation of the electron, and could transform the electronics industry.

Scientists were already aware that graphene, an incredible material formed of a mesh of hexagonal carbon atoms, has extraordinary conductivity, mechanical and optical properties. Now it is possible to give it yet one more property: magnetism, implying a breakthrough in electronics.

magnetizing graphene
This is a computerised simulation of TCNQ molecules on graphene layer, where they acquire a magnetic order.

This is revealed in the study that the Madrid Institute for Advanced Studies in Nanoscience (IMDEA-Nanociencia) and Autonoma Autonomous (UAM) and Complutense (UCM) universities of Madrid have just published in the ‘Nature Physics’ journal. Researchers have managed to create a hybrid surface from this material that behaves as a magnet.      

"In spite of the huge efforts to date of scientists all over the world, it has not been possible to add the magnetic properties required to develop graphene-based spintronics. However these results pave the way to this possibility," said Prof. Rodolfo Miranda, director of IMDEA-Nanociencia.

Spintronics is based on the charge of the electron, as in traditional electronics, but also on its spin, which determines its magnetic moment. A material is magnetic when most of its electrons have the same spin.

As the spin can have two values, its use adds two more states to traditional electronics. Thus, both data processing speed and quantity of data to be stored on electronic devices can be increased, with applications in fields such as telecommunications, computing, energy and biomedicine.

In order to develop a graphene-based spintronic device, the challenge was to ‘magnetize’ the material, and researchers from Madrid have found the way through the quantum and nanoscience world.

The technique involves growing an ultra-perfect graphene film over a ruthenium single crystal inside an ultra high vacuum chamber whereorganic molecules of tetracyano-p-quinodimethane (TCNQ) are evaporated on the grapheme surface. TCNQ is a molecule that acts as a semiconductor at very low temperatures in certain compounds.

On observing results through a scanning tunneling microscope (STM), scientists were surprised: organic molecules had organised themselves and were regularly distributed all over the surface, interacting electronically with the graphene-ruthenium substrate.                                                    

"We have proved in experiments how the structure of the TCNQ molecules over graphene acquires long-range magnetic order with electrons positioned in different bands according to their spin," clarifies Prof. Amadeo L. Vázquez de Parga.

Meanwhile, his colleague Prof. Fernando Martin has conducted modelling studies that have shown that, although graphene does not interact directly with the TCNQ, it does permit a highly efficient charge transfer between the substrate and the TCNQ molecules and allows the molecules to develop long range magnetic order.

The result is a new graphene-based magnetized layer, which paves the way towards the creation of devices based on what was already considered as the material of the future, but which now may also have magnetic properties.