Tag Archives: research

MEMS Mirrors for LIDAR

Clever integration of new microelectronic/nanoelectronic technologies will continue to provide increased functionalities for modern products. Light Imaging, Detection, And Ranging (LIDAR) technology uses lasers to see though fog and darkness, and smaller less expensive LIDAR systems are needed for autonomous driving applications now being developed by dozens of major companies around the world. A significant step in the right direction has been taken by the US government’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) after working with AMFitzgerald on a MEMS mirror Light-field Directing Array (LDA) prototype.

In-process photo of the Light-field Directing Array (LDA) MEMS prototype designed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. (Source: AMFitzgerald & Assoc.)

For the past several years, AMFitzgerald has been developing the fabrication process for a novel MEMS micro-mirror array designed by Dr. Robert Panas’s research group at LLNL, as shown in this video. The technology has been developed specifically to serve LIDAR, laser communications, and other demanding applications where existing MEMS mirror array technologies are insufficient. The novel design offers exceptional speed and tilt range, with three axes (tip-tilt-piston), feedback control, and 99% fill factor. The technology is available for license from the LLNL Industrial Partnerships Office.

At the upcoming MEMS & Sensors Technical Congress, on May 11, Dr. Carolyn D. White will present a case study on how she developed this complex prototype and leveraged AMFitzgerald’s ecosystem of partners to integrate specialty processes. Dr. Alissa Fitzgerald—founder and principle of AMFitzgerald leading the development of innovative MEMS and sensor solutions for specialty applications—will be giving a keynote address on “Next Generation MEMS Manufacturing” at 9:10am May 17 during The ConFab. Dr. Fitzgerald has unparalleled expertise in how to best design MEMS for different fab lines, and is a speaker not to be missed.

—E.K.

Dan Rose departs material realm

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Daniel J. Rose, Ph.D.
November 7, 1937 – September 20, 2016

With sadness I post that Daniel J. Rose, Ph.D.—founder of Rose Associates—passed away on September 20, 2016, due to complications of Alzheimer’s disease. Dan Rose received a Ph.D. in materials engineering from the University of British Columbia, and subsequently spent five years managing packaging manufacturing operations at Fairchild Semiconductor. He worked with and become friends with industry luminaries such as Intel’s founder Robert Noyce, and National Semiconductor’s founder Charlie Sporck.

In February of 1970, he founded Rose Associates, which initially provided engineering and manufacturing support to the semiconductor industry, establishing factories in the US and assembly plants in the Far East. In 1977, Rose Associates began conducting market research in electronic materials. In January of 1985, Rose Associates began publishing the Electronic Materials Report (EMR) monthly newsletter, and In 1986 held its first annual Electronic Materials Conference.

Dan Tracy, Ph.D.— SEMI Senior Director, Industry Research & Statistics—was one of Rose’s associates who joined the trade organization in 2000 when it acquired Rose Associates’ business. Tracy wrote a wonderfully heartfelt remembrance as a LinkedIn Pulse article (https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/dr-daniel-j-rose-phd-dan-tracy?trk=hb_ntf_MEGAPHONE_ARTICLE_POST).

—E.K.

Trefonas Earns 2016 Perkin Medal

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The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI), America Group, announced on May 5, 2016 that Peter Trefonas, Ph.D., corporate fellow in Electronic Materials at Dow Chemical Co (NYSE:DOW), has won the 2016 SCI Perkin Medal. This honor recognizes Trefonas’ contributions in the development of chemicals that enable microlithography for the fabrication of microelectronic circuits. Trefonas will receive the medal at a dinner in his honor on Tuesday, September 13, 2016, at the Hilton Penn’s Landing Hotel in Philadelphia.

Trefonas made major contributions to the development of many successful products which are used in the production of integrated circuits spanning device design generations from 2 microns to 14 nanometers. These include photoresists, antireflectant coatings, underlayers, developers, and ancillary products. At the most recent SPIE Advanced Lithography conference he was part of a team that presented on the use of a resolution extension material, “Chemical trimming overcoat: an enhancing composition and process for 193nm lithography.”

He is an inventor on 61 US patents, has over 25 additional published active U.S. patent applications, is an author of 99 journal and technical publications, and is a recent recipient of both the 2014 ACS Heroes of Chemistry Award and the 2014 SPIE Willson Award. His research career began at Monsanto, and moved via acquisitions by Shipley, Rohm&Haas, and Dow.

—E.K.