Tag Archives: Small Times Magazine

May 8, 2012 – PRWEB — Si-Ware Systems (SWS), provider of integrated circuit (IC)– and micro electro mechanical system (MEMS)-based solutions for industrial and consumer applications, launched its Inertial Sensor Development Platform, the SWS61111 (formerly SWP210), a tool that can be used to evaluate an inertial sensor, such as a gyroscope or accelerometer, to understand sensor behavior and performance with complete interface electronics.

The SWS61111 utilizes SWS’s high performance inertial sensor interface ASIC, the SWS1110 (formerly SWI210). The SWS1110 is a configurable ASIC that has been successfully interfaced to multiple accelerometers and gyroscopes achieving best-in-class performance that exceeds that of competing MEMS sensor modules in the market today. With its ultra-low noise front-end, highly configurable open- and closed-loop (force-feedback) operation and high voltage capabilities, the SWS1110 is a perfect MEMS interface for high-end inertial sensing devices.

SWS’s SWS61111 is designed to allow for the quick and easy interfacing of almost all capacitive MEMS devices to comprehensive and high performance electronics. Rapid and detailed evaluation of issues such as parasitic modes of oscillation, electrical and mechanical coupling, high-volt effects and temperature behaviours provide crucial insight to MEMS and ASIC designers. This enables rapid time-to-market and concurrent optimization of MEMS and electronics. The SWS6111 also serves as a tool to evaluate SWS’s SWS1110 high performance ASIC, which is offered in die format with optional customization, for product targeting the high-end segment.

“For a number of years now we have been developing and utilizing development platforms internally that allow us to quickly and accurately understand and model the behavior of our partners’ MEMS devices,” said Ayman Elsayed, ASIC solutions division manager at Si-Ware Systems. “With a thorough understanding of the MEMS device and its behavior with interface electronics, potential pitfalls can be avoided and an interface ASIC can be developed much more efficiently.”

The SWS61111 consists of a programming board, an ASIC daughter board with a sensor placeholder, a USB interface, and associated PC software. SWS provides options for mounting the sensor to the daughter board, including creating custom daughter boards to match a particular sensor. Through an easy to use software interface, the MEMS sensor can be interrogated and the ASIC parameters configured to best match the sensor. If desired, the ASIC parameters can then be burned into the memory of the ASIC and the sensor-ASIC daughter board can be removed and utilized for system level measurements.

In addition to its experience with MEMS inertial sensors, SWS has worked with piezoelectric sensors, MEMS resonators, and MEMS optics. The company has developed an extensive IP library of electronics for MEMS and piezoelectric devices that can be utilized in the development of interface ASICs. The SWS61111 is the first development platform that SWS is making available to developers, but the company has many other internal development tools for the evaluation of MEMS or piezoelectric devices.

Si-Ware Systems is an independent fabless semiconductor company providing product design and development solutions, custom ASIC development and supply as well as standard products. For more information, please visit http://www.si-ware.com.

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May 8, 2012 — Baolab Microsystems will modify the structures of its 3D NanoCompass to build a range of other motion sensors, with the end-goal of low-cost, smart, reconfigurable inertial measurement units (IMUs). Baolab creates nano electro mechanical systems (NEMS) within standard CMOS wafer metal structures via its NanoEMS technology, an order of magnitude smaller than MEMS built on the surface of the wafer and also at a fraction of the cost made via high-volume manufacturing.

Baolab has designed ways to modify its NEMS structures to create gyroscopes, accelerometers, and magnetometers, said Dave Doyle, Baolab’s CEO. Baolab can build combinations of these sensors on the same chip, simultaneously with associated electronics. These multi-sensor IMUs could be activated and configured dynamically as required by the application.

By building MEMS on standard CMOS production techniques, Baolab can “make as many as we like of whatever mix of sensors that are required at the same time, integrated with the analog and digital electronics running fusion software to make them smart,” said Doyle. The traditional way of making MEMS sensors requires a different production process to make each type of sensor.

"We will be introducing a series of nanosensor products as we work our way through the roadmap towards our goal of ultra low cost, smart, multi-sensor NanoIMUs," he concluded.

Baolab’s NanoEMS technology enables MEMS to be created inside the CMOS wafer using standard manufacturing techniques. To learn more, visit www.baolab.com.

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May 8, 2012 — memsstar Limited, deposition and etch equipment supplier to the micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and semiconductor industries, named Mike Thompson as chief executive officer (CEO). He brings experience from STMicroelectronics, Replisaurus, and other microelectronics companies.

Interim CEO Peter Connock will remain with memsstar as chairman of the board.

Thompson will lead the company — which recently consolidated its semiconductor and MEMS manufacturing products under one brand — in organic growth, new product/services introductions, and strategic partnerships for both markets. "memsstar is extremely well positioned at the high end of the semiconductor refurbishment market in Europe with a great deal of market opportunity existing for revenue expansion,” said Thompson, adding that “the company has developed tremendous etch and coating technology for the global MEMS market.” In 2011, memsstar expanded in "Silicon Glen," doubling its cleanroom manufacturing space in Livingston, Scotland.

Thompson comes to memsstar from a technical and operational consultancy role in Europe’s high technology sector. He was CTO of Replisaurus Technologies, which develops copper wire bonding for IC packaging, from 2008 to 2011. Before that, he served as deputy CTO and VP of STMicroelectronics (STM, ST), responsible for the development of CMOS and derived technologies, as well as the French VLSI manufacturing operations in Rousset and Crolles. He led the factory start-ups of Crolles 1 (200mm) and Crolles 2 (300mm) and served as operations manager of those facilities, overseeing approximately 5000 employees and a production output value of around $1 billion per year.

Thompson holds a BSc in astronomy with advanced mathematics from the University of Glasgow.

memsstar Limited provides deposition and etch equipment and technology solutions to manufacturers of micro-electrical mechanical systems (MEMS) and semiconductors. Website: www.memsstar.com.

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May 7, 2012 – Marketwire — Boston Micromachines Corporation (BMC), which makes deformable mirror (DM) products and adaptive optics systems based on micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), won a Phase II contract for $750,000 from NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) to support NASA’s Exoplanet Exploration program.

The Phase 1 contract was for $125,000. As NASA searches for earth-sized planets outside of our solar system, deformable mirrors are used to correct residual aberrations in space telescope optics. Boston Micromachines developing processes and manufacturing innovations that will improve the ability of DMs to correct for residual aberrations, reducing glare in the imaging systems. Phase 1 covered development and demonstration of an innovative microfabrication process to substantially improve the surface quality achievable in high-resolution continuous-membrane MEMS DMs. The project goals include at least twofold improvement in small-scale surface flatness in comparison to the current state-of-the-art, and corresponding reductions in diffraction. Learn more about Phase I here.

DMs are subject to ionizing radiation, which can cause instability in the voltages that drive the DM. This Phase II grant will enable Boston Micromachines to construct a 2048-actuator, continuous-facesheet MEMS DM with enhanced reliability to handle harsh environments.

“Boston Micromachines’ MEMS DMs have enabled great performance and operation in high contrast imaging testbeds,” said Paul Bierden, president and co-founder of BMC, noting that the new funding will help simulate the conditions of space.

This Phase II award was offered based on NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program criteria, including technical merit and innovation, Phase I results, value to NASA, commercial potential and company capabilities.

Boston Micromachines Corporation (BMC) provides advanced micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) mirror products and adaptive optics systems. For more information on BMC, please visit www.bostonmicromachines.com.

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May 7, 2012 — Western Michigan University developed a device combining a laser and diamond cutting system, enabling users to process hard, brittle materials that are difficult to machine. Initial applications include micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) manufacturing, and other fabrication on semiconductor and ceramic materials.

The technology, developed by John Patten and Deepak Ravindra, combines a fiber laser (typically near-IR) with an optically transparent diamond cutting tool. Essentially, the laser source’s high temperature (1,000°C+) and pressure (>100 GPa at the cutting point) thermally heats and softens the material’s surface to make it more ductile and easier to machine with the high-stress diamond tool.

It does not create cracks like existing manufacturing processes do with diamond tools, which require subsequent polishing. This technique softens the material before processing so no cracks or fractures are ever introduced, eliminating those costs and time, explains Ravindra.

A spinoff company, Micro-Laser Assisted Machining Technologies (μ-LAM), has been formed to commercialize the technology. Their work has been backed by more than $2.3 million in funding since 1999, mostly from the National Science Foundation (NSF). A description of their work will be presented at next month’s North American Manufacturing Research Conference (NAMRC) at Notre Dame in South Bend, IL (paper 7777). They received a SMA Innovation award in 2009.

Learn more about lasers for device fabrication from Industrial Laser Solutions at http://www.industrial-lasers.com/index.html, which provided this news story.

Schematic illustrating the concept of the μ-LAM process. (Source: μ-LAM)


May 4, 2012 — Hanking Industrial Group Co., Ltd., broke ground on a micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) manufacturing campus in Fushun City, China, outside of Shenyang, in late March.

Photo. Yang Min, chairman of the board (fourth from left) led some executives of the Hanking Group to participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for a new MEMS fab.

The MEMS sensor manufacturing venture will lead the way for the company’s high-tech development strategy. Hanking Industrial is primarily a mining and metals processing company. Once completed, the Hanking Micro Electro Mechanical Sensor Industry Park project will bring in RMB 10 billion, and may form a local industry on the scale of RMB 100 billion, the company reports.

The industrial park is designed based on advanced, international standards, said Yang Min, chairman of the board. Late in 2011, Hanking MEMS’ leader Dr. Douglas Ray Sparks met with Wang Guifen, Mayor of Fushun City, Deputy Mayor Zhang Wenhui, director of Fushun Economic Development Zone Management Committee Dong Zebin, leaders of Municipal Science and Technology Bureau, Development and Reform Commission, and Foreign Trade and Economic Bureau, president of Hanking Group Yu Wenbo, president of Hanking MEMS Company Huang Xiangxiang, CFO of Hanking Group Li Yongshan, and Administrative and HR director Chen Zhe. The meeting covered the plan for the MEMS site and economic impact of the facility.

Hanking Industrial Group Co., Ltd. is active in mining, metallurgy, commerce, electronics, and precision manufacturing.Learn more at http://www.hanking.com/.

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May 3, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Micropelt has raised EUR6.5 million for the roll-out and global expansion of its thin-film thermoelectric energy harvesting technology: EUR5 million by Ludgate Environmental Fund (LEF); EUR1 million from the Fund of Mitsubishi UFJ Capital (MUCAP); and EUR0.5 million by the existing shareholders IBG/Goodvent, KfW, L-Bank and SHS.

Micropelt’s thermal micro energy harvesting technology, which uses waste heat to create electricity, will be rolled out to high-growth cleantech markets globally, with focus in Europe and Japan. The microchip-sized device displaces batteries in automated equipment and has multiple domestic and industrial applications, such as radiator valves, industrial automation and remote monitors that assess the condition of equipment.

Bill Weil, CIO of Ludgate Investments Limited, the Investment Adviser to LEF, praised the elimination of battery maintenance and disposal.

Yoshihiro Hashimoto, president of Mitsubishi UFJ Capital Co., Ltd., noted that consistent R&D positioned Micropelt for production of leading thermoelectric products.

Micropelt opened the thin-film thermoelectric production facility in June 2011 in Halle, Germany. Since then the company has been focused on increasing production volumes and reducing per unit cost. Fritz Volkert, CEO of Micropelt, said: "This investment provides Micropelt with a strong boost to our production capacity and the ability to drive the commercialization of our technology."

“After having opened their production site in 2011, the new investment round now enables Micropelt to expand globally,” said Hubertus Leonhardt, chairman of Micropelt’s supervisory board and Managing Partner of SHS Gesellschaft für Beteiligungsmanagement.

Micropelt has partnerships with major semiconductor players worldwide, and system integrators, in the field of industrial sensor equipment and intelligent radiator thermostats for heating systems. They also work with leading companies in the monitoring and maintenance of electronic distribution equipment. As part of the company’s global expansion and commercialization of its technology, Micropelt recently agreed on distribution relationships with Arrow in Europe, Tokyo Electronic Device and Hitachi High-Tech Materials Corporation in Japan.

Ludgate Environmental Fund invests in a diverse portfolio of late stage companies in the European cleantech sector. Actively managing its holdings, the Fund invests growth capital with a focus on waste and recycling; renewable energy; energy efficiency and water. Ludgate Environmental Fund launched in August 2007 and has assets under management of approximately £49.0 million as at 31 March 2012. The Fund is a Jersey domiciled closed-ended investment company, quoted on AIM under the symbols LEF.L for the shares and LEFW.L for the warrants. For more information www.ludgateenvironmental.com

Mitsubishi UFJ Capital (MUCAP) is VC arm of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, originally established in 1974 by Mitsubishi Group companies, manages multiple funds with total capital approximately $500M. MUCAP has made cross-border type investments with selected global syndication partnerships. In this field, MUCAP is focusing companies which offering or developing technologies, products, solutions or services relevant to the Japanese market or companies, especially in TMT & Life Science sector. Further information www.mucap.co.jp/english/profile.html

Micropelt GmbH is a developer, producer and marketer of the world’s smallest thermal energy harvesting chips. The thermoelectric micro chips are based on a patented and scalable thin-film technology which reduces component size while maximising power density. The chips scavenge free electric power from waste heat to replace or recharge batteries in wireless sensor networks and micro actuators. Based in Germany, Micropelt employs 23 staff and opened its first production facility in June 2011. For more information, www.micropelt.com

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May 2, 2012 — Dolomite and LioniX BV formed a partnership covering the design, development, fabrication, and distribution of microfluidic devices and systems.

LioniX B.V. will adopt Dolomite’s Multiflux standard in future chip designs, ensuring compatibility with Dolomite’s connectors and interfaces.

The companies will combine their microfluidics and microfabrication expertise, offering a range of innovative processes such as deep reactive-ion etch (DRIE) of fused silica down to an etch depth of 500um, plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of silicon oxides and silicon nitrides, as well as the integration of metal electrodes and insulators into customized microfluidic chips and devices.

LioniX B.V. will become a distributor for Dolomite’s standard products, including microfluidic chips, pumps, connectors, valves, and accessories. LioniX standard products will be available via Dolomite’s microfluidic web shop.

LioniX B.V. co-develops, manufactures and supplies products and components based on cutting-edge micro/nano technology for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in life sciences, telecom, datacom, industrial process control and space. LioniX B.V. provides design to manufacturing and ‘horizontal integration’ by partnering with foundries, suppliers of complementary technologies and R&D institutes. The company specializes in applications of integrated optics, microfluidics and optofluidics including surface functionalization. LioniX B.V. offers small volume manufacturing, second sourcing, and transfer to medium and high volume manufacturing. For more information, visit www.lionixbv.nl.

Dolomite’s Microfluidic Application Centre helps turn microfluidic application concepts into commercial products. For more information, visit www.dolomite-microfluidics.com.

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May 2, 2012 — STMicroelectronics (NYSE:STM) will bring its micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) microphone and audio processing expertise to the European research project, Distant Speech Interaction for Robust Home Applications (DIRHA).

Over 3 years, DIRHA will investigate and prototype technologies to enable natural-voice interaction between humans and machines in future smart homes. The DIRHA program is organized into a number of work packages, spanning a total duration of 36 months, and the total cost of the project is 4.8 million euros. The main fields of research include multi-channel acoustic processing, distant-speech recognition and understanding, speaker identification/verification, and spoken-dialogue management in four languages: German, Greek, Italian, and Portuguese. The final prototypes will be integrated in pilot households and evaluated by real users.

Home environments present challenges with multiple noises and noise sources, and multiple speakers with which machines must interact. DIRHA aims to create a pervasive, always-listening sound space, where the system acoustically reaches out to the speaker, without a microphone in front of the speaker.

ST’s MEMS microphones suit distant-speech interaction systems because of their physical and acoustic parameters. The small form factor of MEMS microphones enable entire arrays to be embedded in walls, desks, or speech-enabled appliances around the home. The MEMS microphone design, paired with sophisticated signal-processing technologies, enable it to identify and capture acoustics from an individual speaker potentially several meters away, in a crowded room, with music playing, for example.

Distant-speech could benefit elderly or mobility-impaired members of a household, and the concept can be extended to use in robotics, telepresence, surveillance, and industry automation.

Other DIRHA participants include Fondazione Bruno Kessler, Italy (project coordinator); Athena Research and Innovation Center in Information Communication & Knowledge Technologies, Greece; DomoticArea, Italy; INESC ID – Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computatores, Investigacae e Desenvolvimento em Lisboa, Portugal; NewAmuser, Italy; and Technische Universitaet Graz, Austria. Learn more at http://dirha.fbk.eu.

ST is a global leader in the semiconductor market serving customers across the spectrum of sense and power technologies and multimedia convergence applications. Learn more at www.st.com.

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May 2, 2012 – PRNewswire — Audio test tool supplier Audio Precision (AP) released a pulse density modulation (PDM) audio interface option on its APx500 for direct I/O, modulation, and decimation for designers of micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) microphones and other PDM devices.

Learn more about the APx PDM interface here.

PDM is a one-bit, high rate data stream that conveys a signal by modulating the density of the pulses. AP’s PDM option supports 4th and 5th order modulation; interpolation ratios of 32, 64, 128, and 256; and the ability to analyze an undecimated PDM bitstream.

A 50x interpolation ratio will be available in Summer 2012.

The PDM option includes a built-in power supply for devices under test (DUT), and can directly measure power supply rejection (PSR) in PDM devices. Users must have APx500 v3.0 software, which may be downloaded free of charge.

AP’s audio test instrument APx500 also includes a new PESQ software option for fully automated testing of speech quality with any audio interface, generating MOS (Mean Opinion Score) results. The APx PESQ software option allows the results of many tests to averaged, and may be used with any audio interface, including analog, DSIO, Bluetooth and PDM. In addition to support for PDM and PESQ, APx500 v3.0 enhances the DSIO (Digital Serial In/Out) with support for up to 16 channels of TDM at 96 kHz, variable TDM word length and accommodations for TDM variations used in a wide range of DSP products.

Audio Precision makes audio test instruments and applications. For more information, visit http://ap.com/.

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