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January 10, 2012 – Marketwire — NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) unveiled an ultra-compact, high-precision micro electro mechanical system (MEMS)-based frequency synthesizer, which challenges quartz-crystal-based devices for the timing market. The die is packaged with IC components in a standard, low-cost plastic package.

NXP’s MEMS technology uses a bare silicon die that is more than 20x smaller than the smallest crystal available, the company reports. The MEMS die does not require any dedicated ceramic or metal-can hermetic package. NXP’s proprietary resonator technology for MEMS-based timing devices features higher frequency stability, lower timing jitter and lower temperature drift compared to other CMOS oscillators.

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

The first prototype currently released for production enables a highly stable clock reference targeting communications equipment using Gigabit Ethernet, USB, PCI-Express and S-ATA, plus CPU timing, memory and control in consumer electronics devices.  

Key features of NXP MEMS resonator technology include:

  • Higher frequency stability. The resonator exhibits very low motion damping and hence a very high quality factor (Q-factor), allowing for high frequency stability and low close-to-carrier noise levels of the oscillator. Low damping is achieved using a mono-crystalline silicon resonator that is placed under reduced atmospheric pressure in a low-cost, on-wafer processed hermetic cavity. The resonator shows no significant ageing, even after accelerated lifetimes such as HTOL, HAST and TMCL.
  • Lower timing jitter. NXP’s MEMS resonator uses a unique piezo-resistive concept combining strong electro-mechanical coupling with a high resonance frequency. The high oscillation frequency that is made possible with this concept enables very low timing jitter. By using the piezo-resistive concept, the resonator overcomes the classical issue of weak electro-mechanical coupling at high resonance frequency, which is encountered in conventional silicon MEMS resonators.
  • Lower temperature drift. The NXP resonator exhibits 10 times less temperature drift compared to conventional silicon resonators, and is comparable to quartz-crystal tuning forks. The reduction in temperature drift is realized passively, and therefore does not require any additional power that is often needed in conventional temperature drift correction schemes. As a result, the oscillator is able to realize very high frequency stability of only a few parts-per-million (ppm).

NXP is showcasing this technology at CES 2012 in booth CP8 in Las Vegas, along with other products.

NXP Semiconductors N.V. (NASDAQ:NXPI) provides high-performance mixed signal and standard product solutions that leverage its leading RF, Analog, Power Management, Interface, Security and Digital Processing expertise. Additional information can be found by visiting www.nxp.com.

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January 9, 2012 — The new Samsung Focus Flash Windows smartphone includes a radio frequency micro electro mechanical system (RF MEMS), marking the first known use of RF MEMS in a volume commercial product, IHS reports. This will start off a 200x expansion of the RF MEMS industry through 2015, the analyst firm predicts.

WiSpry Inc. supplied the RF MEMS in Samsung’s phone, which launched in the US last November, according to the IHS iSuppli Teardown Service.

See WiSpry’s comments on the design win here.

The IHS Focus Flash teardown found a MEMS-based antenna tuning module (WiSpry A2101) in a die-on-LGA (land grid array) package near the antenna connectors. The tunable impedance match (TIM) device comprises a network of inductors and WiSpry’s CMOS-integrated, digitally tunable and low-loss MEMS capacitors. WiSpry’s single-chip design integrates logic circuits/serial interface for control, on‐board high-voltage charge pump and high-voltage MEMS drivers, together with fully encapsulated digital MEMS capacitors on a single chip.

WiSpry is leading the RF MEMS pack with its Samsung win. Other companies targeting this market include TDK-EPC, Sony, Omron, RFMD, and the start-ups Cavendish-Kinetics and DelfMEMS.

RF MEMS can be used to reduce signal interruptions and dropped calls, increase data transmission rates, and improve design and power efficiency. IHS expects other cellphone designs to adopt RF MEMS now.

Also read: RF MEMS to explode, solve phone antenna problems

Year 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015
USD millions 0.72 16.1 45.7 96.5 149.5
Figure. Global forecast of revenue generated by sales of RF MEMS for cellphones. SOURCE: IHS iSuppli January 2012.

Global sales of RF MEMS components will increased from $720,000 in 2011 to $150 million in 2015, up by a factor of 200. The potential for RF MEMS-enabled smartphones has been touted by suppliers for "nearly a decade," noted Jérémie Bouchaud, senior principal analyst, MEMS and sensors for IHS. In mid-2010, cellphone makers started to look for signal reception enhancers, after the infamous iPhone 4 antenna problems. Until then, RF MEMS had primarily found low-volume adoption for years in instrumentation products.

There are multiple direct benefits of using RF MEMS to tune and match the antenna for the network operators, cellphone makers and users:

  • They mitigate the signal dropout issue caused by user handholds (the "death grip" failing of the iPhone 4).
  • Antenna tuning can boost data rates by as much as 40% with LTE 4G standard phones.
  • RF MEMS enables cellphones to use smaller, thinner antennas with equal or greater efficiency than larger ones.
  • Network operators could recognize major savings on new wireless infrastructure deployment.

RF MEMS also efficiently implement numerous standards and are one way to cope with rising smartphone data usage. In conventional cellphone RF architectures, multiple standards and functions coexist with multiple parallel RF paths. This architecture is not adapted to the evolution of mobile handsets, since it raises the number of components, size and cost, as well as the power consumption of mobile handsets. New, reconfigurable architectures are required to increase the functionality of phones while keeping size, cost, and power consumption low. Antenna tuning and antenna matching via RF MEMS are among the solutions and the most popular approach.

Beyond RF MEMS, other technologies are being offered for cellphone antenna-tuning applications. Paratek Microwave Inc.’s barium strontium titanate (BST) tunable integrated circuits have gone into a handful of phones, starting in June 2011. Peregrine Semiconductor Corp.’s DuNE antenna tuning devices, based on its silicon-on-sapphire switch technology, also shipped in one cellphone since December 2011. Gallium arsenide (GaN)-based switches and tuners are being sampled by other vendors. Also read: GaN branches out from military apps

For more detail, see the IHS iSuppli upcoming special report, H1 2012 "RF MEMS Switches and Varactors" and the imminent teardown report on the Samsung Focus Flash Windows Smartphone. IHS (NYSE:IHS) provides information and insight on energy and power; design and supply chain; defense, risk and security; environmental, health and safety (EHS) and sustainability; country and industry forecasting; and commodities, pricing and cost. Learn more at www.ihs.com.

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January 6, 2012 — Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS has placed its Light Deflection Cube (LDC) evaluation kit custom-configuration and ordering on the Internet. The LDC is used to evaluate single-axis micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) scanning mirrors.

Light Deflection Cube (LDC): custom-configurable evaluation kit for single-axis MEMS scanning mirrors.

Light deflection over an axis is used in barcode reading, laser image projection, and 3D object measurement. Silicon resonant micromirrors are 0.5-3.0mm in diameter and suitable for mass production. These micro-scanners enable compact, energy-efficient, robust, affordable light-delection products.

Also read: Microvision’s MEMS scanning mirror proves shock-resistant

Micro-scanner-based products are limited due to time-consuming and costly complex MEMS development, noted Denis Jung, project manager at Fraunhofer IPMS. "Integration of the micro-scanners, position detection and drive electronics in the system environment can pose a hurdle."

Microscanner construction set VarioS – the online path to individually tailored microscanners.

By selling the LCD custom-configurable Evaluation Kit on the internet, Fraunhofer IPMS hopes to bring microscanner MEMS development in step with perpetually shorter product cycles. The encapsulated LDC kit is based on a standardized, configurable VarioS MEMS mirror and includes a position sensor, complete drive electronics, and software interface to specify the operating parameters. The circular mirror plate of the micro scanning mirror in the LDC module can be 0.5-3.0mm in diameter.

Inquiries about an LDC should be input at www.micro-mirrors.com. The website offers the user a configuration and ordering tool to specify the dimensions of the mirror plate, scan angle, scan frequency, and dynamic flatness of the mirror plate if neccessary. The software checks and lists the configurations that are technically possible and from which the user can select the chip type and batch size for a quote.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems IPMS focuses development and production services on the practical industrial application of unique technologicalknow-how in the fields of micro (optical) electro mechanical systems (MEMS, MOEMS). Learn more at http://www.ipms.fraunhofer.de/en.html.

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January 4, 2012 — Recent advances in micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) sensor technology and manufacturing have enabled high-performance, small, low-cost sensors. These attributes encourage integration into handheld devices, including smart phones and tablets. Features such as interrupts and first-in/first-out (FIFO) functions have been integrated into MEMS sensors. The new trend is to integrate multiple sensors and a microcontroller in a tiny single package with embedded algorithms. Some of the smart features built into digital MEMS inertial sensors available on the market today are explained here, with an overview of future trends of sensor integration.

Each MEMS sensor comprises the MEMS sensing structure, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), and device package. The sensing structure is responsible for detecting capacitance or resistance change when the proof mass moves from the center position due to external motion or applied force [1]. The ASIC consists of a charge amplifier to convert the output of the mechanical sensing part into an analog output voltage that can be digitized through an A/D convertor and presented in a digital format. The package, in addition to housing the sensing and processing die, influences device performance, defining stability over temperature and time.

Figure 1 shows the typical internal structure of a MEMS accelerometer and a gyroscope as an example based on the capacitive principle technology.

Figure 1. Structure inside a MEMS accelerometer and gyroscope.

The host processors in smart systems, e.g., smart phones and tablets, have limited resources for sensor data acquisition and processing. Therefore, MEMS sensors need to include more computing power and embedded features to reduce the load of the host processors.

Embedded features

Self-test. Most MEMS sensors have built-in self-test (BIST). The self-test can be used to verify if the sensor is functioning or not after PCB assembly. This functional test (FT) doesn’t require physically tilting or rotating the PCB for inertial sensors.

Figure 2 shows an example self-test procedure for accelerometers and gyroscopes. The sensor data acquisition when self-test is enabled and disabled should be performed at the same arbitrary and stationary position.

Figure 2. Self test procedure for digital accelerometer and gyroscope.

Interrupt feature. Most MEMS sensors have one or two interrupt output pins available for connecting to the GPIO ports of the host processor. The host processor is not required to keep acquiring sensor data to determine the device’s current status; the sensor is running in the background. When the predefined criteria are met, the sensor will generate an interrupt signal on its output pin to notify the host processor. The host processor can then decide if this interrupt needs to be serviced or not.

FIFO feature. FIFO is another power-saving feature that can be implemented in ASICs. The host processor doesn’t need to acquire sensor data all the time. Instead, the sensor can collect data and store it into the FIFO in the background.

When the FIFO interrupts are generated, the host processor can wake up and read all FIFO data samples at once. Then the host processor can process the sensor data to see if further action needs to be taken.

Sensor integration trends

As some interrupt features embedded in an accelerometer cannot distinguish fake motion from the real one, the processor needs to acquire sensor data to determine the nature of the motion. Future smart sensors will have more advanced computing power such as finite state machine (FSM) for reliable interrupt generation.

A low-power microcontroller can be integrated into an inertial module unit to run the sensor fusion algorithms so that the final dynamic accurate pitch/roll/yaw angles can be available to the host processor directly [2].

With respect to the applications such as 3D gaming, indoor pedestrian dead reckoning, etc., 9- or 10-axis sensors are required. In the future, such MEMS sensors and the programmable microcontroller will be combined into a single package as shown in Fig. 3. The wireless link and some other sensors may be integrated in the same package too.

Figure 3. Multiple sensors integrated in one package.

Conclusion

Embedded features and computing power are required for future sensors and embedded features and sensor integration will determine the future applications of MEMS sensors. A dedicated microcontroller is needed to handle the complex algorithms of sensor fusion.

Driven by MEMS technology and market needs, the multiple sensors with lower power consumption and low-cost microcontroller in one package will appear soon.

References:

1. J. Esfandyari et al., Introduction to MEMS gyroscopes, November 2010, http://www.electroiq.com/articles/stm/2010/11/introduction-to-mems-gyroscopes.html.

2. J. Esfandyari et al., “Solutions for MEMS sensor fusion,” Solid State Technology, Volume 54, Issue 7, July 2011, http://www.electroiq.com/articles/sst/print/volume-54/issue-7/features/cover-article/solutions-for-mems-sensor-fusion.html.

Jay Esfandyari received his Master’s Degree and Ph.D. in EE from the University of Technology in Vienna and is MEMS Product Marketing Manager at STMicroelectronics, 750 Canyon Dr., Coppell, TX, 75019 USA; ph.: 972-971-4969; [email protected].

Fabio Pasolini received his Engineering Degree at the University of Pavia, Italy, in 1994 and is the General Manager of the Motion MEMS at STMicroelectronics.

Gang Xu received his Ph. D from Shanghai Jiao Tong University and is Senior Application Engineer at STMicroelectronics.

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January 4, 2012 — Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS researchers developed a new optoelectronic component for low-light CMOS image sensor applications.

Certain CMOS applications require pixels in excess of 10µm, compensating for low light in X-ray or astronomy image capture, among other environments. The sensors could also be used as 3D sensors based on the time-of-flight process, whereby light sources emit short pulses that are reflected by objects. The time-of-flight of the reflected light is then recorded by a sensor and used to create a 3D image. Also read: CMOS image sensors see growth beyond cellphones

Pinned photodiodes (PPD) convert the light signals into electrical pulses. PPDs encounter a speed problem when the pixels exceed a certain size, said Werner Brockherde, head of department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems IMS. The read-out speed of PPD cannot keep up with the image-rate demands of these low-light applications, Brockherde explained.

The Fraunhofer optoelectronic component, a lateral drift field photodetector (LDPD) integrates an internal electric field into the photoactive region of the component, Brockherde said. "The charge carriers generated by the incident light move at high speed to the readout node;" with PPD, electrons simply diffuse to the exit comparatively slowly. The Fraunhofer LDPD accelerates this process "by a factor of up to a hundred."

The Fraunhofer researchers used an improved 0.35µm CMOS chip manufacturing process, making sure the additional LDPD component did not impair the properties of the other components. Simulation calculations ensured proper operation. A prototype of the new high-speed CMOS image sensor is available, and series production should begin in about a year.

The Fraunhofer researchers have already developed time-of-flight 3D area sensors based on the unique pixel configuration for TriDiCam GmbH.

Learn more at http://www.fraunhofer.de/en.html.

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January 3, 2012 – BUSINESS WIRE — Enpirion, Inc. entered into a strategic partnership agreement with JiangyinChangdian Advanced Packaging Co., Ltd. (JCAP) for the manufacturing of silicon-based magnetics utilizing Enpirion’s proprietary micro electronic magnetic silicon (MEMS) technology. Earlier in 2011, Enpirion demonstrated that its MEMS technology achieved all necessary application performance figures-of-merit at record frequencies of 18 MHz in its DC-DC power system-on-chip (PowerSoC). This announcement marks another key milestone in Enpirion’s leadership and commercialization efforts using low-cost silicon-based magnetics partnering with JCAP with its specialized, high volume wafer level packaging manufacturing capabilities. JCAP is implementing and fully qualifying Enpirion’s innovative magnetic material processes.

"I am happy to announce our collaboration with JCAP on the integration of Enpirion’s advanced MEMS technology into JCAP’s innovative wafer level manufacturing operations," said Denis Regimbal, CEO of Enpirion. "Since the company’s inception, we have invested heavily in developing silicon-based magnetic technologies that complement our high frequency CMOS power technology. This will permit Enpirion to continue to extend its leadership in integrated DC-DC power solutions by penetrating into new applications such as cost-effective LDO replacements."

Lai Chih-Ming, President of JCAP said: "We are excited to have been selected by Enpirion, the leader in integrated power management, to bring to market this advanced technology for magnetic materials on silicon wafers for the first time in power applications using our world renowned, innovative, high volume wafer level bump and chip scale manufacturing processes. Clearly this next generation technology will deliver the first low cost, fully integrated DC-DC converter on silicon. We look forward to growing this business with Enpirion."

Enpirion, the leading provider of integrated power management solutions, simplifies design complexity while addressing the space constraint and efficiency needs faced by designers of enterprise, telecom,storage, industrial and embedded applications. For more information about Enpirion, please visit www.enpirion.com .

JiangyinChangdian Advanced Packaging Co., Ltd. (JCAP) is a subsidiary of Jiangsu Changjiang Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. (JCET) a leading manufacturer of discrete semiconductor devices, the largest indigenous packaging subcontractor for discrete and IC packaging assembly and test in mainland China. For more information about JCAP, please visit www.jcap.cn

Tegal sells deposition patents


December 30, 2011

December 30, 2011 – Businesswire — Tegal Corporation (NASDAQ:TGAL) awarded patents to multiple bidders for three of the four bid lots of Tegal’s nanolayer deposition (NLD) Patent Portfolio recently offered for sale for an aggregate consideration of approximately $4M. To date, approximately $3.6M has been received.

Tegal sold over 30 patents from the NLD portfolio, Lots 1-3, covering pulsed-chemical vapor deposition (CVD), plasma-enhanced atomic-layer deposition (PEALD) and NLD. NLD is a bridge technology between the high throughput of CVD and highly conformal ALD. Buyers were primarily equipment manufacturers.

Lot 4 of the portfolio, covering copper barrier and low-k dielectric technology, is being discussed with IC device manufacturers, according to Robert Ditizio, chief technologist, Tegal.

Tegal offered the patent portfolio for sale earlier this year in an effort to complete the divestment of its semiconductor capital equipment assets.

In March 2010, Tegal sold its legacy thin-film etch and physical vapor deposition (PVD) product lines to OEM Group, Inc. of Gilbert AZ, and in February 2011, sold its deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) assets to SPTS of Newport, Wales, UK.

Tegal Corporation enables emerging technologies in microprocessors, advanced memory, LEDs, and MEMS devices. Visit www.tegal.com.

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Bosch fabs 2B MEMS sensors


December 28, 2011

December 28, 2011 — Bosch crossed the 1 billion micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) production mark 3 years ago, and has now surpassed 2 billion made.

The first billion were made over 13 years, showing how quickly MEMS have ramped to commercial volumes recently, noted a Bosch representative. Production volumes are still growing, with annual production at Bosch hitting about half a billion units (1.3 million/workday).

Bosch developed bulk and surface micromachining in the 1980s, known as the "Bosch process," and began MEMS production in 1995. The company makes MEMS sensors for the automotive and consumer sectors, via its Automotive Electronics division and Sensortec and Akustica subsidiaries. Sensors from Bosch measure pressure, yaw, acceleration, flow rate, and magnetic force (direction). The devices incorporate micro springs, bars, membrans, and weights etched into a silicon substrate. Integrated circuits pick up signals from the MEMS structures and process, amplify, or convert these into digital data.

Also read: Bosch incorporates MEMS for lower-cost personal robots

Bosch initially saw a market for MEMS sensors in automotive electronics, where the company produces several hundred vehicle-specific varieties of micro-mechanical sensor, with growing product lines and volumes. These are designed for accuracy and robustness. Automotive Technology is the largest Bosch Group business sector, with EUR28.1 billion in 2010 sales.

The company’s consumer-electronics MEMS are designed for lower power and smaller form factor, immunity to high-frequency signals from surrounding circuitry and displays, as well as cost-effective in high volumes. Bosch’s smallest Sensortec MEMS sensor has a 2mm edge by <1mm high, offers standby power consumption lower than the battery’s self-discharge rate. MEMS microphones for consumer applications are the specialty of Bosch’s Akustica subsidiary.

The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services in the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology. Additional information can be accessed at www.bosch.com.

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December 26, 2011 — Yole Développement studies the evolution of inertial micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and magnetometers and provides reverse costing analysis of the MEMS devices in "Technology Trends for Inertial MEMS," volumes 1 & 2. The report considers 23 MEMS devices.

Four identifiable trends are revealed: future generation of sensors will deliver functions; sensor fusion, combining data from different sensors, is on the rise; new architectures are emerging; and price pressure is still very strong (5% drop per quarter for consumer applications), said Laurent Robin, activity leader, inertial MEMS devices and technologies at Yole Développement.

Yole’s report shares market drivers for inertial MEMS, including consumer, automotive, and high-end applications. Packaging and test trends for the devices are discussed. Over the last 3 years, inertial MEMS & magnetometers have been subject to dramatic market & technological evolutions. This has been driven by a large increase of the consumer market: mobile phones and tablets for accelerometers; gaming for gyros; mobile phones for magnetometers.

Along with “stand-alone” MEMS devices, inertial combo sensors, a combination of several inertial sensors into a single package, are also coming. Main applications are consumer (e.g. accelerometer with magnetometer or accelerometer with gyro) and automotive for ESC and rollover functions first.

On the technical side, form factor is ever decreasing with reduced footprint and thickness. And power consumption has been reduced to a few microA while performances are still increasing. The most successful type for inertial MEMS is based on capacitive transduction. Reasons are simplicity of the sensor element, no requirement for exotic materials, low power consumption and good stability over temperature. But will comb-drive architecture for accelerometers continue to be the main detection principle as MEMS die size keeps shrinking?

Regarding gyroscopes, most are falling into the categories of tuning vibrating fork/plate (STM, Bosch) or vibrating shells (Silicon Sensing Systems). This very common design gives ease of fabrication and possible integration in standard IC manufacturing industry.

For magnetometers, Hall Effect has been the dominant technology for a long time, but today it is changing as Magneto Impedance, Giant Magneto Resistance and Anisotropic Magneto Resistance are used. A new approach, Lorentz effect based on MEMS technology, is currently in R&D (VTT and others). This could bring easier integration in MEMS combo sensors.

"Testing has been also subject to strong evolution over the last years," said Dr. Eric Mounier, senior analyst, MEMS Devices & Technologies at Yole Développement. For example, combo sensors will require new test solutions compared to “stand-alone” sensors. Beyond the usual wafer-level electrical test and package-level electrical and mechanical or functional testing, these sensor combos will need module level testing and calibration of the combined sensors. If they include an MCU in the package, the communication between the sensors and the MCU will also need to be tested. Solutions need to be cost effective with high throughput to test multiple axes of multiple devices, either in parallel or in separate modules, rather like separate chambers in IC equipment.

The world of MEMS testing has moved in the last several years from internal development at MEMS makers to co-development with test suppliers to commercial off the-shelf equipment. So combo solutions that can test all axes of the module in a single tool for higher throughput will also likely be co-developed with the test equipment suppliers and available commercially. Assembly and test houses may also start to offer these test services on an outsource basis for fabless or fab-light MEMS makers. The Yole Développement report will analyze the latest trends in MEMS testing.

In order to understand the key evolutionary changes, a total of 23 different MEMS devices (9 accelerometers, 10 gyros, 3 combos and 1 magnetometer) — mostly consumer MEMS — have been disassembled, analyzed and cost simulations have been constructed for MEMS, ASIC and Packaging/Test. One of the key features of the reports is that ASICs have been analyzed as well. The MEMS have been analyzed and production costs have been simulated by System Plus Consulting, the reverse costing specialist company. The teardown analysis results have been compared in terms of performance, total cost, MEMS size, ASIC lithography node, ASIC size, package size, year for market introduction.

From its analysis, Yole Développement found there is a clear MEMS die size decrease over 2007-2011. For example, in 2008, the average size for an accelerometer (3-axis) was 4-5mm². 3 years later, size is about 2mm². ASIC size has been following the same trend with a lithography node in the range 0.18-0.35μ today. "With latest ST announcement about the use of through silicon vias for inertial, we can expect even lower cost and size in the future," said Robin. The same analysis has been performed for gyros comps, combos and magnetometers.

Companies cited in the report:
Accutronic, Advanced Microsensors, Advantest, Afore, Aichi, AIS/SSS, AKM, Analog Devices, ASE, Baolab, Bosch Sensortec, CascadeMicrotech, CEA Leti, Colibrys, Epson Toyocom, Freescale, Gladiator Technologies, Honeywell, Invensense, Jyve, Kionix, KYEC, Litef, Memsic, Multitest, Murata, Panasonic, Polytec, Qualtre, Rohm, Sensonor, Sensordynamics, Sony, SPEA, SSS, STM, Systron Donner,TEL, Teradyne, Thales, Tronics, VTI, VTT, Yamaha

Dr. Eric Mounier has a PhD in microelectronics from the INPG in Grenoble. He previously worked atCEA LETI R&D lab in Grenoble, France in Marketing dept. Since 1998 he is a co-founder of Yole Developpement, a market research company based in France. At Yole Developpement, Dr. Eric Mounier is in charge of market analysis for MEMS, equipment & material. He is Chief Editor of Micronews, and MEMS’Trends magazines (Magazine on MEMS Technologies & Markets).

Laurent Robin is in charge of the Inertial MEMS & Sensors market research at Yole Developpement. He previously worked at image sensor company e2v Technologies (Grenoble, France) and at EM Microelectronics (Switzerland). He holds a Physics Engineering degree from the National Institute of Applied Sciences in Toulouse. He was also granted a Master Degree in Technology & Innovation Management from EM Lyon Business School, France.

Yole Développement provides market research, technology analysis, strategy consulting, media in addition to finance services. Access the report catalog at www.yole.fr.

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December 21, 2011 – Marketwire — Boston Micromachines Corporation (BMC), MEMS-based deformable mirror (DM) optical products supplier, was awarded a Phase 1 contract for $125,000 by NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) to support exoplanet imaging research.

One of NASA’s core objectives is to explore earth-like planets outside of our solar system. Space telescope optics cannot be shaped to the precision required for imaging of small earth-sized planets, and therefore DMs must be used to correct for the residual aberrations resulting from initial fabrication and slowly changing mechanical deformations of the deployed primary mirror.

This grant will enable Boston Micromachines to develop processes and manufacturing innovations that will improve the ability of DMs to correct for these residual aberrations resulting in reduced glare in imaging systems used in the search for earth-sized planets.

In this Phase 1 project, BMC will develop and demonstrate 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.

Also read: NASA grants BMC Phase II space imaging contract and NASA grant for MEMS deformable mirror fab awarded to Boston Micromachines

"The improvements in DM fabrication technology proposed in this project will help astronomers achieve their goal of imaging earth-like planets in other solar systems," said Paul Bierden, president and co-founder of Boston Micromachines. "In addition, this research has potential impact on commercial applications such as optical communications, surveillance, pulse shaping, and biological imaging."

This Phase 1 award is part of NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research programs. The highly competitive programs afford small businesses the chance to propose unique ideas that meet specific research and development needs of the government. The criteria used to choose these winning proposals include technical merit and feasibility, experience, qualifications, effectiveness of the work plan and commercial potential.

Boston Micromachines Corporation (BMC) provides advanced microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based mirror products and has expertise in the design of adaptive optics systems. For more information on BMC, please visit www.bostonmicromachines.com.

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