Tag Archives: Small Times Magazine

September 12, 2011 — Silicon magnetic sensors are riding an upswing in automotive production and the expansion in tablet/smartphone adoption to 23.7% revenue growth in 2011, according to IHS iSuppli’s MEMS & Sensors Special Report. This amounts to $1.46 billion in revenue.

2010 was a "blockbuster" year for silicon magnetic sensors, with $1.18 billion in revenue representing a 48.6% increase from 2009. By 2015, revenue will hit $2.47 billion, creating a five-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.8%. Growth in the magnetic sensor space will cool slightly after 2015, due to the rapid erosion in price of electronic compasses, as well as to an eventual slowdown in automotive applications after fitment rates are reached for safety mandates in electronic stability control systems and tire-pressure monitoring systems (TPMS).

2011 is representative of future growth years for silicon magnetic sensors, said Richard Dixon, Ph.D., senior analyst for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and sensors at IHS. Driving forces for this upswing include an impressive rebound in the automotive passenger-vehicle industry (25% increase in 2010) and integration of compasses into smartphones and tablet computers for user interactions like navigation. The automotive market accounts for 50% of magnetic sensor demand. Applications include wheel-speed sensors, double-clutch systems, battery sensors, and more than 60 other uses.

The market is flooded with higher-cost compasses, mission-critical automotive sensors, and other parts, noted Dixon, as opposed to low-cost switches used in white goods and other technologies. These higher-priced sensors will maintain market growth for several years.

Digital compasses, which grabbed 20% of the magnetic sensor revenues in 2010, are standard in navigation functions on mobile devices, and are emerging for gaming, camera, and other applications where performance can be enhanced.

Remaining applications include industrial products, such as three Hall switches providing commutation for brushless direct-current motors, or current measurement in solar inverters and wind turbines. Consumer electronics use digital compasses for display management, cooling fans, and other miscellaneous applications. The MEMS devices also show up in pace makers, fax machines, and other products.

The largest silicon magnetic sensor supplier in 2010 was Asahi Kasei Microsystems (Japan) followed by Allegro Microsystems (USA).

The top magnetic sensor devices were Hall-effect integrated circuits and elements, designed to sense changing magnetic fields and to measure current and rotational position, along with speed and linear position.

See IHS iSuppli’s report, "Compasses Pick Up Reins of Magnetic Sensors Market" at http://www.isuppli.com/MEMS-and-Sensors/Pages/Digital-Compasses-Pick-up-Reigns-of-Magnetic-Sensors-Market.aspx?PRX

iSuppli’s market intelligence helps technology companies achieve market leadership. Learn more at www.isuppli.com

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September 12, 2011 – PRNewswire via COMTEX — Turkey’s Roketsan Missiles Industries Inc. ordered Goodrich Corporation (NYSE:GR) SiIMU02 inertial measurement units (IMU) for precision guidance tasks on Roketsan’s new CIRIT 70mm laser-guided missile for attack helicopters. The IMUs, GR’s first production order of the micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) devices, will be produced at Goodrich’s Plymouth, UK facility.

The CIRIT missile incorporates the SiIMU02 inertial sensing unit package after customization and qualification of the SiIMU02 package was carried out earlier this year. The MEMS-based device is a fraction the size of legacy IMUs, offering adaptability for the missile’s mechanical and electrical design. Performance was another selection criterion.

The initial low-rate production order will begin a long-term program with Roketsan, predicts Alan Hull, director of business development for Goodrich’s Sensors and Integrated Systems business.

The SiIMU02 IMU offers motion sensing with high accuracy in a small, lightweight flexible form factor that withstands the missile/rocket environment.

Goodrich Corporation, a Fortune 500 company, is a global supplier of systems and services to aerospace, defense and homeland security markets. For more information, visit http://www.goodrich.com/.

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September 12, 2011 — University of Gothenburg and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) researchers demonstrated that theories about nanoscale spin waves agree with observations — potentially replacing microwave technology in many applications, such as mobile phones and wireless networks. The "magnonics" phenomenon could lead to smaller and cheaper components.

The group demonstrated that spin waves propagated from magnetic nanocontacts, observing the dynamic properties via an advanced spin wave microscope (based at the University of Perugia, Italy) with a resolution of approximately 250nm. The observations were enabled by their method of constructing the magnetic nanocontacts. The research field has been named "magnonics," meaning the understanding and use of nanoscale magnetic waves.

In 2010, the group was able to demonstrate the existence of spin waves with the aid of electrical measurements (published, Physical Review Letters). The researchers competed with two other groups to confirm experimentally theoretical predictions that came to light about a decade ago, said Professor Johan Åkerman of the Department of Physics, University of Gothenburg, where he is head of the Applied Spintronics group.

Magnonic components and circuits are "powered by simple direct current, which is then converted into spin waves in the microwave region. The frequency of these waves can be directly controlled by the current. This will make completely new functions possible," says Åkerman. Magnonic technology boasts magneto-optical and metallic properties that will work with traditional microwave-based electronic circuits, and also suit more minaturization.

Results have been published in Nature Nanotechnology: "Direct observation of a propagating spin wave induced by spin-transfer torque." Access it here: http://www.nature.com/nnano/journal/vaop/ncurrent/abs/nnano.2011.140.html

Animated simulations of spin waves are available on the researchers’ YouTube channel:
http://youtu.be/EGV25mUxnmk: A simulation of six magnetic nanocontacts placed in a circle to illustrate how the nanocontacts can be placed in freely chosen patterns. All the signals synchronize in this case through the spin waves that propagate through the magnetic film.

http://youtu.be/PFnLRXzl4uI: The simulation of magnetic nanocontacts shows how spin waves spread like rings on water. The nanocontact has a diameter of 40 nanometer and the spin waves are created in a thin film of nickel-iron alloy, 3 nanometer thick.

September 9, 2011 — The Entrepreneurship Innovation Center at Lorain County Community College (LCCC) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony today for its Richard Desich SMART Commercialization Center for Microsystems, which Mark Kvamme, Chief Investment Officer and President of JobsOhio, which is Ohio’s private, non-profit corporation designed to stimulate economic growth, has affectionately dubbed "MEMSville."

The SMART Commercialization Center is named in honor of Desich, a Lorain native and member of Lorain County Community College District Board of Trustees for 34 years, serial entrepreneur, renowned national speaker, and philanthropist and community leader.

The new SMART Center will be a three-story, 46,000-square-foot facility that will include class 100, class 1,000 and class 10,000 clean rooms, general lab space and customer incubation areas. It will be connected to LCCC’s Entrepreneurship Innovation Center. The microsystems center aims to help industry partners bring micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), sensors, microsystems, and other designs to commercial ramp-up. This includes the critical stages of packaging, reliability testing and inspection of microsystems and sensors. Lorain County Community College announced a $5.5 million grant in 2010 from the Wright Center for Sensor Systems Engineering administered by Cleveland State University to grow new jobs, businesses, and educational programs in sensor technologies. Initial beneficiaries of the grant include Acense LLC (Twinsburg); R.W. Beckett Corporation (North Ridgeville); GreenField Solar (Oberlin/North Ridgeville); and Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland), all of Ohio. The equipment and expertise funded by this award will be made accessible to the entire community.

Fifteen companies have already expressed their plans in writing to utilize the SMART Center. These include the WCSSE partners of Asence, Greenfield Solar, R.W. Beckett Corporation, Case Western Reserve University, along with current and future users ABS Materials, CoreTech Consulting, Crane Aerospace, Emerson Thermodisc, Emerson Ridge Tool, GrafTech, Nordson, NexTech Materials, Scientific Monitoring, Spectre Sensor, Traycer Diagnostic Systems. 

Additionally, 13 highly visible organizations in the microsystems space have documented their plans to recommend the SMART Center as a prime resource for product commercialization.  These include, ASM International, the Electronic Device Failure Analysis Society, Libra Industries, Midwest Micro Devices, The Ohio State Nanotech West Lab, the University of Michigan Lurie NanoFacility, the Notre Dame Nanofabrication facility, Purdue University’s Birck Nanotechnology Center, Nortech FlexMatters, the Ohio Fuel Cell Coalition, the Surface Mount Technology Association and Valtronic.

The SMART Center is scheduled to open in spring of 2013. While the Center is under construction, partners can develop ideas at Lorain County Community College’s Entrepreneurship Innovation Center, which boasts an 1,800 square-foot, class 10,000 clean room, with a complete set of microsystems packaging, inspection and test equipment along with another 1,800 square feet of software labs, customer space and administrative space.

Learn more at http://www.smartmicrosystems.com/

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September 9, 2011 — Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) researchers, led by Hansan Liu, Parans Paranthaman, and Gilbert Brown of the ORNL Chemical Sciences Division, created a titanium dioxide compound material that increases surface area and features a fast charge-discharge capability for lithium ion batteries.

Titanium dioxide’s architecture, mesoporous TiO2-B microspheres, features channels and pores that allow for unimpeded ion flow with a capacitor-like mechanism. This "pseudocapacitive behavior" is triggered by "unique sites and energetics of lithium absorption and diffusion in TiO2-B structure," according to the researchers. The microsphere shape allows for traditional electrode fabrication, creating compact electrode layers.

Also read: Carbon Fiber Electrodes Boost Lithium Ion Batteries

In 6 minutes of charging, the titanium-dioxide fabbed battery reaches 50% capacity. A traditional graphite-based lithium ion battery would be just 10% charged at the same current, according to Liu.

The titanium dioxide boasts 256 milliampere hour per gram capacity, beating commercial lithium titanate material’s 165. Its sloping discharge voltage can control state of charge. The researchers also note that oxide materials are safer than alternatives, with long operating lifecycles.

The titanium dioxide with a bronze polymorph could prove inexpensive as well, according to Liu.

The compound could be used to improve batteries for hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and other high-power applications. Stationary energy storage systems, for solar and wind power and smart grids, could also benefit.  

Further research is needed on the complex, multi-step production process for this material. Production would need to be scalable to serve commercial use.

Results were published in Advanced Materials. Access the paper, "Mesoporous TiO2-B Microspheres with Superior Rate Performance for Lithium Ion Batteries," here: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adma.201100599/abstract. Other authors of the paper are Zhonghe Bi, Xiao-Guang Sun, Raymond Unocic and Sheng Dai.

The research was supported by DOE’s Office of Science, ORNL’s Laboratory Directed Research and Development program, and ORNL’s SHaRE User Facility, which is sponsored by Basic Energy Sciences.

UT-Battelle manages ORNL for The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science. Learn more at http://www.ornl.gov/

September 9, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — QD Vision Inc., nanotechnology-based optical product developer, relocated to a new, high-volume production facility in Lexington, MA, gearing up for new product launches in 2012.

The Lexington building houses QD Vision’s global headquarters and production and development facilities. The company makes quantum dots via a precisely controlled chemical synthesis process. The manufacturing process requires a skilled, educated workforce, said Jason Carlson, QD Vision CEO. The Lexington, MA, site will produce quantum dots in high volume.

QD Vision has partnerships for its Quantum Light optics deploying in consumer electronics products. For displays, quantum dot technology expands the color gamut and reduces manufacturing and operating costs and power use. Solid state lighting companies are using QD Vision products to make warm white high-efficiency LEDs. In August, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the US Department of Defense (DoD) awarded QD Vision Inc. $900,000 to advance their QD-based infrared materials and deliver two prototype devices over the next 12 months.

QD Vision is a quantum dot (QD) product company serving display and lighting markets. Learn more at www.qdvision.com.

September 8, 2011 — Consumers have been "hooked" on motion sensing ever since the iPhone came out with a display that automatically switched orientation with the consumer’s movement, says Jérémie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst for MEMS and sensors at IHS. User experience, as well as better gaming and navigation, has made motion sensing a standard feature on smartphones and tablets. This is driving a sales boom for MEMS sensors, Bouchaud noted.

Apple Inc.’s accelerometer adoption in iPhones and iPads has ramped the motion sensor device market for smartphones and tablets, which will nearly double during the next five years, according to IHS iSuppli’s MEMS & Sensors Special Report. Motion sensor technology encompasses microelectromechanical system (MEMS) accelerometers, MEMS gyroscopes, electronic compasses (3-axis magnetometers), and MEMS pressure sensors.

Global revenue from motion sensor technology in smartphones and tablets will expand to $2.1 billion in 2015, up from $1.1 billion in 2011.

Apple kicked off the market for motion sensors in smartphones in 2007 with the introduction of the accelerometer-equipped iPhone. The company further boosted the smartphone motion sensor market in 2010 with the addition of a compass and a 3-axis gyroscope to the iPhone 4 line. That same year, Apple introduced the iPad, using the same motion sensor devices.

Global smartphone shipments will hit 1.03 billion units in 2015, up from 294 million in 2010. Tablet shipments will be 275.3 million units in 2015, up from 17.4 million in 2010. A total of 4 billion motion sensors will ship in smartphones and media tablets in 2015, up nearly fivefold from 864 million in 2010.

Motion-based applications are becoming more elaborate:
The fusion of signals of the various sensors is enabling the much smoother, faster and more precise description of motion. This precision is suited to new applications, including augmented reality, gaming and motion-based web browsing.

Ultimately, signals from motion sensors will be fused with data from other sensors in smartphones and tablets, such as light sensors, cameras, microphones and global positioning systems. When combined with other sources of information, such as calendars, weather forecasts and traffic information, this sensor information can enable "context awareness," allowing handsets and tablets to determine automatically the context of how and where smartphones and tablets are being utilized. This will enable electronic devices to anticipate users’ needs.

Accelerometers and compasses already are nearly ubiquitous in smartphones, with 95 percent and 96 percent penetration, respectively, in 2011. Penetration also is increasing in feature phones.

In 2011, IHS estimates that 29% of smartphones will include a gyroscope, up from 13% in 2011.

Pressure sensors are emerging in the second half of 2011 and will experience growing demand in high-end smartphones starting in 2013 for use in indoor navigation applications.

In the media tablet space, the combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes and compasses is standard in 2011. Pressure sensors already have appeared in some tablets, notably the Motorola Xoom.

See IHS iSuppli’s report Motion Sensors in Handsets and Tablets: It’s all about Fusion: http://www.isuppli.com/MEMS-and-Sensors/Pages/Motion-Sensors-in-Handsets-It-s-All-About-Fusion.aspx?PRX

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September 8, 2011 – Marketwire — NanoInk’s NanoFabrication Systems Division will deliver an NLP 2000 nanofabrication system to West Virginia University’s Multifunctional and Energy Ceramics Laboratory for research on developing micro-sensors based on complex nanomaterials and nanocomposites.

The desktop nanofabrication system is based on the company’s Dip Pen Nanolithography (DPN), which transfers minute amounts of materials over a large, environmentally controlled work area. It will be used to design and create engineered and functionalized surfaces on the micro and nanoscale. West Virginia University aims to develop micro-sensor arrays that can be fabricated easily and inexpensively for industrial and military applications. The sensors could be used for electrochemical, electromechanical or electromagnetic sensing.

The tool’s ability to directly place a range of materials directly into packaged and unpackaged devices could address the fundamental challenges of sensitivity and selectivity, said Tom Warwick, NanoInk’s GM of the NanoFabrication Systems Division.

The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at West Virginia University offers a balance of analytical and applied course work integrated with design and laboratory experiences. More information is available at www.mae.cemr.wvu.edu/.

NanoInk Inc. is an emerging growth technology company specializing in nanometer-scale manufacturing and applications development for the life sciences, engineering, pharmaceutical, and education industries. NanoInk’s NanoFabrication Systems Division provides nanofabrication tools for laboratory desktop settings. Learn more at www.nanoink.net/divisions.html#NanoFabrication.

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September 7, 2011 – PRNewswire — Semiconductor and MEMS fab equipment maker SPTS Technologies received an order for an Omega deep reactive ion etch (DRIE) process module from an Asian micro electro mechanical system (MEMS) foundry. This marks SPTS’ 900th DRIE tool sold.

SPTS Omega DRIE single-wafer etch process modules provide production-level throughput and good tilt control for Bosch process silicon (Si) etching used in MEMS and through-silicon via (TSV) 3D IC manufacturing.

SPTS claims to have the largest R&D and production DRIE installed base of any company. "DRIE is the foundation of the MEMS market," said Kevin Crofton, executive vice president and chief operating officer at SPTS. Crofton points out that, as MEMS growth has been strong for the past 5-10 years, DRIE orders have increased. SPTS also combined the DRIE technologies of several companies (Aviza Technologies, STS, Primaxx from SPP, and Tegal’s AMMS DRIE division) to provide 900 systems.

SPTS Technologies designs, manufactures, sells, and supports etch, PVD, CVD and thermal capital equipment and process technologies for semiconductor, MEMS, advanced packaging, LEDs, high speed RF on GaAs and power management manufacturing. For more information about SPTS Technologies, please visit http://www.spts.com.

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Plastic Logic changes CEO


September 7, 2011

September 7, 2011 – BUSINESS WIRE — Plastic Logic, plastic electronics technology development company, named Indro Mukerjee as CEO, succeeding 4-year CEO Richard Archuleta.  

In 2007, Plastic Logic raised $100 million of equity finance to build a flexible active-matrix display module factory. However, in 2010, the company revised its product roadmap and cancelled its QUE product, planning to move ahead with a second-generation ProReader plastic-electronics-based product.

Mukerjee joins Plastic Logic after serving as Chairman and CEO of high-rel electronics manufacturing firm C-MAC MicroTechnology. Prior to that post, he worked with Philips Semiconductors BV with several executive roles. He was a director in the IPO of VideoLogic, and has held senior management roles with Hitachi’s European Semiconductor Division.

Mukerjee holds a degree in Engineering Science from Oxford University and is a graduate of the Advanced Management Program of the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.

Plastic Logic is attempting to commercialize its flexible electronics displays, and Mukerjee expects to form "a global business" based around its "unique technology and engineering expertise." Initial commercial products will be rolled out later in 2011, as Plastic Logic’s second manufacturing plant (Zelenograd, Russia) breaks ground. Zelenograd should come online in the 2013-2014 timeframe.

Plastic Logic will concurrently invest in expanding its high-volume, state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Dresden, Germany, which opened in 2008, as well as its technology R&D center in Cambridge, England and its product development hub in Mountain View, CA.

Plastic Logic’s flexible display products and devices help individuals and businesses use information more effectively. For more information on Plastic Logic, go to PlasticLogic.com.