April 28, 2011 — Samsung Electronics Co. in 2010 recaptured the top spot from Nintendo Co. as the largest buyer of microelectromechanical system (MEMS) sensors for mobile phones and other consumer electronics like tablets, while Apple Inc. grabbed second place to move within striking distance of number 1, according to new research from Jérémie Bouchaud of IHS iSuppli.

The finalized rankings show that Samsung last year bought approximately $200 million worth of MEMS sensors, which went mostly to its mobile handsets, a considerable increase from $137 million that the company spent in 2009. Also the top spender for consumer and mobile MEMS in 2008, Samsung finished as runner-up in 2009, muscled out by Nintendo.

Jumping from third to second spot was Apple, not far behind Samsung with $195 million in spending. For its part, Nintendo fell to third with $125 million after a brief stay at the top in 2009. LG Electronics remained at fourth with $97 million, followed by Sony Corp. moving into fifth with $95 million.

Rounding out the top 10, in descending order:

• Nokia Corp. with $83 million;
• Sony Ericsson with $41 million;
• Mitsubishi Electric with $38 million;
• Motorola Inc. with $35 million;
• And Canon Inc. with $32 million.

Figure. Top consumer and mobile MEMS purchasers (millions of USD). SOURCE: IHS iSuppli April 2011.

Four companies on the list had lower MEMS expenditures in 2010 than in 2009:

• Mitsubishi suffered the biggest drop at 33.3%;
• Nintendo with 11.5%;
• Motorola with 10.3%;
• Sony Ericsson with 4.7%.

The consumer and mobile MEMS segment is the largest sector of a broad, sprawling MEMS industry, which also boasts of thriving individual markets for wired communications, industrial, military and civil aerospace, automotive and data processing.

As the top buyer of consumer and mobile MEMS, Samsung’s shopping bag included bulk acoustic wave (BAW) filters from Avago Technologies and TriQuint Semiconductor, followed by accelerometers from Bosch Sensortec, Kionix and STMicroelectronics, according to information provided by IHS iSuppli’s Teardown Service.

Other important MEMS items purchased by Samsung last year included microphones from Knowles Electronics, gyroscopes from STMicroelectronics, and digital light processing (DLP) chips for pico projectors from Texas Instruments.

Apple proved to have the highest growth in consumer and mobile MEMS expenditures, up 116.7% from $90 million in 2009. The MEMS sensors bought by Apple last year included 3-axis gyroscopes from STMicroelectronics for the iPhone 4, iPod Touch, and — toward the end of 2010 — the iPad 2 tablet. Apple also bought accelerometers for the above three devices as well as for the iPod Nano and MacBook computer. In addition, BAW duplexers came from TriQuint for the iPhone and iPad 3G; while Analog Devices Inc., Knowles and AAC Inc. (using die from Infineon Technologies) provided Apple with MEMS microphones for the iPod Nano 5th Generation, iPhone 4 and Apple headsets and the iPad 2.

Apple is responsible for creating new MEMS markets for consumer electronics and handsets far beyond its own consumption, IHS believes. The first iPhone made it popular for handsets to use accelerometers — devices that provide auto-screen rotation and gesture-based command functions — and was a market worth $304 million in 2010. The iPhone 4 also employed gaming-style gyroscopes, a $49 million market in 2010 that will jump to more than $100 in handsets. Likewise, the MEMS industry owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to Apple for single-handedly reviving the tablet, a hotbed for MEMS projected to be worth more than $200 million by 2015.

Nintendo’s third-spot finish this year was marked by the company’s MEMS expenditures on single- and dual-axis gyroscopes from InvenSense, intended for both the Wii Motion Plus remote controller as well as for Nintendo’s newly released 3DS handheld device featuring 3-D gaming. Nintendo also bought single-axis gyroscopes from Epson Toyocom, as well as accelerometers from STMicroelectronics and Bosch Sensortec for the Wii and 3DS.

LG Electronics, staying put in fourth place this year, purchased MEMS mostly for its handsets. The company also obtained BAW filters from Avago; microphones from Knowles; accelerometers from Bosch Sensortec, Kionix, Freescale Semiconductor and STMicroelectronics; and toward the end of the year 3-axis gyroscopes from InvenSense and STMicroelectronics.

Sony’s one step move up from sixth place in 2009 placed it second, after Apple, in yearly MEMS expenditure growth, up 55.8% from $61 million in 2009. Sony bought gyroscopes as the company’s highest spend, sourced from various players and fitted to the Sony Move remote controller for the PlayStation 3 game console.

Suppliers to Sony included STMicroelectronics for single-, dual and 3-axis gyroscopes; Sony itself for the dual-axis version; and Murata, Epson Toyocom and STMicroelectronics for the single-axis gyroscope in the Dualshock controller for the PlayStation 3. Accelerometers also were needed for the Sony Move and Dualshock from Kionix, with STMicroelectronics serving as a second source.

Learn more at http://www.isuppli.com/MEMS-and-Sensors/Pages/Consumer-MEMS-The-Sky-is-the-Limit.aspx?MWX

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April 28, 2011 — Researchers at Oregon State University have found a way to use magnetic "nanobeads" to help detect chemical and biological agents, with possible applications in everything from bioterrorism to medical diagnostics, environmental monitoring, and water and food safety.

The sensor tech will be developed into a handheld, portable sensor that provides a whole diagnostic laboratory on a single chip. The research could revolutionize the size, speed and accuracy of chemical detection systems around the world.

Figure 1. Immunoassay based sensor: How the new sensor technology developed at Oregon State University might work using magnetic beads. (Graphic courtesy of Oregon State University).

New findings on this microfluidic sensor were recently reported in Sensors and Actuators, and the university is pursuing a patent on related technologies. The collaborative studies were led by Vincent Remcho, an OSU professor of chemistry and associate dean for research and graduate programs in the OSU College of Science, and Pallavi Dhagat, an assistant professor in the OSU School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Other OSU researchers working on this project include Tim Marr, a graduate student in electrical engineering, and Esha Chatterjee, a graduate chemistry student.

The scientists tap into the capability of ferromagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles to detect chemicals with sensitivity and selectivity. These ferromagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles can be incorporated into a system of integrated circuits (ICs) to instantly display the findings.

Because the nanoparticles are made of iron, they can be used as a signaling device with support of magnetism and electronics, providing immediate access to the information, said Remcho.

According to Dhagat, this should result in a powerful sensing technology that is fast, accurate, inexpensive, mass-producible, and small enough to hold in your hand. Existing assays are often cumbersome and time-consuming, using biochemical probes that require expensive equipment, expert personnel, or a complex laboratory to detect or interpret.

Figure 2. The technology developed at Oregon State University uses ferromagnetic "nanobeads" to develop a powerful, small new type of sensor. (Graphic courtesy of Oregon State University)

In the new approach, tiny nanoparticles could be attached to these biochemical probes. When a chemical of interest is detected, a ferromagnetic resonance is used to relay the information electronically to a tiny computer and the information immediately displayed to the user. No special thin films or complex processing is required, but the detection capability is still extremely sensitive and accurate.

Rapid detection of chemical toxins used in bioterrorism would be possible, including such concerns as anthrax, ricin or smallpox. The work has been supported by a four-year grant from the Army Research Laboratory, in collaboration with the Oregon Nanoscience and Microtechnologies Institute.

Routine and improved monitoring of commercial water treatment and supplies could be pursued, along with other needs in environmental monitoring, cargo inspections, biomedical applications in research or medical care, pharmaceutical drug testing, or even more common uses in food safety.

The concept has been proven in the latest study, the scientists say, and work is continuing with microfluidics research to make the technology robust and durable for extended use in the field.

Courtesy of David Stauth, http://hdl.handle.net/1957/20494

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April 27, 2011 — The MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre (C2MI) will purchase three Akrion Systems GAMA automated wet process systems for the development and manufacture of advanced devices at C2MI’s state-of-the-art MEMS facility in Bromont Technoparc, Quebec, Canada.

The GAMA systems will be used for all of the wet processing requirements of the Centre. The systems will include Akrion Systems’ proprietary technologies for drying MEMS wafers with deep feature sizes and for controlling silicon etch kinetics.

Various MEMS and 3D wafer-level integration strategies using through-silicon via (TSV) require various wafer bonding preparation steps and bulk micromachining processes," said Luc Ouellet, vice president of technology development of Teledyne DALSA Semiconductor. "These three highly automated tools provide SMIF-based dry-in and dry-out interfaces to operators, thus reducing the risks to humans, ensure a technically sound solution to basic physical limitations of high aspect ratio TSV, allow various environmentally friendly process schemes and reduce the overall operation costs with responsible chemicals and de-ionized water utilization. We are also very pleased with the automated chemical delivery, real-time composition analysis and real time micro-contamination monitoring provided by the various integrated sub-systems of these three GAMA wet processors."

Also read: CMOS, MEMS meld enabled with advanced TSV, flexible interconnects

Akrion Systems provides advanced surface preparation process solutions and systems, including single-wafer and batch-immersion cleaning tools for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries. For further information, please visit the Akrion Systems web site: http://www.akrionsystems.com.

The MiQro Innovation Collaborative Centre (C2MI) is an original partnership between Université de Sherbrooke, Teledyne DALSA Inc. and IBM Canada Ltd, Bromont Plant. The C2MI will be an international pioneer in packaging the next generation of microchips. Visit www.c2mi.ca to learn more.

April 27, 2011 — MEMS foundries shared unequally in the MEMS market’s robust 25% growth in 2010. Total combined revenues of Yole Développement’s annual ranking of the Top 20 MEMS foundries — which account for the vast majority of world’s total MEMS foundry capacity — climbed only about 10% last year, as companies doing internal production instead grabbed most of the big growth in consumer and automotive markets.

Figure. Top 20 MEMS foundries by 2010 sales estimates ($M). SOURCE: Yole Développement, April 2011.

STMicroelectronics continued to dominate the MEMS foundry business, capturing nearly a third of the total foundry market, but there was plenty of re-shuffling among the rest of the leading players in this highly fluid sector.

Silex Microsystems saw robust 85% growth to some $37 million in sales, to become the largest of the pure-play independents. Growth was driven by demand for its via-first, highly doped silicon TSV technology.

Sales at Asia Pacific Microsystems jumped some 60%, to move the Taiwan company into fourth position.

But in a market largely driven by demand for high-volume sensors for smart phones and other consumer gear, large MEMS IDMs with 8" lines and assured supply capability captured much of the new business. The IDMs also benefited from the robust recovery of the automotive market, as those qualified devices remain largely made in-house. Smaller fabless companies generally saw slower growth, as they had to compete with the giants for volume orders.

"In the future, the large IDMs like Bosch, STMicroelectronics and Panasonic will continue to capture much of the big growth in consumer MEMS markets," said Jean Christophe Eloy, CEO of Yole Développement. "And those foundries coming from the large-volume semiconductor industry will become more and more important. The foundry business will increasingly be in other hands than before, as much of the growth will be captured by new players."

Yole Développement estimates TSMC roughly doubled its MEMS revenues last year, to jump from about $10 million to about $20 million in MEMS foundry revenues. Other semiconductor industry companies like XFab, Jazz Semiconductor and UMC also saw healthy growth, though remain relatively smaller players. Though not yet large enough to make the list, SMIC’s MEMS foundry business is also growing, and GlobalFoundries plans an aggressive move into the MEMS market.

Though the specialty MEMS foundries may be serving lower-volume customers, those applications include much specialized, higher-margin business in optical, telecommunications and biomedical applications. "These foundries may not be seeing the same big growth, but they are making a good, profitable business," says Eloy. A large and growing group of these larger specialty foundries are separating themselves from the pack. Nine MEMS foundries now have revenues of about $20 million or more, and six of those are now doing more than $30 million in annual business. As recently as 2006, only five MEMS foundries reached the $20 million mark.

Sensonor vaulted onto the list in number three position, with $35 million in foundry business, as Infineon spun out the MEMS unit to make its tire pressure monitoring systems as a foundry. Texas Instruments (TI), meanwhile, slipped to fifth place from second, on the slowing of demand for ink jet heads from Lexmark, as the maturing inkjet printer market slowed and transitioned from disposable to permanent heads.
 
For more information on Yole’s reports and other products, visit www.i-micronews.com.

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April 26, 2011 — ULIS, a manufacturer of high-quality infrared (IR) imaging sensors for thermography, security, automotive and military applications, launched Pico640E, a video graphics array (VGA) 640 x 480 17µm IR imaging sensor that offers new advantages in size, performance and factor of merit. It provides camera manufacturers and other imaging-system designers with large format, small-form factor, uncooled IR sensors that optimize the trade-off between performance and sensor response speed.
 
Pico640E is a high-resolution (more than 300,000 pixels) IR imaging sensor that comes in a small footprint (24.13 x 24.13 x 5.57mm). In tests, it has demonstrated a high response speed with a thermal time constant of 8.8ms and a thermal resolution less than 45mK. This translates into a uniform pixel factor of merit (400 mK.ms).

It can perform long-range detection up to approximately 2km, depending on the target, as well as detect fast-moving objects. These performance advantages make Pico640E well adapted for military applications, as well as thermography, predictive maintenance and 24/7 camera surveillance, particularly for handheld goggles and ground vehicle situational awareness, said Jean-François Delepau, managing director at ULIS. ULIS’ series of 17µm IR microbolometers are leading the market in large format, small-pixel pitch IR imaging sensors, added Delepau.

The performance Pico640E achieves is also a plus for image-fusion applications, which use both visible and IR images. Visible sensors have a much faster response rate than IR sensors, so there is often a time lag between visible and IR images when the camera is panning. Due to Pico640E’s fast response rate, it minimizes the delay between visible and IR images when they are superimposed, thereby improving overall image quality.

IR specialists use thermal sensitivity and thermal time constant measurements to calculate the factor of merit in IR microbolometers. Thermal sensitivity or Noise Equivalent Temperature Difference (NETD) shows how well pixels convert input signals (IR light/thermal radiation) into voltage in proportion to the thermal radiation emitted by an object: the higher the thermal sensitivity, the better the image. Thermal time constant refers to the speed at which pixels respond to input signals. For IR microbolometers, a low thermal time constant enables lag-free images.
 
ULIS will display Pico640E at booth Number 503 during the SPIE Defense and Security exhibition in Orlando, FL, April 26-28.
 
ULIS, a subsidiary of Sofradir, specializes in the design and manufacture of high quality infrared imaging sensors for thermography, security & surveillance, automotive and military applications. It enables makers of consumer electronics and infrared equipment to produce low weight, low power consumption and cost-effective thermal cameras in large volume. For more information, visit: http://www.ulis-ir.com

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