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(October 28, 2010) — As the use of motion sensors in various consumer electronic devices is expanding quickly, the industry competitive landscape is significantly changing. This is most apparent with MEMS gyroscopes. The battle to introduce the 3-axis gyroscopes on smartphones has just started, but the major market for MEMS gyroscopes is still gaming. In a $418 million consumer gyroscope market in 2010, gaming represents a market segment of $162 million, according to Yole Développement.

Yole Développement will release a new report dedicated to the worldwide consumer electronics industry next month. This market & technological analysis will include competitive landscape, market data, technological challenges analysis, and more.

More than 50 million Motion Plus controllers (which integrate InvenSense and Epson gyroscopes) have been sold since their launch in June 2009. However  this is just a start, since new motion sensing solutions with MEMS gyroscope are now being released on the market. In September 2010, the Sony Move game controller was launched. It integrates 9 degrees of freedom with the use of accelerometers, gyroscopes and compass. It uses complex sensor fusion algorithms creating more precise gestures recognition, and more immersive gaming experiences. And now, Nintendo is planning to add motion sensing features in portable game stations, by integrating accelerometers and gyroscopes in 3DS, to be released in February 2011.

Yole Développement believes 2 gyroscope industry providers will benefit from these changes:

  • According to Yole Développement’s information, the 2-axis gyro in the Move controller is from Sony. Sony is a newcomer in the MEMS gyroscope landscape: Sony has developed a 2-axis solution that is now integrated in all its DSCs except high-end products since 2009. Those parts are also sold to a few other DSC manufacturers in Japan, and are now integrated in the PS3 Move game controller, which means that Sony now has a very large gyro market share. Sony Computer Entertainment may have a second source for this 2-axis gyroscope but Yole Développement believes that Sony gyroscopes are used in majority.
  • Panasonic has recently launched its 3-axis gyroscope and is actively promoting it in the gaming and mobile phone industry. Yole Développement expects Panasonic 3-axis gyroscopes to be integrated in the future Nintendo 3DS.

Competition is gaining intensity as the gaming gyroscope market is becoming increasingly attractive. Established players (ST, Epson Toyocom, InvenSense) are also pushing hard to introduce 3-axis gyroscopes into this market while new large players such as Kionix and Bosch Sensortec are expected to enter this market. It is possible that a unique 3-axis gyro could  replace the 2-axis gryo + single axis gryo of the Motion Plus controller.

Current integrations of several types of sensors open the way for even more technology or capability. Yole Développement forecasts an increase in market traction for MEMS IMUs within one or two generation of products, provided that the cost of such packages becomes more attractive compared to the simple addition of accelerometer and gyroscope discrete sensors.

Market and technology trends dedicated to the worldwide consumer electronics industry will be presented in the next report: “Motion Sensor Market for Consumer & Mobile Applications” by Yole Développement. Under this study, the company analyzes the latest technology challenges for numerous applications — mobile phones, tablets, cameras, game controllers, remote controls — and describes the competitive landscape. What are the current solutions? What will be tomorrow’s technologies? What are the market’s needs?

Laurent Robin, Market Analyst at Yole Développement, explains the structure of this industry and announces key market data. The “Motion Sensor Market for Consumer & Mobile Applications” report includes detailed analysis on the following MEMS solutions: accelerometers, gyroscopes, electronic compass, combo sensors.

The report will be available in November 2010. For more information about this report, contact Yole Développement at www.yole.fr.

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(October 27, 2010) — Roger Grace, Janusz Bryzek, and Sverre Horntvedt were among the MEMS industry executives, entrepreneurs, and experts that spoke with ElectroIQ at the recent MEMS Technology Summit at Stanford University. They share a reflection on the past 25 years of MEMS, and insights into where MEMS will go in the next 25.

Changing with the technology, competing outside MEMS arena
Sverre Horntvedt, president, CEO, and co-founder of Sensonor Technologies, speaks with Debra Vogler, senior technical editor, in this podcast interview. He describes the company’s interesting journey from its leading position in automotive MEMS applications, to its current focus on high-precision MEMS in applications for which the competitors’ technologies are non-MEMS-based. Podcast: Download or Play Now

>1 trillion MEMS devices in the next 10 years
MEMS Technology Summit co-organizer and industry pioneer, Janusz Bryzek of Jyve Inc., absorbed many lessons in the first 25 years of MEMS development. "Manufacturing MEMS is not a trivial job," said Bryzek. But as the infrastructure is improving, “It’s easier to get products to the market if you follow what the industry has developed, and not try to reinvent new manufacturing processes.” He discusses a MEMS roadmap in his interview with Vogler. Podcast: Download or Play Now

Focus shift to value-add system models
Roger Grace, Roger Grace Associates, wants to see MEMS apps shift from component-focused to system integration. This will help MEMS grow in the future, he says. Grace talks with Vogler about re-inventing technologies for lucrative applications, and profits in the MEMS sector. Podcast: Download or Play Now

Other interviews from the MEMS Technology Summit

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(October 27, 2010) — Fabless audio chip company Wolfson Microelectronics plc (LSE: WLF.L) launched its next-generation digital silicon micro-electro-mechanical-systems (MEMS) microphones, the WM7210 and the WM7220. The digital MEMS are manufactured with Wolfson’s CMOS/MEMS membrane design, similar to the company’s analog MEMS microphones.

The WM7210 and the WM7220 complement Wolfson’s family of analog MEMS microphones. Based on Wolfson’s proprietary CMOS/MEMS membrane technology, the new digital devices deliver high reliability and performance, and can withstand the high temperatures needed for automated flow solder assembly, which can damage conventional microphones.

Wolfson’s digital MEMS microphones combine low power consumption, excellent audio capture, signal-to-noise (SNR) ratio of 59dB -Top port, low total harmonic distortion (THD) at high sound pressure levels, and a miniature low-profile package, suiting applications including mobile phones, PCs, portable media players, digital still cameras, and navigation devices. Audio is again becoming a differentiator in low- and high-tier consumer electronics devices, said Ron Schaeffer, audio hub product manager at WFL.L.

The WM7210 and WM7220 also help save battery life with ultra low sleep mode power consumption.  When the clock delivered to the microphone drops below a specified frequency, the microphones automatically power down into a sleep mode consuming just 2.5 micro amps.

Each microphone incorporates a high-performance ADC, which outputs a single bit Pulse Density Modulated (PDM) format audio data stream, while the microphone output can be defined for left or right configuration allowing for applications requiring stereo operation. The package is designed to accommodate various porting requests.

The WM7210 is available in a 4 x 3 x 1mm thin package design, priced at $1.83 in 1K volume, while the WM7220 is available in a 4.72 x 3.76 x 1.25mm, priced at $1.83 in 1K volume.

Wolfson entered the MEMS market with the acquisition of Oligon in January 2007. iSuppli noted their venture into the MEMS space, stating that this “factor will accelerate the penetration of MEMS microphones in the 2009-2012 timeframe.” Schaeffer noted with the digital MEMS launch that, “Complexity of audio capture and playback, across various platforms, and often in challenging environments, is leading to the integration of multiple (up to 8) microphones into a single smartphone, for example.” MEMS offer a more robust microphone chip, and are seeing adoption across major OEMs, he added, saying that product designers want drop-in package solutions from large-scale suppliers.

Wolfson Microelectronics supplies high-performance, mixed-signal semiconductor solutions to the consumer electronics market.Wolfson Microelectronics plc is listed on the London stock exchange (LSE: WLF.L).  For more information about Wolfson Microelectronics, visit: http://www.wolfsonmicro.com 

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(October 26, 2010) — Steven Walsh, the Albert Franklin Black Professor of Entrepreneurship at the University of New Mexico, recently spoke about the lessons learned from 25 years of MEMS technology, educating attendees of the MEMS Technology Summit (10/19-10/20/10, Stanford University).

Podcast: Download or Play Now

In a podcast interview with Debra Vogler, senior technical editor, Walsh summarizes the 5 major commercialization hurdles MEMS companies face, whether in a disruptive, discontinuous-based product paradigm or a sustaining, continuous-based product paradigm. In the first case, a company must have at least a 10% improvement in cost and at least a 2-3× improvement in some other parameter. For a sustaining technology, you can go with an ~2× improvement and you have to make it better, faster, cheaper. Another decision point: do you have the funds, can you develop the product yourself, and you have to decide whether to go fabless. He also offers specific advice for the entrepreneurial team.

He ends his interview with a recitation of BioMEMS devices that are in exciting stages of development, including a MEMS needle that eliminates the need for a stabilization agent in vaccines, optical solutions that aid vision, and targeted cancer therapies.

Additional podcast interviews from MEMS Technology Summit:

MEMS cantilevers enable better MEMS sensors: Chat with Beth Pruitt, Stanford

Nanotechnology promises have gone unfulfilled, says Stanford prof

Water on the moon? NASA MEMS-based Phazir spectrometer chat with Steve Senturia

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(October 25, 2010) — Thomas Kenny, Ph.D., Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, told attendees of the MEMS Technology Summit (10/19-10/20/10, Stanford University) that nanotechnology promises have gone unfulfilled. “If we define a technology as the ability to make something exactly the way we want it, over and over, we do not have this capability at the nanoscale for many structures,” said Kenny. He also argues that the MEMS industry is undergoing an identity shift, if not an identity crisis.

Podcast: Download or Play Now

In a podcast interview with Debra Vogler, senior technical editor, ElectroIQ, Kenny discusses DARPA’s Tip-Based Nanofabrication (TBN) Program, which is a response to the need for localized control over environments and position and all other characteristics of a nanostructure. The TBN program (Kenny is the program manager) opens up the possibility for site-specific growth of nanotubes and nanowires. He says we need complete control of repeatability in nanoscale manufacturing, at best. Our goal is to make things that are different, on purpose, he says.

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(October 25, 2010) — MEMS cantilevers are the force and displacement sensor backbone of all of the MEMS sensors in our cars, cell phones, and other products. The basic cantilever can be manipulated to serve cutting-edge research applications in bio mechanics and other fields, says Beth Pruitt, Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Stanford University, speaking at the MEMS Technology Summit (10/19-10/20/10, Stanford University). She speaks with Debra Vogler, senior technical editor, ElectroIQ.

Podcast: Download or Play Now

MEMS cantilevers have become a key enabler in science and consumer, aerospace, and automotive applications. Some applications include a novel scanning probe, cantilever-based chemical sensing, and mechano-transduction at the cell and organism level. 

Pruitt notes that Stanford takes a "MEMS inside" approach to research — posing a question that can be uniquely solved by MEMS. MEMS cantilevers are improved with medical, physical, and other research needs in mind. Pruitt discusses the merits of cantilevers as well as funding opportunities that leverage these useful mechanisms.

Other research chats from the MEMS Technology Summit 2010:

 NASA LCROSS project: Steve Senturia discusses the MEMS-enabled Phazir

Thomas Kenny, Stanford, on DARPA Tip-based nanofabrication program

The Optical Channel Monitor (OCM) for DWDM networks supports 88 channels with options to cover 96, and is suitable for either 50 or 100 GHz channel plans. Its wavelength range is customizable, covering both C and L band applications and any combination of 10 and 40 Gbit optical channels. The OCM is voltage-controlled and can scan continuously with a scan speed of 250 ms, or hold a particular park state position.
DiCon Fiberoptics
Richmond, CA
www.diconfiberoptics.com

More Products

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PRESS RELEASE

DiCon Fiberoptics Releases New Optical Channel Monitor Ideal for DWDM Networks

Richmond, CA—DiCon Fiberoptics is pleased to present its new Optical Channel Monitor (OCM) for use in DWDM networks. Based on DiCon’s MEMS Tunable Filter, the Optical Channel Monitor offers superior optical performance and features proven MEMS durability and reliability.

DiCon’s Optical Channel Monitor supports a standard 88 channels with options to cover 96, and is suitable for either 50 or 100 GHz channel plans. Its wavelength range is customizable, covering both C and L band applications and any combination of 10 and 40G bit optical channels. The OCM is voltage controlled and can scan continuously with a scan speed of 250 ms or hold a particular park state position.

“With the growth of Reconfigurable Optical Networks, our Optical Channel Monitors provide a highly reliable, durable and low-cost monitoring solution for our customers,” said Jarlath McElroy, DiCon’s Director of Sales. “Featuring a compact 70mm x 106mm x 10.8mm footprint, customers have the option of integrating a 1xN MEMS Fiber Optic Switch to provide the flexibility of monitoring up to 12 separate points in a network node without changing the form factor.”

The Optical Channel Monitor is an optical subsystem that scans DWDM networks and reports the power of each channel in real time. Feedback from the Optical Channel Monitor can be used to optimize power levels, identify performance drift, and verify system functionality. An extension of DiCon’s proven MEMS product line, the Optical Channel Monitor offers the same durability, repeatability, and stability as DiCon’s MEMS Tunable Filter,1xN Fiber Optic Switch, and Variable Optical Attenuator.

For more information about DiCon’s optical channel monitor, please visit www.diconfiberoptics.com/products/optical_channel_monitor.php.

Posted by Lee Mather

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by Laura Peters, contributing editor

IEDM Previews:
How strain can protect devices from ESD
SEMATECH tipping III-V MOSFET, FinFET, and resistive RAM
TSMC anneal for gate-last HKMG process
Imec IEDM presentations to cover More than Moore, ITRS
When do TSV stresses affect device operation?
Multi-threshold-voltage flexibility in FDSOI
CMOS imager works from light to night
Carbon nanotube vias approach production densities
IBM Alliance simplifies pFET HKMG
IM Flash details 25nm NAND

October 22, 2010 – Traditional CMOS image sensors based on silicon are limited to imaging in the visible and near infrared (IR) spectrum. But for homeland security, automotive safety and other applications that rely on detection of the earth’s natural "night glow," extension into the short-wave IR (SWIR) band is needed.

Researchers from NoblePeak Vision Corp. (Wakefield, MA), will explain how they integrated a low-noise, high quantum-efficiency germanium (Ge) photodiode into a 10μm-pitch VGA-compatible CMOS sensor at the upcoming International Electron Devices Meeting (IEDM, 12/6-8 in San Francisco, CA). The CMOS sensor absorbs light from visible to 1.6μm, enabling high-resolution night imaging under moonless conditions. According to the research team, this is the first large-scale integration of single-crystal germanium (Ge) diodes into a silicon imager.

To date, one challenge in building quality Ge-on-Si diodes has been the high thermal budget associated with reducing Ge dislocation densities caused by the Ge/Si lattice mismatch of 4%. Using a high aspect (AR) ratio connection between the germanium and silicon, the NoblePeak process induces in-plane tension, which extends the absorption band edge of the germanium, helping the sensor to capture night glow at peaks of 1.3μm and 1.6μm. Based on a standard 0.18μm CMOS foundry flow, process details are shown in Figure 1. The team packaged the imagers with a thermoelectric cooler (-80°C) and incorporated them into a compact camera.

Figure 1. Ge diode integration flow. a) CMOS-to-contact formation; b) deposit Ge well dielectric, pattern Ge well and high AR Si seeding stem to form dual cavity; c) grow Si epi, CMP, form n and p regions in Ge by ion implant, deposit Ge interlayer dielectric; d) form Ge contact and stacked contact to CMOS, standard BEOL, microlens formation. (Source: NoblePeak)

Pixel quantum efficiency (QE) is defined as the electrons collected by the circuitry relative to photons incident on the pixel. The group found that QE was a function of fill factor and reflections in the dielectric stack, losses to the silicon substrate or dielectric, and quality of the metallization pattern. Packaged testing of devices revealed a pixel QE of 44% at 1.3μm at full VGA resolution and 32% at half resolution (Figure 2).

Diode dark current (i.e., leakage current) measured at wafer probe at -45°C was 25 fA/pixel. The team traced the primary leakage mechanism to traps within the space-charge region of the diode.

For SWIR imaging, an alternative is a room-temperature InGaAs SWIR sensor for military applications. However, this approach requires integration with a long-wavelength thermal sensor for full bandwidth coverage. Another image sensor option, which allows extension into the near-IR, involves copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS)-on-CMOS for automotive and security applications.

Figure 2. Pixel quantum efficiency and dark current. Wafer probe results show median pixel quantum efficiency and dark current of all pixels in each VGA imager measured at full and half-resolution. Optical power was 3μW/cm2. (Source: NoblePeak)


(October 22, 2010) — The University of Leeds in Yorkshire, UK, will install a JEOL electron beam lithography system. Researchers will use the litho system for nano-scale electronics and spintronics device research, as well as development of magnetic materials. The investment will enable the "next level" of nanoengineering, said one professor.

The purchase was enabled by a £2.7 million grant from the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), in partnership with the Universities of Sheffield and York. Its purchase is supported by additional strategic investment from the University of Leeds and industrial funding for PhD studentships, bringing the total investment in the facility to close to £4 million.

 

Images from the JEOL electron beam system

Electron-beam lithography systems are widely used by researchers to pattern wires, dots, rings and sophisticated integrated structures on a submicron length scale. The system that is coming to Leeds will able to define features that are less than 10nm in size – more than 1000 times smaller than the width of a human hair.

This will allow researchers to fabricate new generations of high-frequency electronics and spintronic devices and to study novel magnetic materials, with the potential for commercialization over the next five to 10 years. The system will also enable researchers to fabricate electrodes that are small enough to connect to individual molecules or groups of molecules, leading to new classes of hybrid, bioelectronic materials that could have applications in medical diagnostics.

"This instrument will take us to the next level of sophistication in terms of nanoengineering," said Professor Edmund Linfield, from the School of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Leeds. "The system’s sub-10nm resolution will really help us bridge the gap to molecular scale patterning. In short, it will allow us to undertake the fundamental scientific work that will underpin the next generation of materials that will emerge over the coming decades, and allow us to design devices that will find industrial applications from the electronic to the medical sectors. "

"This prestigious collaboration will undoubtedly enhance the reputation of all involved," said Steve Strange, semiconductor sales manager for JEOL (UK). "For this project, the combination of exceptional academics in all three institutes, combined with the economic necessity of utilizing our equipment 24/7 will showcase just how these collaborations are the future of high-end equipment procurement in the UK."

Experiments with electron lithography

Many projects have already been lined up for the new electron-beam lithography system. For example, researchers will examine how nanowires made from magnetic films can be used to trap ultra-cold atoms — a technique that will help advance quantum computing applications.

They will also experiment with structures made from graphene, which has highly unusual electrical, mechanical and chemical properties and was the subject of this year’s Nobel Prize for physics. Their aim is to use the graphene sheets to make super-fast electrometers that can respond within a trillionth of a second.

Dr Atsufumi Hirohata, of the Department of Electronics at York, added: "This instrument will allow me to make a multiple process spintronic device that will essentially be a full computer on a single chip."

Researchers

Funding from JEOL will help young scientists at the beginning of their research careers take advantage of the new facility. Up to ten new PhD studentships specifically linked to the electron-beam lithography will be created over the next five years at the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York. It is expected that up to half of these will involve collaborative research with an industry partner.

"The Universities of Leeds, York and Sheffield have an exceptionally strong international record of research in nanotechnology, but we must continue to invest in the latest facilities and infrastructure if we, and the UK, are to remain major players in the field," said Professor Giles Davies, Pro-Dean for Research in the Faculty of Engineering, University of Leeds. "We must also make sure that up-and-coming young researchers are equipped with the skills they need to compete in an international scientific arena."

Professor Kevin O’Grady, Director of the York Institute for Materials Research at the University of York, said: "This project was specifically designed to train a large group of PhD students to improve the skill base in Yorkshire. The three students based in York will work on projects in collaboration with Seagate, Toshiba and Hitachi."

Dr Daniel Allwood, from the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Sheffield, said: "The excitement about this new collaborative facility is due to the future science that it enables. The world-class patterning capabilities will lead to a new understanding of nanoscale materials and innovations across a wide range of application areas."

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(October 21, 2010) — Speaking at the bi-monthly IMAPS luncheon (Santa Clara, CA; 10/6/10), Dr. Meyya Meyyappan, chief scientist for exploration technology at the Center for Nanotechnology at NASA Ames Research Center, discussed his group’s research in carbon nanotubes (CNTs), nanowires, and phase-change memories (PCM), as well as a next-generation non-volatile resistive switching memory.

Podcast: Download or Play Now

Slides from Dr. Meyyappan’s presentation

In the podcast interview with Debra Vogler, senior technical editor, ElectroIQ, Meyyappan summarizes research results – including the “electronic nose” and simulation and modeling activities.  With respect to commercialization of nanotechnology, he advises the industry to be patient. It takes 10-15 years, he said, to take something from the lab to a reliable, robust product that can be produced at high volumes and at a reasonable cost. Still, he believes that the next decade will see more nanotechnology products emerge. 

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