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Glass fabrication solutions for MEMS and RF applications

Mosaic Microsystems, located in Rochester, New York, was founded in 2016 to provide a manufacturing solution for inserting glass as a substrate into advanced packaging for next generation products. The core technology is a temporary bond technique that was developed and licensed from Corning, and enables handling and processing of thin glass substrates within a high-volume production environment. The company believes this is a key enabler for insertion of thin glass because their solution employs the use of existing semiconductor processing equipment.

Mosaic’s initial products are thin glass wafers temporarily bonded to a silicon or other type of wafers with or without through glass vias and with or without metallization. The company has recently been awarded multiple SBIR and STTR grants. This includes efforts to collaboratively develop ultra-low loss solutions for next-generation radar arrays with the University of Florida, establish low loss mobile electronically steerable antenna (ESA), heterogeneous integration, and more recently to develop low loss integrated passive devices (IPDs) with commercial partners. The awards are sponsored by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) under the AFWERX Agility Prime Open Topic as well as the National Science Foundation. We recently spoke with Christine Whitman, Mosaic’s Chairman and CEO about the company’s history, technology origins, recent and planned milestones, vision, emerging applications, and marketplace dynamics. Mosaic raised $2 million from Corning and BlueSky Capital in May 2020.

Medical MEMS: Exo aims to revolutionize ultrasound imaging with its PMUT technology

Founded in 2015, Exo has raised more than $100 million in funding to date and is proceeding in its vision to modernize medical imaging. The company’s investors include Action Potential Venture Capital (a GlaxoSmithKline venture fund), Applied Ventures, Bold Capital, Creative Ventures, Fiscus Ventures and Reimagined Ventures – Magnetar Capital affiliates, Innovative Growth Fund, Intel Capital, Longevity Vision Fund, Nautilus Venture Partners, OSF Healthcare, Rising Tide Fund, Solasta Ventures, TDK Ventures, and Wanxiang Healthcare Investments. We recently spoke with Dr. Janusz Bryzek, Exo’s Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, about his vision for the company, current marketplace dynamics, as well as technology and business roadmap. Dr. Bryzek also shared his main lessons for entrepreneurs in the sensors and MEMS ecosystem, and a few interesting startup companies he has been tracking.

Micro 3D printing for emerging MEMS and microfluidics applications

Boston Micro Fabrication (BMF) is a leader in microscale 3D printing systems aimed towards short-run industrial production of micro-sized devices. The newest printer in BMF’s line enables larger build volumes, faster printing speeds, and supports the use of industrial-grade materials. BMF’s 3D printers provide MEMS designers with an alternative to micromachining processes that require multiple steps and can only create low-aspect ratio devices. Unlike surface micro machining, BMF’s tools can create micro-devices with high aspect ratios. Plus, with its faster build times, BMF’s printers also offer advantages over bulk micro machining, which is slow to etch and requires bonding to form complex structures. We recently spoke with BMF’s CEO John Kawola about the company’s history, recent accomplishments, current traction in the marketplace, and plans for the future.

MEMS manufacturing: Mosaic Microsystems, Axus Technology collaborating on thin glass wafer processing solutions

Axus Technology, a provider of CMP, wafer thinning, and wafer surface processing solutions for semiconductor applications, is working with Mosaic Microsystems to build the supply chain for thin glass and through-glass via (TGV) processing and heterogeneous microelectronic packaging. Overcoming the challenges of handling, thinning, and cleaning <200 um thick wafers cost effectively prior to metallization is a key element in providing a robust, scalable process. Mosaic’s thin glass solutions provide key performance characteristics such as low loss, CTE match, environmental stability, and cost-effectiveness particularly desirable for 5G applications, as well as for MEMS and sensors for the internet of things (IoT). The company’s proprietary temporary bond technology supports thin glass substrates during downstream processing. This thin glass handling technology allows the supply chain to leverage the existing infrastructure for next generation microelectronics and photonics applications.

Microtech Ventures advises Inspectrology in acquisition by Onto Innovation

Inspectrology, LLC, a leading supplier of overlay metrology for controlling lithography and etch processes in the compound semiconductor and MEMS market, was acquired by Onto Innovation Inc. on December 31, 2020. The transaction is expected to provide revenue synergies by leveraging Onto Innovation’s broader access to global markets, especially in Asia. The Inspectrology team will be able to leverage Onto Innovation’s R&D resources and larger customer support organization to better serve its customers.

MEMS foundry SilTerra deploys Evatec’s thin film deposition tool for manufacturing piezo-MEMS devices

SilTerra, a Malaysia-based MEMS and CMOS foundry, recently announced that they added Evatec’s CLUSTERLINE 200 II tool to its arsenal of MEMS specialty tools for the development and production of high-performance piezoelectric MEMS devices. SilTerra said its partnership with Evatec dates back to 2017, and it has enabled SilTerra to successfully demonstrate the performance of monolithically integrated devices for its MEMS-on-CMOS technology platform. Evatec’s tool has reportedly been operational in SilTerra’s fab since May 2020, and is currently deployed for the deposition of piezoelectric thin film for MEMS devices. These devices include SilTerra’s piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducers (PMUTs), surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonators, bulk acoustic wave (BAW) resonators, and piezoelectric acoustic sensors.

MIPI Alliance completes development of a new sensors standard for automotive applications

The MIPI Alliance, an international organization that develops interface specifications for mobile and mobile-influenced industries, recently announced that development has been completed on MIPI A-PHY v1.0, a long-reach serializer-deserializer (SerDes) physical layer interface for automotive applications. The specification is undergoing member review, with official adoption expected within the next 90 days. A-PHY will provide a physical layer for data transfers spanning an entire vehicle. As the first standard of its kind, it will help the automotive industry accelerate the availability of advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS), autonomous driving systems (ADS) and other surround-sensor applications, including cameras and in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) displays.

Medical MEMS: SQZ Biotech raises $65 million to develop cell therapies

SQZ Biotechnologies (SQZ), a clinical stage cell therapy company developing innovative treatments for multiple therapeutic areas, announced this week the completion of a $65 million Series D preferred stock financing. The round was led by Temasek with participation from another new large, US-based fund as well as additional participation from existing investors, including GV, Illumina Ventures, Invus, JDRF T1D Fund, NanoDimension, and Polaris Partners. The company also announced the expansion of its cellular vaccine platform, currently in trial for oncology, into infectious diseases, and development of a point-of-care system to potentially generate patient product directly at treatment centers.

MEMS foundry X-FAB invests $25 million to expand silicon-based microfluidics offering

X-FAB Silicon Foundries announced this week that it has taken steps to simplify the integration of microfluidic elements with CMOS and SOI die. As part of the company's MEMS-oriented technology offering, X-FAB is now able to provide a larger variety of process capabilities for silicon based microfluidic systems. X-FAB has been focused on a more standardized foundry approach, to remove barriers to market entry and shorten development cycles. X-FAB has made $25 million worth of investment in the area of microfluidics in the past 5 years, while taking on numerous projects for medical and industrial clients for applications such as lab-on-a-chip, DNA sequencing and synthesis, and cancer diagnostics. Through these projects, X-FAB has expanded its expertise in areas like noble metal processing, high aspect-ratio deep reactive ion-etching (DRIE), and the deposition of both organic and inorganic materials. X-FAB says it also has become adept at tailoring the interfaces needed to connect CMOS die and the accompanying microfluidics elements, so the exact application requirements can be met.

SilTerra offers monolithic PMUT process option on CMOS for emerging ultrasonic sensing applications

SilTerra, a Malaysian-based global semiconductor and MEMS foundry, announced this week the availability of the piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) process option on CMOS platform. Customers can now design their transducers for ultrasonic sensing applications using the monolithic PMUT process design guidelines from SilTerra.  As a part of SilTerra’s initiative towards the mass production of the MEMS-based PMUT devices, SilTerra developed and qualified the PMUT cells in a modular concept similar to other CMOS process options such as SRAM, MIM, and HRPoly.  MEMS designers and ASIC designers thus have the flexibility to use these CMOS and MEMS process design guidelines to develop their prototypes and accelerate time to volume production.

Mosaic Microsystems secures $2 million seed round from BlueSky Capital and Corning

Mosaic Microsystems is focused on providing thin glass substrates and through glass vias (TGVs) for RF communications devices, particularly for 5G, as well as MEMS and sensors for the internet of things (IoT) and has reported a significant investment into the business.  The company recently raised $2 million in a seed round led by BlueSky Capital, with participation from Corning. Jeremy Wooldridge, General Manager of Samtec Microelectronics, will join Mosaic’s Board of Directors. In 2019, Mosaic secured an exclusive license from Corning for thin glass handling solutions, as well as an NSF SBIR contract to establish manufacturable implementation of thin glass for electronics packaging. Mosaic leadership team includes technology experts from Kodak, Corning, and ON Semiconductor.

MEMS technology innovator NextInput enabling superior HMI experiences

MEMS and sensors are the key enablers for the continuously evolving human machine interface (HMI) technologies. NextInput, a leader in this technology segment, has been successfully deploying turnkey HMI solutions, including its MEMS force-sensing technology, for customers in the automotive, consumer, mobile, wearable, and industrial markets. We recently spoke with NextInput’s CEO and Founder Ali Foughi about emerging HMI trends, competitive landscape, commercial traction to date, and his vision for the company.

MEMS timing device maker SiTime files to go public to raise $100 million

SiTime, a market leader in MEMS timing devices, announced last week that it has publicly filed a registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) relating to a proposed initial public offering (IPO) of its common stock. SiTime had revenues of $101 million in 2017 and $85 million in 2018. For the nine months ended on September 30, 2019, the company reported revenues of $56 million, compared to $62 million for the same period in 2018. Barclays and Stifel are acting as book-running managers for the proposed offering. Needham & Company, Raymond James, and Roth Capital Partners are acting as co-managers for the proposed offering. The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the offering have not yet been determined. SiTime has applied to list its common stock on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol "SITM".

Thorlabs acquires chemical sensors maker Coda Devices

Thorlabs announced earlier this month that it completed the acquisition of Coda Devices, a manufacturer of Raman-based solutions for analyzing the chemical composition of substances within a laboratory environment or in the field. Based in Menlo Park, California with an R&D center and production in Moscow, Russia, the Coda team will be integrated into Thorlabs' Spectroscopy Technology Group in Munich, Germany. Coda's Raman spectrometers employ patented coded-aperture technology, which reportedly samples over 1,000 optical channels simultaneously, to achieve more than 30 times the light throughput of analogous diffraction slit spectrometers, thereby overcoming the light collection and overall sensitivity limitations of a small entrance aperture.

MEMS foundry Micralyne increases production capability with new SPTS tool

Micralyne announced this week the purchase of a cluster system from SPTS Technologies, a KLA company. Micralyne will use the new Versalis fxP tool equipped with a Rapier™ plasma etch module to increase production capacity in order to meet growing customer demand for its production of MEMS devices for biomedical, optical, and industrial applications. Micralyne is a leading provider of MEMS sensors and other microstructures that differentiate exciting applications such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, implantable medical devices, and optical communications. The addition of SPTS' system will allow Micralyne to offer its MEMS customers a broader range of process technologies and production capabilities with improved throughput and yield.