We recently spoke with Dr. Ken Gabriel, Chairman and Chief Technology Officer, and Davin Yuknis, Vice President of Marketing, of Akustica about their company's ongoing activities and experiences with CMOS MEMS applications.
MEMS Investor Journal: What are CMOS MEMS? Could you talk about the history, benefits and unique applications of CMOS MEMS?
Ken Gabriel: CMOS MEMS is an approach to building MEMS structures directly in widely available CMOS semiconductor material.
The technology represents a breakthrough in monolithic devices since, unlike other MEMS technologies, the structures are not fabricated in thin films on top of CMOS, but instead are fabricated from the metal-dielectric layers of the CMOS itself that are deposited during the standard CMOS processing flow.
The same metal dielectric layers which make up the mechanical MEMS structures also form the electronic circuits which are integrated with the MEMS structures and are typically located only tens of microns away, leading to the highest possible performance.
Davin Yuknis: The level of integration available in CMOS MEMS results in small, high performance, cost-effective solutions for numerous markets, including a stream of innovative acoustic (microphone and speakers), inertial (accelerometers and gyroscopes), and RF (resonators and switches) sensors that can hear, speak, and sense the world around them.
CMOS MEMS technology was developed at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh starting in 1994 under DARPA sponsorship from Dr. Ken Gabriel, while he was heading the MEMS program there. At the time, CMU’s main focus was on inertial and accelerometer applications. In 1997, Dr. Gabriel left DARPA to join the faculty at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to become Director of the CMU MEMS Laboratory where he started a research program in acoustic and audio MEMS. Later, in 2001, Dr. Gabriel and entrepreneur Jim Rock launched Akustica. The company has an exclusive license for CMOS MEMS from CMU for acoustic, inertial, and RF fields of use.
MEMS Investor Journal: How does CMOS MEMS compare with alternative technological approaches? What are the main benefits and drawbacks?
Ken Gabriel: In general, other approaches to MEMS devices are developed in a specific wafer fabrication process to address one particular application (inertial, light
modulation, etc). Conversely, CMOS MEMS is a single technology that can support multiple sensor and actuator applications.
Much like the Analog IC market where there are specialized processes for the highest performance amplifiers, the MEMS market is very similar. There are process technologies well-suited and optimized to build a particular sensor. However, it is when you must combine multiple components and sensors together with on-chip electronics and signal processing that the specialized process technology strategy falls short.
CMOS MEMS technology enables multiple sensors and associated electronics to be integrated into one common platform, rather than be built discretely with a variety of process technologies and packages. Sensors on a single die share the same silicon substrate and are intimately connected on-chip, which makes their combined performance greater than the sum of the individual performance.
Most MEMS processing is a custom, baseline sequence of deposition and etch steps that start from scratch on a blank wafer. Akustica creates MEMS within well controlled and repeatable CMOS processes, using only etch steps, and with material and equipment readily available from the global semiconductor industry. A typical MEMS commercialization cycle has been 10 years and $100M. Akustica CMOS MEMS have been commercialized in roughly 1/3 the time at 1/3 the cost.
Davin Yuknis: The widespread availability of well-maintained CMOS models and simulation tools results in products that can go from design to prototype in a matter of weeks. Leveraging the economies of scale, high quality, and maturity of the semiconductor industry, CMOS MEMS provides cost effective solutions that can be incorporated into mobile phones, digital devices, and automotive accessories.
The first products to be commercialized in this platform are silicon microphones. A monolithic microphone die provides the most functions in the least space. In addition, multiple microphones can be fabricated onto one die rather than in two separate packages, further reducing board space. Only Akustica can fabricate multiple microphones on a single die today for noise suppression applications. And because these microphones are made using standard CMOS technology, new microphone design times align with the rapid design cycles of the consumer electronics industry.
MEMS Investor Journal: Are any of Akustica’s CMOS MEMS devices currently deployed in customers’ applications? Could you give a few examples?
Davin Yuknis: There are no products currently available in the market since we have not yet released our products to market. However, we have several design-ins underway in PC, cell phone, and digital media applications.
Also, Akustica and SigmaTel have partnered together and developed a digital microphone array reference design that greatly simplifies the integration of multiple microphone chips into notebook computer platforms. Both companies are actively promoting a fully integrated digital microphone array solution to computer manufacturers.
MEMS Investor Journal: What are some of the main integration challenges that you have seen?
Ken Gabriel: The major hurdle has been the adaptation of the widely available CMOS integrated circuit design models and toolsets to build and test moving structures, not static electronic circuits. CMOS MEMS processing is just beginning to be used to build products and structures that were heretofore unimaginable.
MEMS Investor Journal: What are the 3 fastest growing MEMS applications today?
Davin Yuknis: Sorry, but can't really comment on the entire MEMS market. We can, however, comment on the rapid pace that customers are adopting silicon microphones.
A silicon microphone is one of the very fast growing applications of the MEMS markets. The overall market is expected to grow from 60+ million units in 2005 to more than 350 million units by 2008.
Many different types of electronic devices are adopting silicon microphones. Cell phones, tablet PCs, MP3 players, PDA's, digital and web cameras. Anywhere where you need a small form factor and a surface-mountable microphone.
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Dr. Gabriel is recognized worldwide as the architect of the MEMS industry. In 1985, Dr. Gabriel pioneered the MEMS field and led the development of IC-based MEMS while working at AT&T Bell Labs. Prior to co-founding Akustica, he served as Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute.
Dr. Gabriel spent five years with DARPA, where he started and managed their MEMS program as Director of the Electronics Technology Office and was responsible for roughly half of the U.S. Government’s electronics technology investments. He has also been a visiting professor for the Institute of Industrial Science at the University of Tokyo, heading joint research projects with IBM, Toyota and Ricoh, as well as a visiting scientist at the Naval Research Laboratory.
He has helped found two other successful technology companies and serves on advisory boards for three others.
Dr. Gabriel holds an S.M. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from MIT.
Mr. Yuknis has 15 years experience in product line marketing and management of mixed-signal semiconductor components. Prior to joining Akustica in 2004, he held a number of leadership positions with Intersil Corporation, including ownership of the Profit & Loss operations for its $200M Mixed-Signal components business.
He has successfully incubated and grown new product lines and revitalized underperforming product families through increased focus on new product development. Davin provides Akustica a unique perspective of many different applications in the communications, medical, consumer, automotive, and industrial markets.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University.
When does Akustica plan on releasing their products to the market??
Posted by: Todd Veltri | January 03, 2006 at 11:06 AM
Dr. Ken Gabriel is a very precious asset of this company he made it possible to stand still in the market during bad times of economical crisis.
Posted by: used computers | September 17, 2009 at 04:06 AM