MEMS Journal -- The Largest MEMS Publication in the World

EV Group to expand manufacturing, hire 100 more employees

EV Group, a supplier of wafer bonding and lithography equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, announced this week that it broke ground on expanding the company's manufacturing capacity at its headquarters in Austria earlier this month.  In addition, the company reports that it has witnessed a 40 percent increase in order intake in fiscal year 2011 compared with fiscal 2010, and is currently looking to recruit approximately 100 additional employees.

Maxim acquires MEMS maker SensorDynamics for $130 million

SensorDynamics, a specialist in MEMS and wireless semiconductor products, announced this week that it was acquired by Maxim Integrated Products, which specializes in analog and mixed-signal semiconductor products.  Maxim, headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, is a Fortune 1000 company.  Maxim is paying approximately $130 million plus the assumption of about $34 million in debt to acquire SensorDynamics.

China smartphone shipments rise

Shipments of smartphones for sale in China are set to soar by a record 53 percent this year, according to new research from the IHS iSuppli.  Domestic smartphone shipments in China will rise to 54.1 million units in 2011, up from 35.3 million units in 2010.  Of the projected domestic total for this year, more than 10 million and 15 million smartphone units will come from the giant Chinese makers ZTE and Huawei, respectively.  By the end of 2015, IHS forecasts that Chinese companies will ship 111.6 million smartphones, rising at a compound annual growth rate of 25.9 percent from 2010.  In contrast, the global smartphone market will grow at a more modest CAGR of 20.7 percent during the same period.

Vuzix, Fraunhofer to develop MEMS based displays

Vuzix Corporation announced this week a strategic technology development partnership with the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS).  Vuzix and Fraunhofer IPMS have been engaged in the development of MEMS devices optimized for augmented and virtual wearable display solutions.  Vuzix said that this partnership will produce a key component that integrates both the display and optics into a monolithic display engine, with a goal of finally enabling sunglass styled video glasses.

MEMS and condition monitoring of industrial machinery

Condition monitoring refers to the process of monitoring data that is collected from sensory devices on industrial equipment.  By analyzing vibration, acoustic and ultrasonic emissions, temperature, pressure, oil condition, and other machine operating characteristics, factories and plants can prevent unexpected equipment breakdowns and more effectively schedule their maintenance activities, which ultimately improves the efficiency of operations and increases return on assets.  We recently spoke with Yuri Khazanov, President of InCheck Technologies, about his company's MEMS based solution for condition monitoring applications.