MEMS Journal -- The Largest MEMS Publication in the World

RF MEMS switch market: overview and emerging trends

Expectations of the use of RF MEMS devices for mobile phone applications have gone through many cycles of hope and disappointment.  We may now be finally entering in the mass adoption phase with the first high-volume application, WiSpry’s MEMS based tunable impedance matching device, incorporated in one of Samsung's new phones.

RF MEMS devices promise to bring significant benefits to both consumers and cell phone network operators.  These benefits include fewer dropped calls, faster data transmission rates, improved reception and enhanced power efficiency.  Use in mobile phones and tablets is projected to expand the RF MEMS market by a factor of 200 by 2015, according to IHS iSuppli.  Sales of RF MEMS devices are expected to increase from $720,000 in 2011 to a projected $150 million in 2015.

DelfMEMS, an RF MEMS switch developer based in France, is expected to be among the players in this rush to commercialize RF MEMS devices for handset and tablet applications.  MEMS Journal recently interviewed Olivier Millet, founder and CEO of DelfMEMS.  We discussed the challenges involved in integrating RF MEMS devices into handsets, viable insertions points, product roadmaps, and competition from MEMS and non-MEMS technology providers.

Google's Nexus 7 tablet integrates MEMS motion sensors

The entry-level 8GB version of Google's new Nexus 7 media tablet carries a bill of materials (BOM) of $151.75, according to preliminary findings from IHS iSuppli.  When manufacturing expenses are added, the cost increases to $159.25.  The high-end model with 16GB of flash memory has a $159.25 BOM, for a total cost of $166.75.  When additional costs are considered, IHS iSuppli estimates that Google will at least break even on sales of the 8GB model, priced at $199 -- and will make a modest profit on the 16GB version, which is priced at $249.

Piezoelectric MEMS oscillators: comparison to quartz crystals and capacitive MEMS solutions

Integrated Device Technology (IDT), has recently released its new piezoelectric MEMS, or pMEMS, based oscillators.  According to the company, crystal oscillators are complicated to manufacture and unreliable compared to pMEMS.  IDT's new devices are more convenient, accurate and feature low-jitter timing references – perfect, IDT says, for communications, consumer, cloud computing and industrial applications.  We recently spoke with Harmeet Bhugra, Managing Director of the MEMS division of IDT.  In this interview, Harmeet compares pMEMS technology to crystal oscillators, as well as other types of MEMS based timing solutions.