MEMS Journal -- The Largest MEMS Publication in the World

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 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.

Silicon Sensing expands MEMS foundry, aims to deliver five-fold increase in output

Silicon Sensing Systems announced that it will expand its MEMS foundry in Japan, moving into a new purpose-built facility, reportedly allowing the company to meet significantly increased demand for its MEMS inertial sensors and sputtered thin film PZT MEMS device wafers. The new facility will increase floorspace to 3,000 square meters, which will immediately more than double current wafer throughput and deliver scope for a five-fold increase in output over the next five years, in line with the company's current market growth predictions. To keep up with the volume and price pressures in the thin film PZT MEMS sector, Silicon Sensing said it is already expanding its 8-inch wafer line production. This expansion forms part of a major two-year investment program which will upgrade tooling, capabilities, and capacity, and comes as Silicon Sensing celebrates 20 years in the MEMS business during which time the company has delivered over 30 million devices worldwide.

MEMS foundry Micralyne appoints new President and CEO

The company has named John Harley, PhD, as President and CEO. Dr. Harley joined Micralyne in 2016 as Vice President of Technical Marketing and Business Development. His leadership and expertise in MEMS product development, technology transfer, business development, and strategic marketing have enabled Micralyne to excel in the MEMS market. Additionally, his technical insight has enabled the company's customers to apply the most advanced manufacturing capabilities in the biomedical, optical, and industrial markets. In his new role as President and CEO, Dr. Harley will bring his extensive MEMS technical and market experience to propel Micralyne to the next level.

Self-assembled monolayers: adapting the functionality of MEMS devices in future technologies

by Tony McKie
CEO, memsstar

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) are a material that has come to the fore in a number of applications, such as biological and consumer electronics, as they have a wide usage scope. This article reviews SAM materials, their deposition methods, and the potential applications of these films.  At its core, a self-assembled monolayer is a molecule of two halves: a head group and a tail group. The head group is typically the functional side of the molecule, whose function is dictated by the head group itself. In some cases, this could be a molecule that allows for the binding of biological material in a lab-on-chip type of application. Another use could be to modify the surface energy that is present on the device surface itself in such a way as to reject the buildup of moisture on the sample surface, thus making the surface hydrophobic.

MEMS wafer maker Plan Optik launches new brand for stock products

In order to serve the high demand of wafers with fixed specifications more quickly, MEMS and semiconductor wafer maker Plan Optik has founded a new brand called Wafer Universe (https://waferuniverse.com), to provide off the shelf products. In addition to Plan Optik's main business of customized wafers, Wafer Universe is going to handle the range of stock products. By separating those two business areas and optimizing processes, Plan Optik says that Wafer Universe will be able to offer the shortest quotation and delivery time. There is a large variety of high-quality wafers made of different materials and in different sizes available from stock.

MEMS foundry SilTerra receives automotive certification

SilTerra, a leading CMOS and MEMS pure-play wafer foundry in Malaysia announced this week that it has received the IATF 16949:2016 automotive certification from SGS (Societe Generale de Surveillance), a world leading inspection, verification, testing and certification company with headquarters located in Geneva, Switzerland. The IATF 16949:2016 was launched in October 2016 to supersede and replace ISO/TS 16949 and it represents an evolution for quality management in the automotive industry. Manufacturers with the IATF 16949 certification are recognized for their ability to meet the demands of automotive manufacturing, promising superior process integration, customer confidence, and product performance.

SilTerra expands MEMS-on-CMOS platform for new applications

As the largest foundry in Malaysia, SilTerra has been developing its MEMS-on-CMOS platform and expanding it into new applications such as PMUTs for medical and fingerprint sensors, SAWs for timing devices, and BAWs for short range wireless RF transceivers. The company works with clients on basic proof of concepts, custom device prototype development, manufacturability assessments and volume production. We recently spoke with Arjun Kumar Kantimahanti, Senior Vice President of SilTerra’s MEMS, Sensors, and Life Sciences Business Unit.  In this detailed interview, we discuss SilTerra's history, it's current MEMS program, as well as it's roadmap and plans for the future.  We also spoke about emerging applications enabled by optical, RF, and ultrasonic MEMS devices. 

Sensors and FHE need each other: a look inside a key relationship

by Wilfried Bair
VP of Engineering, NextFlex

Flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) and sensor technologies are a perfect match for each other. Nearly every current application of FHE technology that either NextFlex or our partners are working on involve sensors, so it’s beneficial for both platforms to grow and thrive alongside each other. Of course, these benefits ultimately carry down to the applications that use both FHE and sensors, such as chemical sensing systems and human health/fitness monitoring devices. When we drill down into this topic, it shows a unique symbiotic relationship that’s critical to the development of next-generation manufacturing.