MEMS Journal -- The Largest MEMS Publication in the World

MEMS manufacturing: ULVAC Technologies increasing market penetration with plasma ashing system

ULVAC Technologies, a supplier of production systems, instrumentation, and vacuum pumps for technology industries has been selected by a global MEMS inertial sensor manufacturer to deliver an ULVAC ENVIRO-1Xa advanced plasma ashing system for running critical low-temp descum processes and high-temp bulk photoresist strip processes.  These steps are crucial for the manufacturing of high-performance accelerometers and gyroscopes used in consumer, automotive, health and fitness, and industrial applications.

Fiber laser bonding for MEMS applications

We recently spoke with Antti Peltonen, Sales Manager at Primoceler, about his company's fiber laser bonding process.  In this detailed interview, Antti compares fiber laser bonding to traditional approaches such as anodic, fusion, and adhesive bonding techniques.  He also provides pros and cons for Primoceler's approach, as well as the best applications and uses cases which they've encountered so far.

MEMS foundry APM forms strategic partnership with UMC to enhance service capabilities

United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), a global semiconductor foundry, and MEMS foundry Asia Pacific Microsystems (APM), this week announced a collaboration to provide enhanced MEMS manufacturing services for mutual customers.  UMC will leverage its 8-inch and 12-inch production capabilities with APM's 6-inch fab, MEMS know-how, and prototyping experience to provide chip designers with a flexible and scalable end-to-end MEMS manufacturing solution.

MEMS foundry Micralyne expands executive team, outlines company strategy

The MEMS foundry marketplace has been experiencing more changes in the past few years and the competitive dynamics have been shifting.  Micralyne, which has been in the MEMS foundry business for more than 30 years, was acquired by FTC Technologies in January 2015 and has since been actively expanding its management and engineering team.  In this exclusive interview, we recently spoke with Ian Roane, who was announced as Micralyne's new President and CEO a few weeks ago.  Ian provides detailed comments about MEMS fabrication trends, Micralyne’s new strategy and service development roadmap, as well competitive pressures and latest industry developments.

MEMS and IC manufacturing: intuition and the art of production tool development

by Ray Zinn
Founder and CEO, Micrel

Intuition is perceived to be second sight, clairvoyance, the supposed ability to perceive future or distant events.  It is a word tossed about too casually in Silicon Valley, as though we manufacture mediums, not microchips.  Entrepreneurial intuition does exist, but it isn't magical.  It is driven by the relentless observation of everything.  It is how I came to conceive of a product that is now a standard part of the silicon chip-making industry and sell it to Texas Instruments before I ever wrote an engineering specification for it.  It also led me to start Micrel because the entrepreneurial drive made me an ill-fitting cog in the machinery of slower-thinking companies.

MEMS testing: eight fabrication problems you cannot see with a microscope

by Felix Beyeler, Ph.D.
CEO, FemtoTools

If you are working in academic research, the field of MEMS development can be very exciting, but it can also be quite stressful.  You will spend long hours in the cleanroom and your professor is constantly pushing you to finalize the prototype fabrication in order to start writing scientific publications.  You will probably see no sunlight for a while.  When developing a new MEMS fabrication process, the first few wafers (or wafer batches) will usually not yield working devices.  This is normal -- a PhD thesis would be much shorter otherwise.  Depending on the complexity and the novelty of the process, it takes several weeks, months or even years to get a handful of good chips.

MEMS foundry IMT partners with Silicon Catalyst

Innovative Micro Technology (IMT), the largest pure-play MEMS manufacturer in the United States, announced this week the signing of a partner agreement with Silicon Catalyst, reportedly the world's only startup incubator focused exclusively on semiconductor solutions.  The partnership with Silicon Catalyst offers a unique opportunity for IMT to provide MEMS related technical consulting, manufacturing expertise, and prototype development services to the portfolio startup companies that are considering MEMS sensors and solutions.

MEMS foundry Micralyne announces plans for growth, leadership changes

Following its acquisition by FTC Technologies, MEMS foundry Micralyne announced this week plans to expand its MEMS solutions and services business in 2016.  Building on its current base of customers in several industries, the company plans to provide solutions based on its experience in MEMS chip design, packaging, and integration.  Micralyne also announced key executive leadership appointments to drive their business expansion and partnerships in 2016 and beyond.  Paul Pickering has been appointed as Micralyne's Chief Revenue Officer with responsibility for marketing, sales and business development on a global basis.  He will work with Mike Ciprick, President and CEO, and the company's Board of Directors to develop the new strategies and implementation programs.

Electroplating tools for MEMS applications: making sense of the current landscape

As the main semiconductor industry marches forward, the push to increase substrate sizes and automate production for high-volume runs continues.  Given these trends, the lower volume MEMS applications that are made on smaller substrates sometimes get left behind.  Electroplating tools exemplify this trend.  Semitool released the first commercial electroplating system for four-inch wafers in the early 1990s and continued to provide tools for small wafers, even as its product line expanded to include 300 mm substrates in the late 2000s.  One of the main reasons for Applied Materials’ (AMAT’s) acquisition of Semitool in 2010 was the Raider family of electroplating tools.  At that time, and probably to this day, Raiders were among the best automated electroplating tools on the leading edge market, and they were primarily geared for 300 mm substrates.

CEA-Leti demos MEMS fabrication on its 300mm production line

In what may be a first for the MEMS industry, CEA-Leti has manufactured micro-accelerometers on 300mm wafers, a development that could lead to significantly lower MEMS manufacturing costs.  Leti's fabrication platform, orignally developed with 200mm technology, is currently being transferred to an industrial partner.  Demonstration of this technology on 300mm wafers has shown promising results.  In addition to lowering costs, manufacturing MEMS with 300mm technology enables 3D integration using MEMS CMOS processes in more advanced nodes than on 200mm, and the use of through silicon vias (TSVs), which is already available in 300mm technologies.