Monday, December 17, 2007
Benefits of Technology
by Michael Orshan
It is so easy to get excited about new science. I do it all the time when I see something new work. I’m in this business because I just get high on seeing new things. My imagination runs wild. However, this is about reality not imagination.
Early in my career I got a call from a guy who asked if I knew a protocol called GR303. It allowed telecommunication carriers to double the amount of lines in the local loop. This was 1994 and the average length of a call went from 5 minutes to 20 minutes due to Internet dial up. Sure, I said, and then found out that my company really did know this.
This required some new technologies mixed with existing ones. We are all used to that scenario. Then I wanted to make more engagements with this. To do this I needed to spend a month really researching the technology and the basics of marketing. I have said these before and I always want to push this.
1. What are your products and services
2. Who are your primary targets
3. What campaign can you do to get those targets
In this case I soon realized that anyone with a particular type of equipment needed to upgrade to this protocol sooner or later. By the way, these were multi million dollar deals. So, luckily, I quickly found out the targets. Now, for the campaign.
I hired a few people and they wrote, called or went to these companies. Soon new engagements occurred. Soon, we modularized the process and even more opportunities followed. The costs went down for the clients as the amount of engagements increased.
The key to this story is the benefit of technology. I was lucky, it fell into my lap. As this every happened to you? I’d like to hear similar stories!
It is so easy to get excited about new science. I do it all the time when I see something new work. I’m in this business because I just get high on seeing new things. My imagination runs wild. However, this is about reality not imagination.
Early in my career I got a call from a guy who asked if I knew a protocol called GR303. It allowed telecommunication carriers to double the amount of lines in the local loop. This was 1994 and the average length of a call went from 5 minutes to 20 minutes due to Internet dial up. Sure, I said, and then found out that my company really did know this.
This required some new technologies mixed with existing ones. We are all used to that scenario. Then I wanted to make more engagements with this. To do this I needed to spend a month really researching the technology and the basics of marketing. I have said these before and I always want to push this.
1. What are your products and services
2. Who are your primary targets
3. What campaign can you do to get those targets
In this case I soon realized that anyone with a particular type of equipment needed to upgrade to this protocol sooner or later. By the way, these were multi million dollar deals. So, luckily, I quickly found out the targets. Now, for the campaign.
I hired a few people and they wrote, called or went to these companies. Soon new engagements occurred. Soon, we modularized the process and even more opportunities followed. The costs went down for the clients as the amount of engagements increased.
The key to this story is the benefit of technology. I was lucky, it fell into my lap. As this every happened to you? I’d like to hear similar stories!
Tiny MEMS-based spectrometer offers dynamic spectral resolution
As hyperspectral imaging systems improve and collect more data, processing the increasingly larger data sets becomes more expensive and time consuming. Meanwhile, the size and weight of the equipment are often a concern in air- and space-borne platforms. Researchers at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis, MN) have introduced a prototype hyperspectral imaging system that addresses both of these concerns. The push-broom-type design includes several gratings with different pitches in the optical system.
The spectrometer incorporates microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirrors that direct the light to the desired grating. This allows adaptive space-variant dispersion (control of the spectral resolution as a function of the image-point location, changing in time) to optimize spectral performance. The resulting device measures only 4 × 1 × 2 mm, allowing the tiling of multiple spectrometers in an array for large-image formats. The compact size gives a modest spectral resolution of 7.5 to 15 nm, sufficient for many hyperspectral imaging applications where high spatial resolution is required. The prototype imaging system covers a wavelength range of 500 to 1000 nm. Contact James Leger at leger@umn.edu.
Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2007
The spectrometer incorporates microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) mirrors that direct the light to the desired grating. This allows adaptive space-variant dispersion (control of the spectral resolution as a function of the image-point location, changing in time) to optimize spectral performance. The resulting device measures only 4 × 1 × 2 mm, allowing the tiling of multiple spectrometers in an array for large-image formats. The compact size gives a modest spectral resolution of 7.5 to 15 nm, sufficient for many hyperspectral imaging applications where high spatial resolution is required. The prototype imaging system covers a wavelength range of 500 to 1000 nm. Contact James Leger at leger@umn.edu.
Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2007
E-Mul buys Quantomix
E-Mul Technologies, a Yavne, Israel-based maker of particle detection and field emission components used in nanotech instruments, has acquired QuantomiX, a Rehovet, Israel-based developer of a capsule technology that enables direct imaging of wet samples in scanning electron microscopes. No financial terms were disclosed. QuantomiX had raised about $13.5 million in VC funding since 2001 from such firms as Evergreen Venture Capital, Pitango Venture Capital, Shrem Fudim Kelner Technolofies and Vitalife Life Sciences Fund.
MEMS Industry Group Achieves Milestones in 2007-Leading Trade Association Increases Membership, Hosts Successful MEMS Executive Congress, Names Managi
Market Wire (December 5, 2007)
PITTSBURGH, PA, Dec 05, 2007 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- As microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices proliferate beyond inkjet printers and airbags to mobile phones and consumer electronics, automotive safety, and medical technology, the industry group dedicated to the commercialization of MEMS has experienced unprecedented growth. In 2007, MEMS Industry Group (MIG), the trade association representing the MEMS and microstructures industries, has boosted membership by 20%, brought record numbers of attendees to its annual event, MEMS Executive Congress, named a managing director, and signed strategic agreements with industry analysts and organizations.
Expanding Membership
MIG welcomed a number of companies, large and small, to its membership, including: Analog Devices, Maxim Technology Products, Acuity Micro, Acutronic USA, ARC Technologies, Axept, FEI Company, MEI LLC, MEMStaff, Microvision, NIST, Nova Electronic Materials, Plan Optik, Primaxx, Inc., Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Siimpel Corporation and Silex Microsystems.
Highlights from MEMS Executive Congress
A record number of attendees joined MIG at its second annual MEMS Executive Congress, held November 4-5, 2007 in Del Mar, CA. The Congress featured presentations and panel discussions in which industry visionaries shared the latest innovations in commercial MEMS technology with an executive audience. Highlights included:
-- Three keynote speakers offering their perspective on the future of the
MEMS Industry. Dr. Frederic Neftel, President and CEO, Debiotech SA spoke
about the trend toward 'smaller, precise, robust and disposable devices, a
transformation enabled by MEMS technology;' Brian Wirth, Global Product
Manager, MEMS, GE Sensing, discussed the diverse applications for MEMS in
environmental, energy and healthcare markets; and Philippe Kahn, Chairman,
Fullpower Technologies, expounded on 'how software will enable MEMS to
truly take off -- as demonstrated by the success of the iPhone';
-- Panel discussions on Mobile Media (featuring Nokia, Qualcomm, Texas
Instruments, Microvision, SiRF and Discera), Medical Technology (featuring
Honeywell, OMRON, GE Sensing, Cleveland Medical Devices, Medtronic and
IceMOS Technology), and Consumer Goods (featuring Analog Devices,
InvenSense, Akustica and Siimpel); and
-- Special presentations by EnOcean, Yole Developpement and Wicht
Technologie Consulting.
MEMS Executive Congress 2008 will be held November 5-7 in Monterey, CA.
Highlights from METRIC
At MIG's annual members-only meeting, METRIC, held May 15-16 2007, conference attendees joined to address specific challenges affecting the MEMS industry. Device manufacturers, foundries and MEMS services, and equipment manufacturers explored topics spanning MEMS processes, design rules and best practices for accelerated growth. Working groups also met by market segments: Industrial, Telecom, Medical, Entertainment, and Defense/Homeland Security focused on common challenges and disconnects among these market segments. MIG is currently undertaking recommendations made during METRIC 2007, including the creation of a MIG member capability directory. METRIC 2008 will be held May 7-9 in Pittsburgh, PA.
Strategic Relationships Formed by a New Managing Director
Under the aegis of its new managing director, Karen Lightman, MIG formalized a number of strategic industry relationships this year. MIG developed alliances with Bourne Research, Chipworks, MicroElectronics Packaging and Test Engineering Council. (MEPTEC), Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), Wicht Technologie Consulting (WTC), and Yole Developpement. From discounts on industry research to collaborative relationships with other trade associations, MIG's strategic partnerships benefit its member companies in many ways.
Looking Forward to 2008
"2007 has been a tremendous year of positive change and growth for MIG, and we anticipate that 2008 will bring even more benefits to our members and to the industry at large," said Karen Lightman, Managing Director, MEMS Industry Group. "In addition to continuing our cornerstone conferences, METRIC and MEMS Executive Congress, MIG 2008 will launch a series of MEMS business short-courses. These short-courses will provide attendees an insider's view and historical perspective on the critical elements affecting MEMS product success and profitability. This program is another example of how, through its members, MIG is the virtual and physical place for people and organizations to come together to address industry issues and further the commercialization of MEMS."
About MEMS Industry Group
MEMS Industry Group is the trade association representing the MEMS and microstructures industries. The Association enables the exchange of non-proprietary information among members; provides reliable industry data that furthers the development of technology; and works toward the greater commercial development and use of MEMS and MEMS-enabled devices. MIG includes more than 75 member companies, such as Analog Devices, Bosch, Freescale Semiconductor, GE Global Research, Honeywell, IBM, Intel, Okmetic, OMRON, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments. For more information, please visit www.memsindustrygroup.org.
PRESS CONTACTS (For Editors Only): MEMS Industry Group Karen Lightman Phone: 412/390-1644 Email: Email Contact
Vetrano Communications Maria Vetrano Phone: 617/876-2770 Email: Email Contact
SOURCE: MEMS Industry Group
CONTACT: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct"id=2D81EB8A13D78C20
http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct"id=4A4F9DF5740040A3
(C) 2007 Market Wire. All Rights Reserved
PITTSBURGH, PA, Dec 05, 2007 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- As microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices proliferate beyond inkjet printers and airbags to mobile phones and consumer electronics, automotive safety, and medical technology, the industry group dedicated to the commercialization of MEMS has experienced unprecedented growth. In 2007, MEMS Industry Group (MIG), the trade association representing the MEMS and microstructures industries, has boosted membership by 20%, brought record numbers of attendees to its annual event, MEMS Executive Congress, named a managing director, and signed strategic agreements with industry analysts and organizations.
Expanding Membership
MIG welcomed a number of companies, large and small, to its membership, including: Analog Devices, Maxim Technology Products, Acuity Micro, Acutronic USA, ARC Technologies, Axept, FEI Company, MEI LLC, MEMStaff, Microvision, NIST, Nova Electronic Materials, Plan Optik, Primaxx, Inc., Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Siimpel Corporation and Silex Microsystems.
Highlights from MEMS Executive Congress
A record number of attendees joined MIG at its second annual MEMS Executive Congress, held November 4-5, 2007 in Del Mar, CA. The Congress featured presentations and panel discussions in which industry visionaries shared the latest innovations in commercial MEMS technology with an executive audience. Highlights included:
-- Three keynote speakers offering their perspective on the future of the
MEMS Industry. Dr. Frederic Neftel, President and CEO, Debiotech SA spoke
about the trend toward 'smaller, precise, robust and disposable devices, a
transformation enabled by MEMS technology;' Brian Wirth, Global Product
Manager, MEMS, GE Sensing, discussed the diverse applications for MEMS in
environmental, energy and healthcare markets; and Philippe Kahn, Chairman,
Fullpower Technologies, expounded on 'how software will enable MEMS to
truly take off -- as demonstrated by the success of the iPhone';
-- Panel discussions on Mobile Media (featuring Nokia, Qualcomm, Texas
Instruments, Microvision, SiRF and Discera), Medical Technology (featuring
Honeywell, OMRON, GE Sensing, Cleveland Medical Devices, Medtronic and
IceMOS Technology), and Consumer Goods (featuring Analog Devices,
InvenSense, Akustica and Siimpel); and
-- Special presentations by EnOcean, Yole Developpement and Wicht
Technologie Consulting.
MEMS Executive Congress 2008 will be held November 5-7 in Monterey, CA.
Highlights from METRIC
At MIG's annual members-only meeting, METRIC, held May 15-16 2007, conference attendees joined to address specific challenges affecting the MEMS industry. Device manufacturers, foundries and MEMS services, and equipment manufacturers explored topics spanning MEMS processes, design rules and best practices for accelerated growth. Working groups also met by market segments: Industrial, Telecom, Medical, Entertainment, and Defense/Homeland Security focused on common challenges and disconnects among these market segments. MIG is currently undertaking recommendations made during METRIC 2007, including the creation of a MIG member capability directory. METRIC 2008 will be held May 7-9 in Pittsburgh, PA.
Strategic Relationships Formed by a New Managing Director
Under the aegis of its new managing director, Karen Lightman, MIG formalized a number of strategic industry relationships this year. MIG developed alliances with Bourne Research, Chipworks, MicroElectronics Packaging and Test Engineering Council. (MEPTEC), Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), Wicht Technologie Consulting (WTC), and Yole Developpement. From discounts on industry research to collaborative relationships with other trade associations, MIG's strategic partnerships benefit its member companies in many ways.
Looking Forward to 2008
"2007 has been a tremendous year of positive change and growth for MIG, and we anticipate that 2008 will bring even more benefits to our members and to the industry at large," said Karen Lightman, Managing Director, MEMS Industry Group. "In addition to continuing our cornerstone conferences, METRIC and MEMS Executive Congress, MIG 2008 will launch a series of MEMS business short-courses. These short-courses will provide attendees an insider's view and historical perspective on the critical elements affecting MEMS product success and profitability. This program is another example of how, through its members, MIG is the virtual and physical place for people and organizations to come together to address industry issues and further the commercialization of MEMS."
About MEMS Industry Group
MEMS Industry Group is the trade association representing the MEMS and microstructures industries. The Association enables the exchange of non-proprietary information among members; provides reliable industry data that furthers the development of technology; and works toward the greater commercial development and use of MEMS and MEMS-enabled devices. MIG includes more than 75 member companies, such as Analog Devices, Bosch, Freescale Semiconductor, GE Global Research, Honeywell, IBM, Intel, Okmetic, OMRON, STMicroelectronics, and Texas Instruments. For more information, please visit www.memsindustrygroup.org.
PRESS CONTACTS (For Editors Only): MEMS Industry Group Karen Lightman Phone: 412/390-1644 Email: Email Contact
Vetrano Communications Maria Vetrano Phone: 617/876-2770 Email: Email Contact
SOURCE: MEMS Industry Group
CONTACT: http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct"id=2D81EB8A13D78C20
http://www2.marketwire.com/mw/emailprcntct"id=4A4F9DF5740040A3
(C) 2007 Market Wire. All Rights Reserved
Will 3D keep the chip industry rolling?
There may be trouble ahead for the conventional shrink approach to Moore’s Law. Lithography looks dicey for 32nm (which might be reached through dual imaging with improved 193nm immersion stepper/scanners), and even trickier for 22nm. Even if EUV surmounts remaining technical hurdles, there are concerns about cost and productivity. While some believe nanoimprinting offers promise, defectivity may spoil the party. Aside from lithography issues, some experiments suggest that even with the best technical efforts there may be no performance difference between 32nm and 22nm half-pitch chips. If so, why make the huge investments to reach 22nm?
When traditional transistor scaling began to fail, chips were speeded up by using stressed lattice silicon to boost carrier mobility. That interim solution, even with metal gates and higher-k gate dielectrics to gain improved equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) under the gate, appears to lose steam below 32nm. Interconnect delays were cut by going to copper for better resistivity, and low-k dielectrics to improve the C of the RC time constant. But ever thinner copper traces, and trouble with mechanical strength and delamination of low-k dielectrics, spell trouble below 32nm.
Maybe the industry will find miraculous cures for all these red brick walls-it’s happened before! But the physics gets progressively more constraining, and potential solutions involving new materials, processes, and more intricate process tools to continue the shrink will significantly increase fab costs. (Costs are already getting too high for even some major integrated device manufacturers.) Even if solutions are found, experience shows that the tougher the problems, the longer it takes to find practical, economical solutions.
Could stacking and bonding thinned chips (or even wafers) provide an alternate way to keep driving down the cost/function? Conventional stacking is widely used already, but connecting only around the edges of the chips creates long trace paths, degrading performance. A much better approach would be to use through silicon vias (TSVs), allowing shorter traces, and, with clever layout, perhaps even improving performance compared to putting all the circuits onto one chip. That potentially could provide a packaging approach to 3D integrated circuits with much higher apparent density than is possible on one chip. Even beyond that, it might be possible to build up layers of interconnected circuits on the same substrate, making true 3D ICs, an approach Samsung demonstrated for flash memory at the last IEDM.
Development work on TSVs, bonded thin wafers and chips, and multichip packages has been going on for a long time. But taking advantage of the full potential of 3D approaches would require much more intensive R&D, not just for laboratory demonstrations, but for practical, economical, high productivity fab and packaging processes. Heat is already a problem on single chips, but thermal problems would become much more serious in a high performance chip stack. Taking full advantage of 3D would require new approaches to chip design, new design automation software, lower cost ways to drill or etch out TSVs and fill them, ways to deal with hot spots (especially inside the stack), and methods for testing with most contacts inaccessible. Failures might occur during stacking and bonding even if known good die are used, cutting yields.
All the chipmakers are exploring the potential for 3D, and see these techniques as a way to keep increasing circuit density even if it takes too long to get to 22nm, or it proves too tough and expensive. Sematech has been driving the push toward 3D, and, as it prepares to move the work to its branch in Albany, NY, it held a workshop there to explore 3D design and thermal issues. There were about 75 attendees, and presentations outlined the myriad potential problems and possible solutions to move ICs into a third dimension. Since everything from system design to circuit and device design, to interconnect and layout, plus packaging and testing, must be considered, this area will require a multidiscipline approach without the turf wars and “throw it over the wall” attitudes of the past.
Once the practical problems are worked out, new approaches to functionality and system architecture capitalizing on the 3D form factor could go way beyond the multicore, multithreading techniques now emerging to deal with performance limits and thermal constraints.
One speaker who teaches university classes commented that he told his students they were extremely lucky to be getting into a field like this just as it is taking shape. There should be exciting times ahead for those working on 3D ICs.
Robert Haavind
Editorial Director
Solid State Technology December, 2007
Author(s) : Robert Haavind
When traditional transistor scaling began to fail, chips were speeded up by using stressed lattice silicon to boost carrier mobility. That interim solution, even with metal gates and higher-k gate dielectrics to gain improved equivalent oxide thickness (EOT) under the gate, appears to lose steam below 32nm. Interconnect delays were cut by going to copper for better resistivity, and low-k dielectrics to improve the C of the RC time constant. But ever thinner copper traces, and trouble with mechanical strength and delamination of low-k dielectrics, spell trouble below 32nm.
Maybe the industry will find miraculous cures for all these red brick walls-it’s happened before! But the physics gets progressively more constraining, and potential solutions involving new materials, processes, and more intricate process tools to continue the shrink will significantly increase fab costs. (Costs are already getting too high for even some major integrated device manufacturers.) Even if solutions are found, experience shows that the tougher the problems, the longer it takes to find practical, economical solutions.
Could stacking and bonding thinned chips (or even wafers) provide an alternate way to keep driving down the cost/function? Conventional stacking is widely used already, but connecting only around the edges of the chips creates long trace paths, degrading performance. A much better approach would be to use through silicon vias (TSVs), allowing shorter traces, and, with clever layout, perhaps even improving performance compared to putting all the circuits onto one chip. That potentially could provide a packaging approach to 3D integrated circuits with much higher apparent density than is possible on one chip. Even beyond that, it might be possible to build up layers of interconnected circuits on the same substrate, making true 3D ICs, an approach Samsung demonstrated for flash memory at the last IEDM.
Development work on TSVs, bonded thin wafers and chips, and multichip packages has been going on for a long time. But taking advantage of the full potential of 3D approaches would require much more intensive R&D, not just for laboratory demonstrations, but for practical, economical, high productivity fab and packaging processes. Heat is already a problem on single chips, but thermal problems would become much more serious in a high performance chip stack. Taking full advantage of 3D would require new approaches to chip design, new design automation software, lower cost ways to drill or etch out TSVs and fill them, ways to deal with hot spots (especially inside the stack), and methods for testing with most contacts inaccessible. Failures might occur during stacking and bonding even if known good die are used, cutting yields.
All the chipmakers are exploring the potential for 3D, and see these techniques as a way to keep increasing circuit density even if it takes too long to get to 22nm, or it proves too tough and expensive. Sematech has been driving the push toward 3D, and, as it prepares to move the work to its branch in Albany, NY, it held a workshop there to explore 3D design and thermal issues. There were about 75 attendees, and presentations outlined the myriad potential problems and possible solutions to move ICs into a third dimension. Since everything from system design to circuit and device design, to interconnect and layout, plus packaging and testing, must be considered, this area will require a multidiscipline approach without the turf wars and “throw it over the wall” attitudes of the past.
Once the practical problems are worked out, new approaches to functionality and system architecture capitalizing on the 3D form factor could go way beyond the multicore, multithreading techniques now emerging to deal with performance limits and thermal constraints.
One speaker who teaches university classes commented that he told his students they were extremely lucky to be getting into a field like this just as it is taking shape. There should be exciting times ahead for those working on 3D ICs.
Robert Haavind
Editorial Director
Solid State Technology December, 2007
Author(s) : Robert Haavind
Mass market makes a MEMS move
17 December 2007
R. Colin Johnson
EE Times
November 20, 2007 (11:32 AM EST)
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) penetrated the mass market two decades ago, when they enabled air bags to trigger fast enough to catch passengers before they hit the steering wheel or windshield. MEMS chips gained a major business-market design-win a decade ago, when they began to be used to fabricate the high-precision ink-jet print-heads that displaced impact printers.
Now, MEMS chips are entering the consumer-electronics mainstream with the same invigorating effect. Most recently, we're seeing MEMS technology being used in Nintendo's Wii and Apple's iPhone, and this may just be the beginning. The real volume customers will be the mainstream consumer-electronics makers adding MEMS chips to their ubiquitous devices. "We are at the edge of a mass market--today's MEMS applications are just the early adopters," said Bosch-Sensortec general manager and chief executive officer Frank Melzer. "The true mass-market adoption of MEMS will come when designers understand how a single MEMS sensor can have multiple uses in a single device, and when they learn how to use multiple sensors together to solve tough problems."
Bosch-Sensortec is the CE division of Robert Bosch GmbH, the world's largest MEMS chip maker, which spun off its consumer electronics division in 2005. Now, Bosch-Sensortec has seven MEMS chips available for consumer applications--two pressure sensors for altimeters and navigation; two gyroscopes for image-stabilization applications; and three accelerometers, including a second-generation three-axis unit, the SMB380, which was recently dissected by Chipworks (Ottawa, Canada).
"Bosch's decision to spin-out its Sensortec division, dedicated to consumer electronics, appears to be paying off," said St. John Dixon-Warren, head of Chipworks Technical Intelligence Process Engineering team. "When we opened their new digital accelerometer, the SMD380, we found the MEMS die next to the ASIC instead of on top of it like before--that's how they made it thinner, which is what consumer devices need. Plus, Bosch has shrunk both the MEMS die and the ASIC, which is also what they needed to do to meet price concessions to mass-market customers while still making a profit."
Together with its parent company Robert Bosch, Bosch-Sensortec had MEMS sales in excess of $370 million last year--more than any other MEMS chip maker, according to Wicht Technologie Consulting (WTC). STMicroelectronics and Freescale Semiconductor ranked second and third in WTC's ranking. Bosch intends to keep its lead, too; for instance, it just invested in a new 8-inch fab in Reutlingen, Germany, where up to thousand wafers containing up to one million chips per day will start being produced by 2009.
R. Colin Johnson
EE Times
November 20, 2007 (11:32 AM EST)
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) penetrated the mass market two decades ago, when they enabled air bags to trigger fast enough to catch passengers before they hit the steering wheel or windshield. MEMS chips gained a major business-market design-win a decade ago, when they began to be used to fabricate the high-precision ink-jet print-heads that displaced impact printers.
Now, MEMS chips are entering the consumer-electronics mainstream with the same invigorating effect. Most recently, we're seeing MEMS technology being used in Nintendo's Wii and Apple's iPhone, and this may just be the beginning. The real volume customers will be the mainstream consumer-electronics makers adding MEMS chips to their ubiquitous devices. "We are at the edge of a mass market--today's MEMS applications are just the early adopters," said Bosch-Sensortec general manager and chief executive officer Frank Melzer. "The true mass-market adoption of MEMS will come when designers understand how a single MEMS sensor can have multiple uses in a single device, and when they learn how to use multiple sensors together to solve tough problems."
Bosch-Sensortec is the CE division of Robert Bosch GmbH, the world's largest MEMS chip maker, which spun off its consumer electronics division in 2005. Now, Bosch-Sensortec has seven MEMS chips available for consumer applications--two pressure sensors for altimeters and navigation; two gyroscopes for image-stabilization applications; and three accelerometers, including a second-generation three-axis unit, the SMB380, which was recently dissected by Chipworks (Ottawa, Canada).
"Bosch's decision to spin-out its Sensortec division, dedicated to consumer electronics, appears to be paying off," said St. John Dixon-Warren, head of Chipworks Technical Intelligence Process Engineering team. "When we opened their new digital accelerometer, the SMD380, we found the MEMS die next to the ASIC instead of on top of it like before--that's how they made it thinner, which is what consumer devices need. Plus, Bosch has shrunk both the MEMS die and the ASIC, which is also what they needed to do to meet price concessions to mass-market customers while still making a profit."
Together with its parent company Robert Bosch, Bosch-Sensortec had MEMS sales in excess of $370 million last year--more than any other MEMS chip maker, according to Wicht Technologie Consulting (WTC). STMicroelectronics and Freescale Semiconductor ranked second and third in WTC's ranking. Bosch intends to keep its lead, too; for instance, it just invested in a new 8-inch fab in Reutlingen, Germany, where up to thousand wafers containing up to one million chips per day will start being produced by 2009.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Is There a 2nd Phase?
By Michael Orshan
Last week the Sematech building in Austin was sold to investors. The Sematech story is interesting and critical for those in fairly new application such as tiny components are.
During the mid 1980’s, Austin was known as a state capital and military town. Town political leaders, educators from the University of Texas and businesses got together and made a unique decision. They put funds aside to make Austin one of the national leaders in semiconductors. This lead to a series of public-private entities. Even though public private existed before, these guys pushed the concept to the limit. When the US government needed a site to investigate semiconductor manufacturing best practices, Sematech was born and Austin received the organization.
Sematech went on to create various international organizations, local for Texas organizations and R&D as well as manufacturing. However, for Austin this organization created their boom. Dell, Compaq, IBM and others flocked there. Austin was spinning off new companies as never seen before. The UofTexas was heavily involved as various professors created unique ways of joining spin offs and using the school as an incubator. As semiconductors matured, the spin offs began to create software firms. Today, Austin is less focused on semiconductors, more on software and is doing okay.
Recently, Sematech decided it needed to move into nanotechnology. The federal government support was less of what it was years ago. After a bidding war, Albany, NY was selected as the next site called Sematech North. Now Sematech is moving their as the management and various organizations are becoming headquartered there. Albany is and will become more and more of a strength area in Nanotech.
What about Austin? In the mid-1980’s they made a decision to grow through advanced technology and did. Big companies came and new ones were born. When the semiconductor business slowed down, so did Austin. Still, you figure that they would do whatever it took to keep Sematch and the next generation of innovation. They didn’t though. Hey, business models change, technology changes and maybe those are part of the reasons they didn’t keep Sematech. New York and Texas money must be just as big, so I find it hard to believe money was the issue.
Let’s keep an eye on both areas, Albany and Austin. My prediction is that Albany begins a renaissance and while Austin maintains there current status. Austin owns the gaming business, Dell and IBM are there and some of those startups grew up quite nicely thank you.
However, I have to believe that Austin should have kept Sematech. Maybe we should keep on eye on what happens with the new owners of the Sematch buildings there too.
Extra: On a sad note, I’d like to give my condolences to the family of Dr. Richard Ewing of Texas A&M. Dr. Ewing was a long time research leader and Vice President for Research at A&M. This is particularly sad because his heart attack was the result of some political shenanigans at Texas A&M that obviously have spun out of control with Dr. Ewing’s death.
Last week the Sematech building in Austin was sold to investors. The Sematech story is interesting and critical for those in fairly new application such as tiny components are.
During the mid 1980’s, Austin was known as a state capital and military town. Town political leaders, educators from the University of Texas and businesses got together and made a unique decision. They put funds aside to make Austin one of the national leaders in semiconductors. This lead to a series of public-private entities. Even though public private existed before, these guys pushed the concept to the limit. When the US government needed a site to investigate semiconductor manufacturing best practices, Sematech was born and Austin received the organization.
Sematech went on to create various international organizations, local for Texas organizations and R&D as well as manufacturing. However, for Austin this organization created their boom. Dell, Compaq, IBM and others flocked there. Austin was spinning off new companies as never seen before. The UofTexas was heavily involved as various professors created unique ways of joining spin offs and using the school as an incubator. As semiconductors matured, the spin offs began to create software firms. Today, Austin is less focused on semiconductors, more on software and is doing okay.
Recently, Sematech decided it needed to move into nanotechnology. The federal government support was less of what it was years ago. After a bidding war, Albany, NY was selected as the next site called Sematech North. Now Sematech is moving their as the management and various organizations are becoming headquartered there. Albany is and will become more and more of a strength area in Nanotech.
What about Austin? In the mid-1980’s they made a decision to grow through advanced technology and did. Big companies came and new ones were born. When the semiconductor business slowed down, so did Austin. Still, you figure that they would do whatever it took to keep Sematch and the next generation of innovation. They didn’t though. Hey, business models change, technology changes and maybe those are part of the reasons they didn’t keep Sematech. New York and Texas money must be just as big, so I find it hard to believe money was the issue.
Let’s keep an eye on both areas, Albany and Austin. My prediction is that Albany begins a renaissance and while Austin maintains there current status. Austin owns the gaming business, Dell and IBM are there and some of those startups grew up quite nicely thank you.
However, I have to believe that Austin should have kept Sematech. Maybe we should keep on eye on what happens with the new owners of the Sematch buildings there too.
Extra: On a sad note, I’d like to give my condolences to the family of Dr. Richard Ewing of Texas A&M. Dr. Ewing was a long time research leader and Vice President for Research at A&M. This is particularly sad because his heart attack was the result of some political shenanigans at Texas A&M that obviously have spun out of control with Dr. Ewing’s death.
Consortium enlists MEMS packaging expertise
The MEAD consortium will develop microelectromechanical systems technology for the defence industry in a MoD-backed project, with GBP 3.2 million of funding over three years
C-Mac MicroTechnology has been selected as a partner in the MEMS Application for Defence (MEAD) consortium, led by Qinetiq. The MEAD consortium will develop microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology for the defence industry in a MoD-backed project, with GBP 3.2 million of funding over three years.
C-Mac will use its MEMS packaging expertise to provide the MEAD consortium with high reliability hermetic enclosures for the delicate MEMS devices, protecting them from environmental contamination and ensuring their integrity in the harsh environments in which they will operate.
C-MAC is able to deliver robust, precision electronic modules, which are reliable under the most severe conditions experienced by electronic devices in defence applications.
The MEAD consortium will bring together world-class organisations spanning systems integration and MEMS device supply and including key groups from the world of academia and research.
Initially, the MEAD consortium will roadmap the technology, explore exploitation routes and investigate novel MEMS approaches for use in key defence application areas.
Indro Mukerjee, CEO of C-Mac MicroTechnology, commented: 'C-Mac has worked in the Defence sector and with Qinetiq for several years and we have a thorough understanding of their stringent technical and operational requirements'.
'MEMS technology is experiencing an exciting and progressive stage of evolution, and being invited to join the MEAD consortium is a reflection of the world-class expertise and knowledge that C-Mac engineers can deliver in this area'.
• C-Mac Micro Technology: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
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C-Mac MicroTechnology has been selected as a partner in the MEMS Application for Defence (MEAD) consortium, led by Qinetiq. The MEAD consortium will develop microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology for the defence industry in a MoD-backed project, with GBP 3.2 million of funding over three years.
C-Mac will use its MEMS packaging expertise to provide the MEAD consortium with high reliability hermetic enclosures for the delicate MEMS devices, protecting them from environmental contamination and ensuring their integrity in the harsh environments in which they will operate.
C-MAC is able to deliver robust, precision electronic modules, which are reliable under the most severe conditions experienced by electronic devices in defence applications.
The MEAD consortium will bring together world-class organisations spanning systems integration and MEMS device supply and including key groups from the world of academia and research.
Initially, the MEAD consortium will roadmap the technology, explore exploitation routes and investigate novel MEMS approaches for use in key defence application areas.
Indro Mukerjee, CEO of C-Mac MicroTechnology, commented: 'C-Mac has worked in the Defence sector and with Qinetiq for several years and we have a thorough understanding of their stringent technical and operational requirements'.
'MEMS technology is experiencing an exciting and progressive stage of evolution, and being invited to join the MEAD consortium is a reflection of the world-class expertise and knowledge that C-Mac engineers can deliver in this area'.
• C-Mac Micro Technology: contact details and other news
• Email this article to a colleague
• Register for the free Electronicstalk email newsletter
• Electronicstalk Home Page
New Micro-technology Will Need To Consider Fatigue In Silicon Crystals
ScienceDaily (Dec. 4, 2007) — Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a mechanical fatigue process that eventually leads to cracks and breakdown in bulk silicon crystals -- a phenomenon that's particularly interesting because it long has been thought not to exist. Their recently published* results have important implications for the design of new silicon-based micro-electromechanical system (MEMS) devices that have been proposed for a wide variety of uses.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See also:
Matter & Energy
Materials Science
Electronics
Civil Engineering
Computers & Math
Communications
Mobile Computing
Internet
Reference
Nanowire
Tensile strength
Metallurgy
Silicon
Silicon--the backbone of the semiconductor industry--is one the world's most heavily studied materials, and it has long been believed to be immune to fatigue from cyclic stresses because of the nature of its crystal structure and chemical bonds. And indeed, conventional tests have validated this. Recent research into silicon MEMS devices, however, has revealed that these microscopic systems that incorporate tiny gears, vibrating reeds and other mechanical features do seem to develop stress-induced cracks that can lead to failure.
Why this happens at the microscopic scale is a matter of debate. One school of thought holds that the effect is purely mechanical, due to friction, and the other argues that it essentially is caused by corrosion--a chemical effect. Because the effect has only been noticed at submicrometer scales, it has been difficult to determine which theory is correct.
A material's resistance to cracking--referred to as "toughness" by materials scientists--is measured customarily by taking a sample of the material, slightly notching one edge, and pulling on the ends repetitively to see if the tensile stress causes the notch to grow into a crack. Bulk silicon always has passed this test. But, argued the NIST team, in real-world MEMS devices the stresses are likely to be much more complicated.
To test this, they used an alternate method: pressing the top of test crystals with tiny tungsten-carbide spheres about 3 mm in diameter at pressures below the silicon's breaking point. Simply pressing down hard on the crystal for days at a time caused no detectable cracks--arguing against the corrosion theory. On the other hand, using half the pressure but cycling the test hundreds of thousands of times revealed a gradually increasing pattern of surface damage at the indentation site--clear indication of mechanical fatigue.
The NIST team, which included a researcher from the University of Extremadura in Spain, theorizes that the critical element in their experiments is the addition of shear stress (causing the crystal planes to slide against each other), a component missing in conventional tensile strength tests but not uncommon in real-world applications.
The NIST experiments demonstrated fatigue effects in silicon at the comparatively large scale of hundred of micrometers. The next step is to determine if the same mechanisms operate at the submicrometer level.
* S. Bhowmick, J.J. Meléndez-Martínez and B.R. Lawn. Bulk silicon is susceptible to fatigue. Applied Physics Letters 91, 201902. Published online 13 November 2007.
Adapted from materials provided by National Institute of Standards and Technology.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
See also:
Matter & Energy
Materials Science
Electronics
Civil Engineering
Computers & Math
Communications
Mobile Computing
Internet
Reference
Nanowire
Tensile strength
Metallurgy
Silicon
Silicon--the backbone of the semiconductor industry--is one the world's most heavily studied materials, and it has long been believed to be immune to fatigue from cyclic stresses because of the nature of its crystal structure and chemical bonds. And indeed, conventional tests have validated this. Recent research into silicon MEMS devices, however, has revealed that these microscopic systems that incorporate tiny gears, vibrating reeds and other mechanical features do seem to develop stress-induced cracks that can lead to failure.
Why this happens at the microscopic scale is a matter of debate. One school of thought holds that the effect is purely mechanical, due to friction, and the other argues that it essentially is caused by corrosion--a chemical effect. Because the effect has only been noticed at submicrometer scales, it has been difficult to determine which theory is correct.
A material's resistance to cracking--referred to as "toughness" by materials scientists--is measured customarily by taking a sample of the material, slightly notching one edge, and pulling on the ends repetitively to see if the tensile stress causes the notch to grow into a crack. Bulk silicon always has passed this test. But, argued the NIST team, in real-world MEMS devices the stresses are likely to be much more complicated.
To test this, they used an alternate method: pressing the top of test crystals with tiny tungsten-carbide spheres about 3 mm in diameter at pressures below the silicon's breaking point. Simply pressing down hard on the crystal for days at a time caused no detectable cracks--arguing against the corrosion theory. On the other hand, using half the pressure but cycling the test hundreds of thousands of times revealed a gradually increasing pattern of surface damage at the indentation site--clear indication of mechanical fatigue.
The NIST team, which included a researcher from the University of Extremadura in Spain, theorizes that the critical element in their experiments is the addition of shear stress (causing the crystal planes to slide against each other), a component missing in conventional tensile strength tests but not uncommon in real-world applications.
The NIST experiments demonstrated fatigue effects in silicon at the comparatively large scale of hundred of micrometers. The next step is to determine if the same mechanisms operate at the submicrometer level.
* S. Bhowmick, J.J. Meléndez-Martínez and B.R. Lawn. Bulk silicon is susceptible to fatigue. Applied Physics Letters 91, 201902. Published online 13 November 2007.
Adapted from materials provided by National Institute of Standards and Technology.
World's First Nanoradio Could Lead to Subcellular Remote-Control Interfaces
By Emmet Cole 11.01.07 | 5:30 PM
Less than two weeks after a team of scientists created a nanoscale radio component, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have gone one better -- announcing the creation of the world's first complete nanoradio.
The breakthrough nanoradio consists of a single carbon-nanotube molecule that serves simultaneously as all the essential components of a radio -- antenna, tunable band-pass filter, amplifier and demodulator. Physicist Alex Zettl led the development team, and graduate student Kenneth Jensen built the radio.
"I'm totally amazed that it works so well," says Zettl. "Making individual components are good breakthroughs, but the holy grail was putting it all together. So we're ecstatic that we were able to achieve that full integration."
The radio opens the possibility of creating radio-controlled interfaces on the subcellular scale, which may have applications in the areas of medical and sensor technology.
Nanoelectronic systems are considered crucial to the continued miniaturization of electronic devices, and it's becoming a hot research and investment arena. Two weeks ago, a team at the University of California at Irvine announced the development of a nanoscale demodulator, an essential component of a radio.
The number of consumer products using nanotechnology -- from the iPhone to home pregnancy testing kits -- has soared from 212 to well over 500, according to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies' online inventory of manufacturer-identified nanotech goods in March 2006.
The nanoradio is less than one micron long and only 10 nanometers wide -- or one ten-thousandth the width of a human hair -- making it the smallest radio ever created.
The researchers' paper was published at the American Chemical Society's Nano Letters website.
The first transmission received by the nanoradio was an FM broadcast of Eric Clapton's "Layla." (The lab has posted video of that moment.) The Clapton classic was quickly followed by the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" and Handel's Largo from the opera Xerxes -- the first piece of music broadcast by radio, on Dec. 24, 1906.
The nanoradio's amplifier operates on the same principles as vacuum-tube radios from the 1940s and early '50s, says Zettl.
"We've come full circle. We're using the old vacuum-tube principle of having electrons jump off the tip of the nanotube onto another electrode, rather than the conventional solid-state transistor principle," says Zettl.
The electronic properties of this electron-emitting nanotube function as the radio's demodulator -- making a complete radio possible within a single molecule.
The audio quality "can be very good," says Zettl, but if you listen closely, some unique effects of the radio's tiny size can be heard: an old-fashioned "scratchiness" that occurs because the device is working in the quantum regime.
"The amazing thing is that since we have such a sensitive nanoscale system, individual atoms jumping on and off the nanotube cause a perturbation that you can hear," says Zettl. He notes that this effect can be eliminated through the use of a better vacuum.
Because of its small size, the nanoradio could be inserted into a living human cell, opening up the possibility of exciting medical applications for the technology, says Jillian M. Buriak, an expert in nanotechnology at the University of Alberta's chemistry department.
"These carbon nanotubes are so small that we can have a radio-controlled interface with something that is on the same length scale as the basic submachinery of the cell and the basic workings of life," says Buriak.
The nanoradio could be used to see inside cells in real time and under normal conditions, instead of current techniques, which involve "exploding the cells and going in and looking at the remnants," says Buriak.
"This device could allow you to spy on the cell and do things inside the cell at the molecular level, which is really neat," says Buriak, who is currently researching how to enable interactions between individual human neurons and computer chips.
The Lawrence Lab team is currently working on ways to integrate the radio with biological systems, says Zettl.
"We have colleagues here in Berkeley who are experts in cell biology, and aspects of biological interfaces to nano-electromechanical structures, so we're exploring the different possibilities of mating this radio with other systems to take advantage of its size and power," says Zettl.
Less than two weeks after a team of scientists created a nanoscale radio component, scientists at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have gone one better -- announcing the creation of the world's first complete nanoradio.
The breakthrough nanoradio consists of a single carbon-nanotube molecule that serves simultaneously as all the essential components of a radio -- antenna, tunable band-pass filter, amplifier and demodulator. Physicist Alex Zettl led the development team, and graduate student Kenneth Jensen built the radio.
"I'm totally amazed that it works so well," says Zettl. "Making individual components are good breakthroughs, but the holy grail was putting it all together. So we're ecstatic that we were able to achieve that full integration."
The radio opens the possibility of creating radio-controlled interfaces on the subcellular scale, which may have applications in the areas of medical and sensor technology.
Nanoelectronic systems are considered crucial to the continued miniaturization of electronic devices, and it's becoming a hot research and investment arena. Two weeks ago, a team at the University of California at Irvine announced the development of a nanoscale demodulator, an essential component of a radio.
The number of consumer products using nanotechnology -- from the iPhone to home pregnancy testing kits -- has soared from 212 to well over 500, according to the Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies' online inventory of manufacturer-identified nanotech goods in March 2006.
The nanoradio is less than one micron long and only 10 nanometers wide -- or one ten-thousandth the width of a human hair -- making it the smallest radio ever created.
The researchers' paper was published at the American Chemical Society's Nano Letters website.
The first transmission received by the nanoradio was an FM broadcast of Eric Clapton's "Layla." (The lab has posted video of that moment.) The Clapton classic was quickly followed by the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations" and Handel's Largo from the opera Xerxes -- the first piece of music broadcast by radio, on Dec. 24, 1906.
The nanoradio's amplifier operates on the same principles as vacuum-tube radios from the 1940s and early '50s, says Zettl.
"We've come full circle. We're using the old vacuum-tube principle of having electrons jump off the tip of the nanotube onto another electrode, rather than the conventional solid-state transistor principle," says Zettl.
The electronic properties of this electron-emitting nanotube function as the radio's demodulator -- making a complete radio possible within a single molecule.
The audio quality "can be very good," says Zettl, but if you listen closely, some unique effects of the radio's tiny size can be heard: an old-fashioned "scratchiness" that occurs because the device is working in the quantum regime.
"The amazing thing is that since we have such a sensitive nanoscale system, individual atoms jumping on and off the nanotube cause a perturbation that you can hear," says Zettl. He notes that this effect can be eliminated through the use of a better vacuum.
Because of its small size, the nanoradio could be inserted into a living human cell, opening up the possibility of exciting medical applications for the technology, says Jillian M. Buriak, an expert in nanotechnology at the University of Alberta's chemistry department.
"These carbon nanotubes are so small that we can have a radio-controlled interface with something that is on the same length scale as the basic submachinery of the cell and the basic workings of life," says Buriak.
The nanoradio could be used to see inside cells in real time and under normal conditions, instead of current techniques, which involve "exploding the cells and going in and looking at the remnants," says Buriak.
"This device could allow you to spy on the cell and do things inside the cell at the molecular level, which is really neat," says Buriak, who is currently researching how to enable interactions between individual human neurons and computer chips.
The Lawrence Lab team is currently working on ways to integrate the radio with biological systems, says Zettl.
"We have colleagues here in Berkeley who are experts in cell biology, and aspects of biological interfaces to nano-electromechanical structures, so we're exploring the different possibilities of mating this radio with other systems to take advantage of its size and power," says Zettl.
Saudi Arabia announces plans for nanotech institute
December 3, 2007 -- Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has approved a proposal to create a nanotechnology institute, which will be named after him, at a facility in Riyadh.
The institute will serve as an advanced technology research center for King Saud University.
"The future of the country depends on its youth, which in turn depends on human resources development," said Prince Naif in announcing King Abdullah's initiative. "The scientific community must exert more effort to train and qualify the Saudi youth."
The institute will serve as an advanced technology research center for King Saud University.
"The future of the country depends on its youth, which in turn depends on human resources development," said Prince Naif in announcing King Abdullah's initiative. "The scientific community must exert more effort to train and qualify the Saudi youth."
Australian nanotech institute, Dow announce alliance
November 30, 2007 -- The University of Queensland's Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN) and The Dow Chemical Company have announced a research alliance that will focus on two key areas: biomimicry and developing new manufacturing systems using biofeedstocks.
"Escalating oil costs and concerns about carbon dioxide emissions make it imperative to develop new manufacturing processes based on renewable substrates rather than diminishing fossil fuels," Peter Gray, AIBN's director, said in a news release.
"Scientific advances in the biosciences, have enabled researchers to genetically reprogram bacteria to produce the chemical building blocks of the future.
Andrew Liveris, Dow's chairman and CEO, said going back to nature was a further step forward in Dow's sustainable chemistry initiative.
"This alliance will help Dow to find more resource efficient ways to deliver even better products to markets and is a marvelous example of how the human element can work with nature to drive strategic growth at a company like Dow."
AIBN has more than 300 researchers housed in a new building complemented by an extensive suite of facilities.
"Escalating oil costs and concerns about carbon dioxide emissions make it imperative to develop new manufacturing processes based on renewable substrates rather than diminishing fossil fuels," Peter Gray, AIBN's director, said in a news release.
"Scientific advances in the biosciences, have enabled researchers to genetically reprogram bacteria to produce the chemical building blocks of the future.
Andrew Liveris, Dow's chairman and CEO, said going back to nature was a further step forward in Dow's sustainable chemistry initiative.
"This alliance will help Dow to find more resource efficient ways to deliver even better products to markets and is a marvelous example of how the human element can work with nature to drive strategic growth at a company like Dow."
AIBN has more than 300 researchers housed in a new building complemented by an extensive suite of facilities.
Nano-boric acid makes motor oil more slippery
ARGONNE, Ill. (Aug. 3, 2007) — One key to saving the environment, improving our economy and reducing our dependence on foreign oil might just be sitting in your mother's medicine cabinet.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have begun to combine infinitesimal particles of boric acid — known primarily as a mild antiseptic and eye cleanser — with traditional motor oils in order to improve their lubricity and by doing so increase energy efficiency.
Ali Erdemir, senior scientist in Argonne's Energy Systems Division, has spent nearly 20 years investigating the lubricious properties of boric acid. In 1991, he received an R&D 100 award — widely considered the "Oscar of technology" — for showing that microscopic particles of boric acid could dramatically reduce friction between automobile engine parts. Metals covered with a boric acid film exhibited coefficients of friction lower than that of Teflon, making Erdemir's films the slickest solids in existence at that time.
"Ali was looking at large, micron-sized, particles," said George Fenske, who works alongside Erdemir at Argonne. "He was just sprinkling boric acid onto surfaces."
But driven by a conviction that he could fashion boric acid into an even better lubricant, Erdemir continued to chase the ultimate frontier: a perfectly frictionless material. Glimpsing the potential of nanotechnology, Erdemir went smaller — 10 times smaller — and was astonished by the behavior of much thinner boric acid films. "If you can produce or manufacture boric acid at the nanoscale, its properties become even more fantastic," he said.
Reducing the size of the particles to as tiny as 50 nanometers in diameter — less than one-thousandth the width of a human hair — solved a number of old problems and opened up a number of new possibilities, Erdemir said. In previous tests, his team had combined the larger boric acid particles with pure poly-alpha-olefin, the principal ingredient in many synthetic motor oils. While these larger particles dramatically improved the lubricity of the pure oil, within a few weeks gravity had started to separate the mixture. By using smaller particles, Erdemir created a stable suspension of boric acid in the motor oil.
In laboratory tests, these new boric acid suspensions have reduced by as much as two-thirds the energy lost through friction as heat. The implications for fuel economy are not hard to imagine, Erdemir said. "You're easily talking about a four or five percent reduction in fuel consumption," he said. "In a given day, we consume so many millions of barrels of oil, and if you can reduce that number by even one percent, that will have a huge economic impact."
Argonne is currently in talks with materials and lubricant manufacturers to bring boric acid technology to market, Erdemir said. While these new additives need to pass a battery of environmental and safety tests, they will probably be available within two years.
In his first experiments with boric acid, Erdemir demonstrated that the compound not only proved an effective lubricant but was also every industrial technologist's dream: It came from naturally abundant minerals, was cheap to manufacture, and posed no health hazards or environmental threats.
Boric acid owes its lubricious properties to its unique natural structure. The compound consists of a stack of crystallized layers in which the atoms tightly adhere to each other. However, these layers stack themselves relatively far apart, so that the intermolecular bonds — called van der Waals forces — are comparatively weak. When stressed, the compound's layers smear and slide over one another easily, like a strewn deck of playing cards. The strong bonding within each layer prevents direct contact between sliding parts, lowering friction and minimizing wear.
Until recently, most of Erdemir's work in boric acid lubrication had been restricted to motor oils, principally because of the relative bulk of the larger particles. The move to the nanoscale, however, has opened up other possible uses of the chemical. Through a simple chemical reaction, nano-boric acid can be transformed into a liquid relative of boric acid that has shown potential to increase fuel lubricity.
Using this liquid analog of solid boric acid as a fuel additive on a large scale could greatly benefit the environment, both because it would help to increase fuel efficiency and because it would replace existing fuel lubricants that are potentially harmful to the environment, Erdemir said. By themselves, most fuels — especially diesels — contain some sulfur and other special chemical additives to boost lubricity. When burned, however, some of these additives along with sulfur may cause harmful emissions and acid rain. However, the lack of a suitable alternative complicates efforts to cut sulfur content.
The substitution of liquid boric acid for sulfur-containing additives preserves the health of the car as well as that of the environment. Sulfur exhaust gradually coats the surface of a car's catalytic converter, the part that helps to reduce the toxicity of a car's emissions. Eventually, the converter becomes so choked with sulfur that it is no longer able to process any more exhaust.
Even though he has just begun to unleash the potential of boric acid, Erdemir believes that nanoscale synthetic compounds may prove to be even more effective lubricants. "The next step is to use the basic knowledge that we have gained out of this particular compound to come up with more exotic compounds that will work even better," he said. — Jared Sagoff
For more information, please contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have begun to combine infinitesimal particles of boric acid — known primarily as a mild antiseptic and eye cleanser — with traditional motor oils in order to improve their lubricity and by doing so increase energy efficiency.
Ali Erdemir, senior scientist in Argonne's Energy Systems Division, has spent nearly 20 years investigating the lubricious properties of boric acid. In 1991, he received an R&D 100 award — widely considered the "Oscar of technology" — for showing that microscopic particles of boric acid could dramatically reduce friction between automobile engine parts. Metals covered with a boric acid film exhibited coefficients of friction lower than that of Teflon, making Erdemir's films the slickest solids in existence at that time.
"Ali was looking at large, micron-sized, particles," said George Fenske, who works alongside Erdemir at Argonne. "He was just sprinkling boric acid onto surfaces."
But driven by a conviction that he could fashion boric acid into an even better lubricant, Erdemir continued to chase the ultimate frontier: a perfectly frictionless material. Glimpsing the potential of nanotechnology, Erdemir went smaller — 10 times smaller — and was astonished by the behavior of much thinner boric acid films. "If you can produce or manufacture boric acid at the nanoscale, its properties become even more fantastic," he said.
Reducing the size of the particles to as tiny as 50 nanometers in diameter — less than one-thousandth the width of a human hair — solved a number of old problems and opened up a number of new possibilities, Erdemir said. In previous tests, his team had combined the larger boric acid particles with pure poly-alpha-olefin, the principal ingredient in many synthetic motor oils. While these larger particles dramatically improved the lubricity of the pure oil, within a few weeks gravity had started to separate the mixture. By using smaller particles, Erdemir created a stable suspension of boric acid in the motor oil.
In laboratory tests, these new boric acid suspensions have reduced by as much as two-thirds the energy lost through friction as heat. The implications for fuel economy are not hard to imagine, Erdemir said. "You're easily talking about a four or five percent reduction in fuel consumption," he said. "In a given day, we consume so many millions of barrels of oil, and if you can reduce that number by even one percent, that will have a huge economic impact."
Argonne is currently in talks with materials and lubricant manufacturers to bring boric acid technology to market, Erdemir said. While these new additives need to pass a battery of environmental and safety tests, they will probably be available within two years.
In his first experiments with boric acid, Erdemir demonstrated that the compound not only proved an effective lubricant but was also every industrial technologist's dream: It came from naturally abundant minerals, was cheap to manufacture, and posed no health hazards or environmental threats.
Boric acid owes its lubricious properties to its unique natural structure. The compound consists of a stack of crystallized layers in which the atoms tightly adhere to each other. However, these layers stack themselves relatively far apart, so that the intermolecular bonds — called van der Waals forces — are comparatively weak. When stressed, the compound's layers smear and slide over one another easily, like a strewn deck of playing cards. The strong bonding within each layer prevents direct contact between sliding parts, lowering friction and minimizing wear.
Until recently, most of Erdemir's work in boric acid lubrication had been restricted to motor oils, principally because of the relative bulk of the larger particles. The move to the nanoscale, however, has opened up other possible uses of the chemical. Through a simple chemical reaction, nano-boric acid can be transformed into a liquid relative of boric acid that has shown potential to increase fuel lubricity.
Using this liquid analog of solid boric acid as a fuel additive on a large scale could greatly benefit the environment, both because it would help to increase fuel efficiency and because it would replace existing fuel lubricants that are potentially harmful to the environment, Erdemir said. By themselves, most fuels — especially diesels — contain some sulfur and other special chemical additives to boost lubricity. When burned, however, some of these additives along with sulfur may cause harmful emissions and acid rain. However, the lack of a suitable alternative complicates efforts to cut sulfur content.
The substitution of liquid boric acid for sulfur-containing additives preserves the health of the car as well as that of the environment. Sulfur exhaust gradually coats the surface of a car's catalytic converter, the part that helps to reduce the toxicity of a car's emissions. Eventually, the converter becomes so choked with sulfur that it is no longer able to process any more exhaust.
Even though he has just begun to unleash the potential of boric acid, Erdemir believes that nanoscale synthetic compounds may prove to be even more effective lubricants. "The next step is to use the basic knowledge that we have gained out of this particular compound to come up with more exotic compounds that will work even better," he said. — Jared Sagoff
For more information, please contact Steve McGregor (630/252-5580 or media@anl.gov) at Argonne.
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Hot List
by Michael Orshan
This is probably a different hot list than you were thinking. I just got back from Mexico. I got off the plane through a tarmac stairway. I looked at the people working on the gas lines, baggage, and traffic. They all had uniforms on. Today, in the US they kind of have uniforms on. These people were proud of the services they were providing and you could see it they way the walked, did their jobs and talked to each other.
What does this have to do with Microsystems? Well, it is my opinion that while micro and nanotechnologies are growing, many of the projects are within the hands of the science community. This community has never been known for their customer care techniques. I believe that might be one of the factors that are slowing the adaptation of tiny components. Am I telling tales out of school here? Probably not, uh?
Customer care is the act of informing clients of their risks, giving them their best solutions and implementing these. It also includes an open mind and the realization that there might be options you haven’t considered and the client may want to ask about these. It also includes investigating their requests even if these seem outside of the box. Who knows?
Okay, well I’m writing these short articles as reminders to people. I have absolutely no expectation of changing anyone, but if I can affect one day and one interaction, I’m okay with that.
So, to all the scientists out there, I’ll offer a simple customer care solution that has always worked for me. I call this the Hot List. Every week I put together a Hot List for every client. On this list are three, never more nor less, of things to be done during the week. I also give this list to the client because often they need to do something as well. I find this lowers project risk significantly, brings the client closer to the project and finishes the job on time.
Does anyone out there have any other customer care suggestions?
This is probably a different hot list than you were thinking. I just got back from Mexico. I got off the plane through a tarmac stairway. I looked at the people working on the gas lines, baggage, and traffic. They all had uniforms on. Today, in the US they kind of have uniforms on. These people were proud of the services they were providing and you could see it they way the walked, did their jobs and talked to each other.
What does this have to do with Microsystems? Well, it is my opinion that while micro and nanotechnologies are growing, many of the projects are within the hands of the science community. This community has never been known for their customer care techniques. I believe that might be one of the factors that are slowing the adaptation of tiny components. Am I telling tales out of school here? Probably not, uh?
Customer care is the act of informing clients of their risks, giving them their best solutions and implementing these. It also includes an open mind and the realization that there might be options you haven’t considered and the client may want to ask about these. It also includes investigating their requests even if these seem outside of the box. Who knows?
Okay, well I’m writing these short articles as reminders to people. I have absolutely no expectation of changing anyone, but if I can affect one day and one interaction, I’m okay with that.
So, to all the scientists out there, I’ll offer a simple customer care solution that has always worked for me. I call this the Hot List. Every week I put together a Hot List for every client. On this list are three, never more nor less, of things to be done during the week. I also give this list to the client because often they need to do something as well. I find this lowers project risk significantly, brings the client closer to the project and finishes the job on time.
Does anyone out there have any other customer care suggestions?
Monday, December 3, 2007
An Environmentally Friendly Plastic Shopping Bag? Now a Reality Thanks to Nanotechnology
Nov 23, 2007
The Japanese convenience store am/pm Japan Co. is using plastic shopping bags in its Toyko area stores that are thinner but just as strong as the standard plastic market bag. The innovative bags are made of advanced polyethylene developed by Itrix Corporation, which uses nanotechnology to disperse a strengthening agent, as well as a substance that absorbs oxygen, ensuring a greater percentage of the bag ends up as ash versus emitting CO2 when destroyed. The store calculates their eco-friendly plastic bags will help lower carbon dioxide emissions by 3,000 tons annually. Am/pm Japan Co. plans to use these bags in all its 1,300 stores by next spring.
The Japanese convenience store am/pm Japan Co. is using plastic shopping bags in its Toyko area stores that are thinner but just as strong as the standard plastic market bag. The innovative bags are made of advanced polyethylene developed by Itrix Corporation, which uses nanotechnology to disperse a strengthening agent, as well as a substance that absorbs oxygen, ensuring a greater percentage of the bag ends up as ash versus emitting CO2 when destroyed. The store calculates their eco-friendly plastic bags will help lower carbon dioxide emissions by 3,000 tons annually. Am/pm Japan Co. plans to use these bags in all its 1,300 stores by next spring.
2011 MEMS Market to Hit $10B
Staff -- Semiconductor International, 9/11/2007 5:30:00 AM
The microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) market will hit $10B by 2011, doubling from its estimated 2005 revenues of $5B, said Semiconductor Partners (Phoenix), a market research and consulting firm.
The automotive MEMS market will show robust growth as the number of MEMS devices per vehicle increases from an average of 40 per mid-range vehicle to ~60 MEMS for the same class of vehicle in 2011, said Morry Marshall, a partner at the firm.
The potential for growth in the consumer, communication and portable markets is also significant. Microphones and speakers, clock oscillators, handheld controls for gaming and cell phones, hard disk drives, RF switches and ink-jet print heads all represent high growth opportunities.
“Compared to automotive applications, the design cycles for these other markets are not as long,” Marshall said, allowing a faster return on investment (ROI). Also, the MEMS suppliers to the consumer and communications applications are not as well entrenched, and do not have the environmental and regulatory requirements of the auto industry. “Consumer and communications markets provide growth opportunities for new, emerging entrants to the MEMS market.”
The microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) market will hit $10B by 2011, doubling from its estimated 2005 revenues of $5B, said Semiconductor Partners (Phoenix), a market research and consulting firm.
The automotive MEMS market will show robust growth as the number of MEMS devices per vehicle increases from an average of 40 per mid-range vehicle to ~60 MEMS for the same class of vehicle in 2011, said Morry Marshall, a partner at the firm.
The potential for growth in the consumer, communication and portable markets is also significant. Microphones and speakers, clock oscillators, handheld controls for gaming and cell phones, hard disk drives, RF switches and ink-jet print heads all represent high growth opportunities.
“Compared to automotive applications, the design cycles for these other markets are not as long,” Marshall said, allowing a faster return on investment (ROI). Also, the MEMS suppliers to the consumer and communications applications are not as well entrenched, and do not have the environmental and regulatory requirements of the auto industry. “Consumer and communications markets provide growth opportunities for new, emerging entrants to the MEMS market.”
Bright Outlook for MEMS in Consumer Electronics
From: Vol. 50 l No. 5 | May 2007 | Pg.147
by Microwave Journal Staff
Nearly all major categories of MEMS have seen, or may soon see, applications in consumer products, reports In-Stat. As a result, the worldwide MEMS market in consumer electronics will grow from $727 M in 2006 to over $1 B by 2009, the high-tech market research firm says.
MEMS will expand to a broad array of consumer applications including game consoles, portable consumer electronics devices (such as digital camcorders) and GPS devices. “In the longer term, MEMS memory, MEMS fuel cells and other types of MEMS devices could also join the list,” says Steve Cullen, In-Stat analyst.
“However, these technologies are expected to initially find usage in other product areas that are less cost sensitive, with application in consumer electronics products unlikely until after 2010.”
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
• Pressure sensors have the greatest potential in consumer electronics in the short-term, followed by
• At least two firms are introducing MEMS resonators and oscillators with the intention of taking a piece of the long established crystal market.
• MEMS microphones have been a recent success because of rapid adoption in the mobile handset market, where their small size, ease of handling and competitive price has resulted in double-digit market share.
by Microwave Journal Staff
Nearly all major categories of MEMS have seen, or may soon see, applications in consumer products, reports In-Stat. As a result, the worldwide MEMS market in consumer electronics will grow from $727 M in 2006 to over $1 B by 2009, the high-tech market research firm says.
MEMS will expand to a broad array of consumer applications including game consoles, portable consumer electronics devices (such as digital camcorders) and GPS devices. “In the longer term, MEMS memory, MEMS fuel cells and other types of MEMS devices could also join the list,” says Steve Cullen, In-Stat analyst.
“However, these technologies are expected to initially find usage in other product areas that are less cost sensitive, with application in consumer electronics products unlikely until after 2010.”
Recent research by In-Stat found the following:
• Pressure sensors have the greatest potential in consumer electronics in the short-term, followed by
• At least two firms are introducing MEMS resonators and oscillators with the intention of taking a piece of the long established crystal market.
• MEMS microphones have been a recent success because of rapid adoption in the mobile handset market, where their small size, ease of handling and competitive price has resulted in double-digit market share.
Cornell/BU technique speeds atomic microscopy 100X
November 12, 2007 -- Using an existing technique in a novel way, Cornell physicist Keith Schwab and colleagues at Cornell and Boston University have made the scanning tunneling microscope (STM) -- which can image individual atoms on a surface -- at least 100 times faster.
The simple adaptation, based on a method of measurement currently used in nano-electronics, could also give STMs significant new capabilities -- including the ability to sense temperatures in spots as small as a single atom, and to detect changes in position as tiny as 0.00000000000001 meters: a distance 30,000 times smaller than the diameter of an atom.
The finding is described in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Nature.
The STM uses quantum tunneling, or the ability of electrons to "tunnel" across a barrier, to detect changes in the distance between a needlelike probe and a conducting surface.) By measuring changes in current as electrons tunnel between the sample and the probe, scientists can construct a map of the surface topology.
By adding an external source of radio frequency (RF) waves and sending a wave into the STM through a simple network, the researchers showed that it's possible to detect the resistance at the tunneling junction -- and hence the distance between the probe and sample surface -- based on the characteristics of the wave that reflects back to the source.
The technique, called reflectometry, uses the standard cables as paths for high-frequency waves, which aren't slowed down by the cables' capacitance.
The simple adaptation, based on a method of measurement currently used in nano-electronics, could also give STMs significant new capabilities -- including the ability to sense temperatures in spots as small as a single atom, and to detect changes in position as tiny as 0.00000000000001 meters: a distance 30,000 times smaller than the diameter of an atom.
The finding is described in the Nov. 1 issue of the journal Nature.
The STM uses quantum tunneling, or the ability of electrons to "tunnel" across a barrier, to detect changes in the distance between a needlelike probe and a conducting surface.) By measuring changes in current as electrons tunnel between the sample and the probe, scientists can construct a map of the surface topology.
By adding an external source of radio frequency (RF) waves and sending a wave into the STM through a simple network, the researchers showed that it's possible to detect the resistance at the tunneling junction -- and hence the distance between the probe and sample surface -- based on the characteristics of the wave that reflects back to the source.
The technique, called reflectometry, uses the standard cables as paths for high-frequency waves, which aren't slowed down by the cables' capacitance.
Mass market makes a MEMS move
R. Colin Johnson
EE Times
November 20, 2007 (11:32 AM EST)
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) penetrated the mass market two decades ago, when they enabled air bags to trigger fast enough to catch passengers before they hit the steering wheel or windshield. MEMS chips gained a major business-market design-win a decade ago, when they began to be used to fabricate the high-precision ink-jet print-heads that displaced impact printers.
Now, MEMS chips are entering the consumer-electronics mainstream with the same invigorating effect. Most recently, we're seeing MEMS technology being used in Nintendo's Wii and Apple's iPhone, and this may just be the beginning. The real volume customers will be the mainstream consumer-electronics makers adding MEMS chips to their ubiquitous devices. "We are at the edge of a mass market--today's MEMS applications are just the early adopters," said Bosch-Sensortec general manager and chief executive officer Frank Melzer. "The true mass-market adoption of MEMS will come when designers understand how a single MEMS sensor can have multiple uses in a single device, and when they learn how to use multiple sensors together to solve tough problems."
Bosch-Sensortec is the CE division of Robert Bosch GmbH, the world's largest MEMS chip maker, which spun off its consumer electronics division in 2005. Now, Bosch-Sensortec has seven MEMS chips available for consumer applications--two pressure sensors for altimeters and navigation; two gyroscopes for image-stabilization applications; and three accelerometers, including a second-generation three-axis unit, the SMB380, which was recently dissected by Chipworks (Ottawa, Canada).
"Bosch's decision to spin-out its Sensortec division, dedicated to consumer electronics, appears to be paying off," said St. John Dixon-Warren, head of Chipworks Technical Intelligence Process Engineering team. "When we opened their new digital accelerometer, the SMD380, we found the MEMS die next to the ASIC instead of on top of it like before--that's how they made it thinner, which is what consumer devices need. Plus, Bosch has shrunk both the MEMS die and the ASIC, which is also what they needed to do to meet price concessions to mass-market customers while still making a profit."
Together with its parent company Robert Bosch, Bosch-Sensortec had MEMS sales in excess of $370 million last year--more than any other MEMS chip maker, according to Wicht Technologie Consulting (WTC). STMicroelectronics and Freescale Semiconductor ranked second and third in WTC's ranking. Bosch intends to keep its lead, too; for instance, it just invested in a new 8-inch fab in Reutlingen, Germany, where up to thousand wafers containing up to one million chips per day will start being produced by 2009.
The consumer-device makers buying all those chips, according to Melzer, are telling Bosch-Sensortec that they want reference designs showing how to utilize MEMS chips in multiple ways. For instance, cell phones are predicted to consume as many as 10 billion MEMS chips by 2010, according to Philippe Kahn, founder of Fullpower Technologies Inc. (Santa Cruz, Calif.). Cell phones will use accelerometers to perform user-interface duties, such as picking-up the phone by shaking it, as well as to perform secondary tasks, such as extending battery life with intelligent power management that turns off the cell phone's display when its laid face down.
Beyond using a single MEMS chip for multiple tasks is using multiple sensor chips for a single task. Here, STMicroelectronics agrees with Bosch-Sensortec, according to Jay Esfandyari, MEMS market development manager at STMicroelectronics. As an example, Esfandyari has recently been demonstrating a reference design for an electronic compass that compensates for tilt using a three-axis accelerometer. Normally, a magnetometer chip requires that you keep it flat to read-out a compass heading correctly, but an accelerometer can sense orientation and compensate. STMicroelectronics' reference design shows the compensating compass heading in bold, with a lighter indicator showing how much the compass would be off if it wasn't equipped with the accelerometer.
Bosch-Sensortec is currently putting together another multi-mode reference design that points the way for OEMS using its chips for next-generation consumer-electronic devices. In particular, Bosch-Sensortec is working with the navigational device maker NumeriX S.A. (Manno, Switzerland) to combine a Bosch-Sensortec MEMS barometric-pressure sensor with NumeriX's global-positioning system (GPS) chip set.
"We make the world's smallest digital-pressure sensors, which we are integrating with GPS navigation solutions from NumeriX," said Melzer. "The SMD500 pressure sensor can detect changes in height as small as one foot, which helps when navigating stacked freeways and facilitates timely notification of upcoming exits. A pressure sensor can also help distinguish between closely packed freeway clover-leafs by detecting the slope of the road," said Melzer.
By integrating Bosch's SMD500 barometric pressure sensor with NumeriX GPS chips, the NumeriX/Bosch reference design achieves higher resolution for more accurate "turn" commands, as well as allowing multilevel bridges and stacked highways to be more easily navigated.
EE Times
November 20, 2007 (11:32 AM EST)
PORTLAND, Ore. -- Micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) penetrated the mass market two decades ago, when they enabled air bags to trigger fast enough to catch passengers before they hit the steering wheel or windshield. MEMS chips gained a major business-market design-win a decade ago, when they began to be used to fabricate the high-precision ink-jet print-heads that displaced impact printers.
Now, MEMS chips are entering the consumer-electronics mainstream with the same invigorating effect. Most recently, we're seeing MEMS technology being used in Nintendo's Wii and Apple's iPhone, and this may just be the beginning. The real volume customers will be the mainstream consumer-electronics makers adding MEMS chips to their ubiquitous devices. "We are at the edge of a mass market--today's MEMS applications are just the early adopters," said Bosch-Sensortec general manager and chief executive officer Frank Melzer. "The true mass-market adoption of MEMS will come when designers understand how a single MEMS sensor can have multiple uses in a single device, and when they learn how to use multiple sensors together to solve tough problems."
Bosch-Sensortec is the CE division of Robert Bosch GmbH, the world's largest MEMS chip maker, which spun off its consumer electronics division in 2005. Now, Bosch-Sensortec has seven MEMS chips available for consumer applications--two pressure sensors for altimeters and navigation; two gyroscopes for image-stabilization applications; and three accelerometers, including a second-generation three-axis unit, the SMB380, which was recently dissected by Chipworks (Ottawa, Canada).
"Bosch's decision to spin-out its Sensortec division, dedicated to consumer electronics, appears to be paying off," said St. John Dixon-Warren, head of Chipworks Technical Intelligence Process Engineering team. "When we opened their new digital accelerometer, the SMD380, we found the MEMS die next to the ASIC instead of on top of it like before--that's how they made it thinner, which is what consumer devices need. Plus, Bosch has shrunk both the MEMS die and the ASIC, which is also what they needed to do to meet price concessions to mass-market customers while still making a profit."
Together with its parent company Robert Bosch, Bosch-Sensortec had MEMS sales in excess of $370 million last year--more than any other MEMS chip maker, according to Wicht Technologie Consulting (WTC). STMicroelectronics and Freescale Semiconductor ranked second and third in WTC's ranking. Bosch intends to keep its lead, too; for instance, it just invested in a new 8-inch fab in Reutlingen, Germany, where up to thousand wafers containing up to one million chips per day will start being produced by 2009.
The consumer-device makers buying all those chips, according to Melzer, are telling Bosch-Sensortec that they want reference designs showing how to utilize MEMS chips in multiple ways. For instance, cell phones are predicted to consume as many as 10 billion MEMS chips by 2010, according to Philippe Kahn, founder of Fullpower Technologies Inc. (Santa Cruz, Calif.). Cell phones will use accelerometers to perform user-interface duties, such as picking-up the phone by shaking it, as well as to perform secondary tasks, such as extending battery life with intelligent power management that turns off the cell phone's display when its laid face down.
Beyond using a single MEMS chip for multiple tasks is using multiple sensor chips for a single task. Here, STMicroelectronics agrees with Bosch-Sensortec, according to Jay Esfandyari, MEMS market development manager at STMicroelectronics. As an example, Esfandyari has recently been demonstrating a reference design for an electronic compass that compensates for tilt using a three-axis accelerometer. Normally, a magnetometer chip requires that you keep it flat to read-out a compass heading correctly, but an accelerometer can sense orientation and compensate. STMicroelectronics' reference design shows the compensating compass heading in bold, with a lighter indicator showing how much the compass would be off if it wasn't equipped with the accelerometer.
Bosch-Sensortec is currently putting together another multi-mode reference design that points the way for OEMS using its chips for next-generation consumer-electronic devices. In particular, Bosch-Sensortec is working with the navigational device maker NumeriX S.A. (Manno, Switzerland) to combine a Bosch-Sensortec MEMS barometric-pressure sensor with NumeriX's global-positioning system (GPS) chip set.
"We make the world's smallest digital-pressure sensors, which we are integrating with GPS navigation solutions from NumeriX," said Melzer. "The SMD500 pressure sensor can detect changes in height as small as one foot, which helps when navigating stacked freeways and facilitates timely notification of upcoming exits. A pressure sensor can also help distinguish between closely packed freeway clover-leafs by detecting the slope of the road," said Melzer.
By integrating Bosch's SMD500 barometric pressure sensor with NumeriX GPS chips, the NumeriX/Bosch reference design achieves higher resolution for more accurate "turn" commands, as well as allowing multilevel bridges and stacked highways to be more easily navigated.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Funding
Funding
by Michael Orshan
One of the really frustrating things about the Iraq War is the sad effect of funding Science and Technology. There are so many articles on this phenomenon I’ll spare the tears of “where’s my money?” Sure the war drained what money there was, but maybe the system of science and technology failed to.
Now I’ve seen many universities start programs on entrepreneurship. There are great tech transfers now, even though many of these lose money, they create community togetherness and organization focus. These are all steps in the right direction.
One of the best examples on how to move forward is the city of Phoenix and the University of Arizona. For whatever reason they put a stake in the ground and claimed the biotech was their future. They created T/Gen a facility for biotech research, tech transfer and company building. Then the University created a great biotech facility and began to coordinate their efforts with T/Gen. Now they are building, actually past building, a remarkable cluster in biotech. Now city services, growth, employment, resources are all focused in the same direction. I predict that funding to this will always be there, because the media, politics, planning and everything are focused.
Here is what I want to point out. I believe that economic success occurs when scientists, entrepreneurs, politics and capital work together. This is perfect example. This Phoenix project spanned multiple governor administrations, mayor administrations and so forth. Yet, the political process was smart enough to share in the success and let that success drive their own campaigns from election year to election year.
Personally, I’d like to see public funding, at the University level, be focused on the economic goals of the region. This forces the entire region to decide on that focus, get behind this and drive success forward.
by Michael Orshan
One of the really frustrating things about the Iraq War is the sad effect of funding Science and Technology. There are so many articles on this phenomenon I’ll spare the tears of “where’s my money?” Sure the war drained what money there was, but maybe the system of science and technology failed to.
Now I’ve seen many universities start programs on entrepreneurship. There are great tech transfers now, even though many of these lose money, they create community togetherness and organization focus. These are all steps in the right direction.
One of the best examples on how to move forward is the city of Phoenix and the University of Arizona. For whatever reason they put a stake in the ground and claimed the biotech was their future. They created T/Gen a facility for biotech research, tech transfer and company building. Then the University created a great biotech facility and began to coordinate their efforts with T/Gen. Now they are building, actually past building, a remarkable cluster in biotech. Now city services, growth, employment, resources are all focused in the same direction. I predict that funding to this will always be there, because the media, politics, planning and everything are focused.
Here is what I want to point out. I believe that economic success occurs when scientists, entrepreneurs, politics and capital work together. This is perfect example. This Phoenix project spanned multiple governor administrations, mayor administrations and so forth. Yet, the political process was smart enough to share in the success and let that success drive their own campaigns from election year to election year.
Personally, I’d like to see public funding, at the University level, be focused on the economic goals of the region. This forces the entire region to decide on that focus, get behind this and drive success forward.
Suits you sir!
In a competitive minefield of electronic components offerings, tailor made solutions can be just what wins the customers vote, Bernd Hantsche discusses
There is little sense in considering the trend of single components within the field of wireless. Particularly in the case of technically demanding chips, the target applications, in other words, the entire circuit system should be analysed in order to obtain information on the future of individual components. Tailor-made solutions therefore are an essential sales advantage for a distributor such as Rutronik. With its Wireless Development Centre and a dedicated wireless line card, RUTRONIK strives to be the consultation and skills interface between the manufacturers and the customers. Wireless experts provide assistance and support in the planning and implementation of wireless applications. Lars Mistander, Manager Wireless Development Centre, describes the task performed by the Team: "We explain our manufacturers' components to our customers so precisely that the customer understands its function and can use them in their applications without wasting time on trial and error." Our Wireless Development Centre supports our customers for instance with troubleshooting in their program codes, in circuit technology, with layout especially for high frequency signals and also with product selection. Continuous new codes and standards challenge distributors just as much as customers and manufacturers. Customised solutions range from the highly integrated GSM module with GPS support and integrated SIM card holder with preinstalled antenna including freely programmable microcontrollers as well as memory and interfaces, through to a chip with minimum wireless functions.
"Particularly small, flexible development companies show us on a daily basis what can be done to improve conservative circuits. Expensive pin-and-socket connectors therefore are simply replaced by cheaper wireless connections and sensitive mechanisms such as a sliding contact and exchanged for long-lasting transceivers," explains Lars Mistander, Manager Wireless Development Centre, based on his own experience. "Innovative ideas get around and we currently see the trend in companies to install wireless systems and to fully re-design old products."
Ultra Low Power is still too high
Many wireless applications are battery-powered. For this reason, power consumption is a decisive criterion for the product manager. Here the distributor is required to have the ability to give advice on the diverse offers made by manufacturers. "In addition to the well-known LowPower and UltraLowPower Infineon chips with 433 and 868MHz range, Nordic Semiconductor products also meet the growing 2.4GHz band requirements," explains Mistander. "Rutronik places as much value on protocol-based wireless technologies: With the IEEE802.15.4 Microchip has developed a high-performance transceiver and already offers ZigBee and the even clearer MiWi; two protocols to choose from."
Infineon, for example, presently has an 868MHz transmitter with an integrated booster especially developed for long battery life. A corresponding PLL synthesizer, a Power Down Mode as well as many other features and only a few external components make this product particularly interesting for remote operation and control.
Nordic Semiconductors covers all ISM bands, however they are increasingly specialising in 2.4GHz technology. Together with Nokia, Nordic has developed a new radio standard with "Wibree" which can be implemented parallel to Bluetooth and is particularly suitable for wireless computer periphery. Among others, an FSK transceiver is already available, with incorporated sensor network protocol, which has considerably raised the bar for low power networking. Dynastream has developed the ANT protocol and Nordic has implemented it using its new chips, resulting in a very interestingly combined product, which can also operate for several years by means of a small battery.
Microchip, on the contrary, has developed the PAN Standard IEEE802.15.4 and is working towards DSSS transmission on only one channel. The transceiver which also operates in the 2.4 GHz band is suitable for ZigBee as well as for a Microchip’s own open source protocol.
Discrete structure does not mean costly acceptance tests
Naturally a wireless application can be implemented without the installation of a spectrum analyser. Rutronik offers for instance a 2.4GHz Vishay module which can be effectively installed in multi-media applications with data rates of up to 8Mbit/s. Rutronik has supplemented its portfolio with Free2Move Bluetooth modules which include all authorisations and releases. A customer can choose from various performance levels: Either choosing a module with integrated antenna or fitting one with an external antenna. The Broadline distributor portfolio also includes special wireless modules for sound streaming. Thus Rutronik offers solutions for discrete structuring of high volume systems as well as development-friendly modules such as those used in small to medium volume systems. A distributor should also be available for advice on which hardware is suitable for which application and is the least expensive in the long run. "Often a company lacks the development know-how for high-frequency wireless chips and, as a result, some electronics developers miscalculate in their planning," says Mistander. "We provide our customers with reference designs and refer them, if necessary, to design and testing companies who have already gained experience in the products implemented. In this way, each design ends up being successful."
RFID – tested anti-pirating system
"Increasingly, companies who previously managed without electronics, are approaching us," says Mistander. "There is a strong trend towards contact-free identification of products." The background for this is mostly the optimisation of logistics or anti-plagiarism methods, which has drastically increased in relevance with product copies originating in the Far East. "This "electronically unfamiliar" clientele constitutes a completely new target group" explains Mistander. "Thanks to our substantial partner network in the areas of HF design, driver programming and RFID production, Rutronik can also assist inexperienced customers in finding solutions with, for example, RFID transponders which offer several memory storage areas." One of these has already been allocated to a specific silicone manufacturer with a particular identification number that cannot be cancelled or manipulated. In this way specific number fields can be allocated to customers and replacement with a pirate copy is made impossible. RFID can also be programmed with individual data, for instance, information such as date of manufacture, version, product status or repair frequency – watertight, heat-resistant, dirt-resistant, long-life and invisible.
Individual and specific
Rutronik's application experts also investigate customer products and make suggestions regarding innovative improvements. In this way they contribute to avoiding misguided development investments. According to Mistander: "Currently we have observed that the greatest uncertainty on behalf of customers lies in wireless networks at sensor and actor level. Queries regarding licences, compatibility as well as product-specific software stacks are common. Many customers intending to implement a ZigBee network suddenly come across more cost-effective alternatives, such as MiWi. Only a detailed network plan will indicate which solution can be recommended. In general, it can be said that the maze of possibilities especially in the wireless sector at the moment is almost unmanageable, particularly since new solutions appear daily and there are no uniform standards. "You really need a good sense of orientation to negotiate the right way. As an initial orientation, we offer our customers our current seminar series "Think Wireless"."
”In one case, a customer wanted to extend his machine with a simple 220V switching logic circuit and use it to send SMS. He asked us for advice on GSM modules. We carefully studied the customer's development project and offered a complete telemetry systems solution directly from our stores," recounts Mistander. "The customer's total expenditure on development was slashed. Instead he only had to configure the telemetry module by SMS and install the circuit board with two screws and four wires into the machine. Each separate development with relay, power supply and a GSM module at such low unit numbers would have been an inappropriate investment.
Wireless bandwidth is endlessly diverse and far from being exhausted: "In a few years digital cameras, for instance, will be fitted with Bluetooth, Wireless-USB, WLAN and GPS and will be automatically fully interchangeable with the other technical equipment," asserts Mistander. A digital camera is already compatible with GSM or GPRS – in the form of the current mobile phones or as special cameras, which are used, for instance, to photograph the weld points on long pipelines to record working procedures, where the co-ordinates of the photographs of individual weld points can be located thanks to the built-in GPS. "Due to the rapidly decreasing GPS prices, this function will in future also be installed in consumer cameras so that you can see which photographs were taken in which places in the world by using Google-Earth", explains Mistander. Rutronik has a paneuropean agreement with Tyco to distribute their GPS-Receiver portfolio. Tyco offers a complete range from low-cost solutions up to newest generation high-end receivers. Both products are very small and compatible to each other. They also offer modules with integrated antennas, modules which support additional gyro-sensors for navigation (AGPS), up to modules with a CAN-bus interface.
There is little sense in considering the trend of single components within the field of wireless. Particularly in the case of technically demanding chips, the target applications, in other words, the entire circuit system should be analysed in order to obtain information on the future of individual components. Tailor-made solutions therefore are an essential sales advantage for a distributor such as Rutronik. With its Wireless Development Centre and a dedicated wireless line card, RUTRONIK strives to be the consultation and skills interface between the manufacturers and the customers. Wireless experts provide assistance and support in the planning and implementation of wireless applications. Lars Mistander, Manager Wireless Development Centre, describes the task performed by the Team: "We explain our manufacturers' components to our customers so precisely that the customer understands its function and can use them in their applications without wasting time on trial and error." Our Wireless Development Centre supports our customers for instance with troubleshooting in their program codes, in circuit technology, with layout especially for high frequency signals and also with product selection. Continuous new codes and standards challenge distributors just as much as customers and manufacturers. Customised solutions range from the highly integrated GSM module with GPS support and integrated SIM card holder with preinstalled antenna including freely programmable microcontrollers as well as memory and interfaces, through to a chip with minimum wireless functions.
"Particularly small, flexible development companies show us on a daily basis what can be done to improve conservative circuits. Expensive pin-and-socket connectors therefore are simply replaced by cheaper wireless connections and sensitive mechanisms such as a sliding contact and exchanged for long-lasting transceivers," explains Lars Mistander, Manager Wireless Development Centre, based on his own experience. "Innovative ideas get around and we currently see the trend in companies to install wireless systems and to fully re-design old products."
Ultra Low Power is still too high
Many wireless applications are battery-powered. For this reason, power consumption is a decisive criterion for the product manager. Here the distributor is required to have the ability to give advice on the diverse offers made by manufacturers. "In addition to the well-known LowPower and UltraLowPower Infineon chips with 433 and 868MHz range, Nordic Semiconductor products also meet the growing 2.4GHz band requirements," explains Mistander. "Rutronik places as much value on protocol-based wireless technologies: With the IEEE802.15.4 Microchip has developed a high-performance transceiver and already offers ZigBee and the even clearer MiWi; two protocols to choose from."
Infineon, for example, presently has an 868MHz transmitter with an integrated booster especially developed for long battery life. A corresponding PLL synthesizer, a Power Down Mode as well as many other features and only a few external components make this product particularly interesting for remote operation and control.
Nordic Semiconductors covers all ISM bands, however they are increasingly specialising in 2.4GHz technology. Together with Nokia, Nordic has developed a new radio standard with "Wibree" which can be implemented parallel to Bluetooth and is particularly suitable for wireless computer periphery. Among others, an FSK transceiver is already available, with incorporated sensor network protocol, which has considerably raised the bar for low power networking. Dynastream has developed the ANT protocol and Nordic has implemented it using its new chips, resulting in a very interestingly combined product, which can also operate for several years by means of a small battery.
Microchip, on the contrary, has developed the PAN Standard IEEE802.15.4 and is working towards DSSS transmission on only one channel. The transceiver which also operates in the 2.4 GHz band is suitable for ZigBee as well as for a Microchip’s own open source protocol.
Discrete structure does not mean costly acceptance tests
Naturally a wireless application can be implemented without the installation of a spectrum analyser. Rutronik offers for instance a 2.4GHz Vishay module which can be effectively installed in multi-media applications with data rates of up to 8Mbit/s. Rutronik has supplemented its portfolio with Free2Move Bluetooth modules which include all authorisations and releases. A customer can choose from various performance levels: Either choosing a module with integrated antenna or fitting one with an external antenna. The Broadline distributor portfolio also includes special wireless modules for sound streaming. Thus Rutronik offers solutions for discrete structuring of high volume systems as well as development-friendly modules such as those used in small to medium volume systems. A distributor should also be available for advice on which hardware is suitable for which application and is the least expensive in the long run. "Often a company lacks the development know-how for high-frequency wireless chips and, as a result, some electronics developers miscalculate in their planning," says Mistander. "We provide our customers with reference designs and refer them, if necessary, to design and testing companies who have already gained experience in the products implemented. In this way, each design ends up being successful."
RFID – tested anti-pirating system
"Increasingly, companies who previously managed without electronics, are approaching us," says Mistander. "There is a strong trend towards contact-free identification of products." The background for this is mostly the optimisation of logistics or anti-plagiarism methods, which has drastically increased in relevance with product copies originating in the Far East. "This "electronically unfamiliar" clientele constitutes a completely new target group" explains Mistander. "Thanks to our substantial partner network in the areas of HF design, driver programming and RFID production, Rutronik can also assist inexperienced customers in finding solutions with, for example, RFID transponders which offer several memory storage areas." One of these has already been allocated to a specific silicone manufacturer with a particular identification number that cannot be cancelled or manipulated. In this way specific number fields can be allocated to customers and replacement with a pirate copy is made impossible. RFID can also be programmed with individual data, for instance, information such as date of manufacture, version, product status or repair frequency – watertight, heat-resistant, dirt-resistant, long-life and invisible.
Individual and specific
Rutronik's application experts also investigate customer products and make suggestions regarding innovative improvements. In this way they contribute to avoiding misguided development investments. According to Mistander: "Currently we have observed that the greatest uncertainty on behalf of customers lies in wireless networks at sensor and actor level. Queries regarding licences, compatibility as well as product-specific software stacks are common. Many customers intending to implement a ZigBee network suddenly come across more cost-effective alternatives, such as MiWi. Only a detailed network plan will indicate which solution can be recommended. In general, it can be said that the maze of possibilities especially in the wireless sector at the moment is almost unmanageable, particularly since new solutions appear daily and there are no uniform standards. "You really need a good sense of orientation to negotiate the right way. As an initial orientation, we offer our customers our current seminar series "Think Wireless"."
”In one case, a customer wanted to extend his machine with a simple 220V switching logic circuit and use it to send SMS. He asked us for advice on GSM modules. We carefully studied the customer's development project and offered a complete telemetry systems solution directly from our stores," recounts Mistander. "The customer's total expenditure on development was slashed. Instead he only had to configure the telemetry module by SMS and install the circuit board with two screws and four wires into the machine. Each separate development with relay, power supply and a GSM module at such low unit numbers would have been an inappropriate investment.
Wireless bandwidth is endlessly diverse and far from being exhausted: "In a few years digital cameras, for instance, will be fitted with Bluetooth, Wireless-USB, WLAN and GPS and will be automatically fully interchangeable with the other technical equipment," asserts Mistander. A digital camera is already compatible with GSM or GPRS – in the form of the current mobile phones or as special cameras, which are used, for instance, to photograph the weld points on long pipelines to record working procedures, where the co-ordinates of the photographs of individual weld points can be located thanks to the built-in GPS. "Due to the rapidly decreasing GPS prices, this function will in future also be installed in consumer cameras so that you can see which photographs were taken in which places in the world by using Google-Earth", explains Mistander. Rutronik has a paneuropean agreement with Tyco to distribute their GPS-Receiver portfolio. Tyco offers a complete range from low-cost solutions up to newest generation high-end receivers. Both products are very small and compatible to each other. They also offer modules with integrated antennas, modules which support additional gyro-sensors for navigation (AGPS), up to modules with a CAN-bus interface.
Nano-generator could power tiny devices
19:00 13 April 2006
NewScientist.com news service
Tom Simonite
A simple "nano-generator" that converts movement into electricity could let nanoscale devices draw power from their surroundings, researchers say.
Currently, nano-devices must use conventional power sources built on a much larger scale. But a nano-generator could, for example, let a tiny medical implant draw power from the movement of a patient's arteries.
The nano-generator, developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, US, consists of an array of flexible zinc oxide nanowires. Each is 50 nanometres in diameter and 300 nanometres in length (a nanometre is a billionth of metre). As each wire bends, its crystalline structure builds up electrical charge in response to mechanical stress - an phenomenon known as the piezoelectric effect.
To charge up the nanowires, the researchers gently bent them using the tip of an atomic force microscope. "One side of the nanowire is compressed and the other is stretched," explains Jinhui Song, a member of the research team. "The deformation of the crystal structure on the surface of the wire causes charge to build up. The stretched side becomes positive, and the compressed side negative."
When the tip was in contact with the positive, stretched, part of the wire the charge could not escape. This is because of the electrical properties of the junction between the platinum tip of the microscope, and the semiconducting nanowire. But when the tip moved over to the negative, compressed side of the wire, the charge could escape, making it act like a nanoscopic power source.
Billionths of a wattA single nanowire can only produce around half a picowatt, or one hundred billionths of a watt. But 200 nanowires can be squeezed into a 10 square micron area, to produce 10 picowatts. That is enough to power a nanoscopic device like a nanotube-based gas sensor, the researchers say.
Milo Shaffer, a nanotechnologist at Imperial College London, UK, says the generator could make a useful addition to the growing array of nano-components already created by scientists. But he adds that researchers have yet to work out how to link many of these components together.
"We're assembling lots of small pieces, but a big challenge for the future will be how to build these components into working systems," Shaffer told New Scientist. "In this case, it will be necessary work out how to connect up these wires to the electronic components."
However, Shaffer notes that a recently announced method for embedding electronic transistors within nanowires could be a solution. The technique, revealed in March 2006 by researchers from IBM, the University of Florida and Columbia University in the US, could be used to connect the generator to an electronic circuit, Shaffer says.
Before tacking this issue, however, the Georgia Institute of Technology team are keen to get as much power as possible from their generator. This could involve using lots of nanowires at once or finding a way of keeping contact with the wires for longer while they vibrate. "The current system captures only around 20% of the available mechanical energy," Song says.
Journal reference: Science (vol 312, p 242)
NewScientist.com news service
Tom Simonite
A simple "nano-generator" that converts movement into electricity could let nanoscale devices draw power from their surroundings, researchers say.
Currently, nano-devices must use conventional power sources built on a much larger scale. But a nano-generator could, for example, let a tiny medical implant draw power from the movement of a patient's arteries.
The nano-generator, developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, US, consists of an array of flexible zinc oxide nanowires. Each is 50 nanometres in diameter and 300 nanometres in length (a nanometre is a billionth of metre). As each wire bends, its crystalline structure builds up electrical charge in response to mechanical stress - an phenomenon known as the piezoelectric effect.
To charge up the nanowires, the researchers gently bent them using the tip of an atomic force microscope. "One side of the nanowire is compressed and the other is stretched," explains Jinhui Song, a member of the research team. "The deformation of the crystal structure on the surface of the wire causes charge to build up. The stretched side becomes positive, and the compressed side negative."
When the tip was in contact with the positive, stretched, part of the wire the charge could not escape. This is because of the electrical properties of the junction between the platinum tip of the microscope, and the semiconducting nanowire. But when the tip moved over to the negative, compressed side of the wire, the charge could escape, making it act like a nanoscopic power source.
Billionths of a wattA single nanowire can only produce around half a picowatt, or one hundred billionths of a watt. But 200 nanowires can be squeezed into a 10 square micron area, to produce 10 picowatts. That is enough to power a nanoscopic device like a nanotube-based gas sensor, the researchers say.
Milo Shaffer, a nanotechnologist at Imperial College London, UK, says the generator could make a useful addition to the growing array of nano-components already created by scientists. But he adds that researchers have yet to work out how to link many of these components together.
"We're assembling lots of small pieces, but a big challenge for the future will be how to build these components into working systems," Shaffer told New Scientist. "In this case, it will be necessary work out how to connect up these wires to the electronic components."
However, Shaffer notes that a recently announced method for embedding electronic transistors within nanowires could be a solution. The technique, revealed in March 2006 by researchers from IBM, the University of Florida and Columbia University in the US, could be used to connect the generator to an electronic circuit, Shaffer says.
Before tacking this issue, however, the Georgia Institute of Technology team are keen to get as much power as possible from their generator. This could involve using lots of nanowires at once or finding a way of keeping contact with the wires for longer while they vibrate. "The current system captures only around 20% of the available mechanical energy," Song says.
Journal reference: Science (vol 312, p 242)
Get ready for single-pixel cameras
A single-pixel camera? Yes, there is such a thing and it promises to be more useful than it at first might appear. The basic idea behind the new camera is to drastically reduce the amount of information needed to represent an image. This takes place by compressing information in the image as it is digitized, rather than compressing image data after digitization. It involves a single-photon detector whose output is digitized and then transmitted to a digital signal processor. The DSP uses sophisticated algorithms to reassemble the data into a version of the original image.
Researchers at Rice University recently constructed a bench-top setup that demonstrates these principles. Their demo uses a single- photon detector, some lenses, and a digital micromirror chip. The DM chip is a key component. Often used in video projection systems, it has several hundred thousand microscopic mirrors arranged in a rectangular array on its surface. The mirrors can be individually rotated about 10° to an on or off state. A mirror in the on state reflects light in one direction, and elsewhere when off.
In the Rice demo, light from the object of interest is reflected through a lens onto the DM chip. Meanwhile, the DM chip is fed a long series of random numbers which control the orientation of the mirrors on its surface. The result is a series of random orientations for the surface mirrors. Another set of lenses picks up the light reflected from the DM chip and focuses it onto a single-photon photodetector. The analog output of this detector is proportional to the light level.
An a/d converter digitizes each level from the photodetector corresponding to a new random pattern of the DM chip mirrors. The resulting stream of digital numbers gets beamed to a receiver and then to a digital signal processor. The DSP uses knowledge about the random patterns imparted on the DM chip, plus advanced algorithms such as 3D wavelet transformations, to assemble the stream of digital numbers into an image of the original object.
All in all, the single-pixel camera converts a scene that would be captured as one image in a conventional camera into a series of intensity values registered on the single-photon detector. The recording process takes place without any of the components in the setup physically moving (other than the microscopic mirrors on the DM chip). The DSP knows enough about the recording process to reassemble the series into an image of the original scene.
Rice’s single-pixel camera uses principles from an emerging branch of study called compressive sensing. The advantage of the technique is that it needs far less data to digitize an image or a video stream than predicted by the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem. Nyquist-Shannon dictates that a signal be sampled at a rate of at least twice that of its lowest-frequency content. Otherwise, the sampled version loses information present in the original signal. This idea works fine for situations where there is enough bandwidth to transmit the sampled signal. But it can cause problems for video signals because of the amount of data needed to represent each video frame. So video signals often get compressed before they are transmitted back to processing electronics, where they are in turn decompressed.
Compressive sensing techniques avoid the compress/decompress overhead because the signal is compressed as it is digitized and decompressed when reassembled. The key factor that lets compressive sensing work on images and video is that these kinds of signals are generally what is called sparse data. In scenes being videoed, for example, not much changes from one instant to the next. Mathematically, this lets a small amount of data relative to the overall number of pixels represent successive images.
Rice researchers say compressive sensing tehcniques are in the their infancy, but they hold promise in a number of areas. For example, single-pixel cameras can be super small, so they could conceivably be deployed in large arrays to image expansive areas. Surveillance applications, where scenes typically change little, are another area where single-pixel cameras could provide significant cost savings.
Researchers at Rice University recently constructed a bench-top setup that demonstrates these principles. Their demo uses a single- photon detector, some lenses, and a digital micromirror chip. The DM chip is a key component. Often used in video projection systems, it has several hundred thousand microscopic mirrors arranged in a rectangular array on its surface. The mirrors can be individually rotated about 10° to an on or off state. A mirror in the on state reflects light in one direction, and elsewhere when off.
In the Rice demo, light from the object of interest is reflected through a lens onto the DM chip. Meanwhile, the DM chip is fed a long series of random numbers which control the orientation of the mirrors on its surface. The result is a series of random orientations for the surface mirrors. Another set of lenses picks up the light reflected from the DM chip and focuses it onto a single-photon photodetector. The analog output of this detector is proportional to the light level.
An a/d converter digitizes each level from the photodetector corresponding to a new random pattern of the DM chip mirrors. The resulting stream of digital numbers gets beamed to a receiver and then to a digital signal processor. The DSP uses knowledge about the random patterns imparted on the DM chip, plus advanced algorithms such as 3D wavelet transformations, to assemble the stream of digital numbers into an image of the original object.
All in all, the single-pixel camera converts a scene that would be captured as one image in a conventional camera into a series of intensity values registered on the single-photon detector. The recording process takes place without any of the components in the setup physically moving (other than the microscopic mirrors on the DM chip). The DSP knows enough about the recording process to reassemble the series into an image of the original scene.
Rice’s single-pixel camera uses principles from an emerging branch of study called compressive sensing. The advantage of the technique is that it needs far less data to digitize an image or a video stream than predicted by the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem. Nyquist-Shannon dictates that a signal be sampled at a rate of at least twice that of its lowest-frequency content. Otherwise, the sampled version loses information present in the original signal. This idea works fine for situations where there is enough bandwidth to transmit the sampled signal. But it can cause problems for video signals because of the amount of data needed to represent each video frame. So video signals often get compressed before they are transmitted back to processing electronics, where they are in turn decompressed.
Compressive sensing techniques avoid the compress/decompress overhead because the signal is compressed as it is digitized and decompressed when reassembled. The key factor that lets compressive sensing work on images and video is that these kinds of signals are generally what is called sparse data. In scenes being videoed, for example, not much changes from one instant to the next. Mathematically, this lets a small amount of data relative to the overall number of pixels represent successive images.
Rice researchers say compressive sensing tehcniques are in the their infancy, but they hold promise in a number of areas. For example, single-pixel cameras can be super small, so they could conceivably be deployed in large arrays to image expansive areas. Surveillance applications, where scenes typically change little, are another area where single-pixel cameras could provide significant cost savings.
Monitoring jetengine bearings, wirelessly
Monitoring jetengine bearings, wirelessly
Researchers at Purdue University working with the U.S. Air Force have developed wireless sensors strong enough to survive inside operating jet engines where temperatures can climb to 572°F. The sensors detect when critical bearings are close to failing, as well as how long before they fail, letting maintenance personnel prevent costly breakdowns. The MEMS sensors are also small enough that they don’t interfere with the bearings. The sensors actually measure temperature, a good indicator of how well bearings are performing and when they can be expected to fail. Conventional bearing monitors track engine-oil temperature, an indirect method which yields less specific data. The sensors do not need batteries, which is a plus because batteries don’t perform well in hot environments. Instead power is supplied remotely through inductive coupling which uses coils of wire to generate current. The sensors send data out using telemetry.
Researchers at Purdue University working with the U.S. Air Force have developed wireless sensors strong enough to survive inside operating jet engines where temperatures can climb to 572°F. The sensors detect when critical bearings are close to failing, as well as how long before they fail, letting maintenance personnel prevent costly breakdowns. The MEMS sensors are also small enough that they don’t interfere with the bearings. The sensors actually measure temperature, a good indicator of how well bearings are performing and when they can be expected to fail. Conventional bearing monitors track engine-oil temperature, an indirect method which yields less specific data. The sensors do not need batteries, which is a plus because batteries don’t perform well in hot environments. Instead power is supplied remotely through inductive coupling which uses coils of wire to generate current. The sensors send data out using telemetry.
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Too Many Science Projects
By Michael Orshan Team Technologies
Eventually manufacturing standards and processes will be figured out. Hopefully, sooner than later. One of the issues, with all science, is how to get the science out of the R&D centers and into the commercial world. We all know that novel sciences are often funded by state or federal government and often part of the universities or public labs. It is amazing the success I’ve seen in labs. Truly amazing. However, how do we get this out of the labs?
Well, surprise, I have no plans of bashing scientists who have no worldly experience. I think that is unfair and often a “the easy way out”. I believe that four groups need to learn how to work together and be forced to work together. These are:
1. Those scientists
2. Entrepreneurs
3. Public Officials
4. Capitalists
I will rub a few scientists the wrong way by saying that you need all four and nobody, nobody, fits more than one category. A scientist can turn into a entrepreneur! BUT, they are no longer a scientist. Holding more than one role is the path to failure. The public officials need to recognize and gain the media attention required for success. The capitalists are needed for funds and executive management leadership.
Has this every been done before? Yes, in the US, there are examples in Austin, TX, San Diego, TX and Atlanta (or really most of), GA. There are others. In my two favorite cases UT at Austin and UC at San Diego led the effort. In fact, there are few efforts, if any, that have been led by anything other than the local university.
I think and have seen some exciting, revolutionary and timely projects being done in universities all over the place. Now is the time to get them out. Now is the time for leadership at the universities to create economic opportunities, in MEMS and other science. They need to include many players and this is difficult, however the rewards last for 50 years or more.
Eventually manufacturing standards and processes will be figured out. Hopefully, sooner than later. One of the issues, with all science, is how to get the science out of the R&D centers and into the commercial world. We all know that novel sciences are often funded by state or federal government and often part of the universities or public labs. It is amazing the success I’ve seen in labs. Truly amazing. However, how do we get this out of the labs?
Well, surprise, I have no plans of bashing scientists who have no worldly experience. I think that is unfair and often a “the easy way out”. I believe that four groups need to learn how to work together and be forced to work together. These are:
1. Those scientists
2. Entrepreneurs
3. Public Officials
4. Capitalists
I will rub a few scientists the wrong way by saying that you need all four and nobody, nobody, fits more than one category. A scientist can turn into a entrepreneur! BUT, they are no longer a scientist. Holding more than one role is the path to failure. The public officials need to recognize and gain the media attention required for success. The capitalists are needed for funds and executive management leadership.
Has this every been done before? Yes, in the US, there are examples in Austin, TX, San Diego, TX and Atlanta (or really most of), GA. There are others. In my two favorite cases UT at Austin and UC at San Diego led the effort. In fact, there are few efforts, if any, that have been led by anything other than the local university.
I think and have seen some exciting, revolutionary and timely projects being done in universities all over the place. Now is the time to get them out. Now is the time for leadership at the universities to create economic opportunities, in MEMS and other science. They need to include many players and this is difficult, however the rewards last for 50 years or more.
IMEC's MEMS programs seek life beyond Moore's Law
IMEC's MEMS programs seek life beyond Moore's Law
By Tom Cheyney, Small Times Senior Contributing Editor
November 12, 2007 -- Belgium's IMEC has become one of the world's leading R&D centers for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, having built a successful business model around active industrial-partner participation, top-flight team members and program development, and judicious government investment. But there's more to the research group than the relentless pursuit of the Moore's Law CMOS scaling path: MEMS and nanotechnology play an increasingly important role as IMEC moves forward.
The Leuven-based organization uses the term "heterogeneous integration" or the catchy "More than Moore" slogan to describe its programs outside of the advanced chipmaking (or "More Moore") arena. A key component of this multifaceted, multiple-application concept is CMORE, which "opens the 200-mm silicon processing facilities for R&D on silicon-technology-based process steps, process modules and complete processes, targeting the integration of additional functionality or performances surpassing those of standard CMOS processes," according to a recent paper by Lou Hermans, IMEC's NEXT department director and strategic business manager for its new silicon technology applications.
Much of CMORE's activity centers around development of process flows for new MEMS device concept and architectures, Hermans told Small Times. "We are mainly focusing on integrated MEMS, which means a combination of CMOS and MEMS technology. Many years ago, we made a choice to start working on silicon germanium as a structural material. Since then we have been continuously developing that technology. We have a number of projects in place where we are using this technology for realizing or testing certain concepts of certain device structures, [such as] micromirror arrays." Other MEMS applications being explored at IMEC include memory devices using cantilever structures (akin to IBM's Millipede technology), accelerometers, resonators, microbolometers, and thermopile-based energy harvesting.
Hermans cited several reasons for choosing silicon germanium. "It doesn't pose any contamination problems for the CMOS process environment. It is ideal for MEMS because of its high Young's modulus (tensile elasticity), high yield strength, absence of creep, no plastic deformation at typical operation temperatures, and insensitivity to fatigue failure."
IMEC employs what Hermans calls "a MEMS last/post-MEMS" or "monolithic integration" approach to MEMS-CMOS processing. "The MEMS structures are fabricated after completion of the CMOS processing on top of the CMOS wafer. The MEMS structures are realized by pure surface or bulk release etching on the completed CMOS wafer or by the deposition of additional structural layers on top of the CMOS circuitry that afterwards will be structured by surface micromachining."
Since the transfer of IMEC's advanced CMOS scaling activities to its 300-mm development fab, there has been much more access to the 200-mm facility for the heterogeneous integration programs, including MEMS, explained Hermans. "This gives us two things: of course, we have more access to the line, but on the other hand, the line is also becoming more stable. In the past, the scaling people always wanted to have the latest lithography tool and the latest deposition tool, in order to drive the scaling.
"Of course, this is not always what you want to have if you're working on applications where you're really making devices, where you're working toward yield, so you would like to work in a more stable environment. Due to the fact that it is not driven by scaling any more, we end up in an environment that is more stable and more suitable for this kind of work."
Some of IMEC's industrial partners have been showing increased interest in the center's MEMS programs. "There's definitely a growing interest, I think, driven by two things," said Hermans. "We are now in a situation that we can better respond to that interest, but it is also driven to some extent by the fact that some of the companies have stopped or are considering stopping their efforts in scaling in house, or are still doing scaling but only in cooperation with a silicon foundry like TSMC or UMC.
"But they are also looking for new products that they can run in their older fabs. So there's an interest for diversification away from pure digital or analog circuits, to circuits with a higher added value, and MEMS is one of the options."
By Tom Cheyney, Small Times Senior Contributing Editor
November 12, 2007 -- Belgium's IMEC has become one of the world's leading R&D centers for advanced semiconductor manufacturing, having built a successful business model around active industrial-partner participation, top-flight team members and program development, and judicious government investment. But there's more to the research group than the relentless pursuit of the Moore's Law CMOS scaling path: MEMS and nanotechnology play an increasingly important role as IMEC moves forward.
The Leuven-based organization uses the term "heterogeneous integration" or the catchy "More than Moore" slogan to describe its programs outside of the advanced chipmaking (or "More Moore") arena. A key component of this multifaceted, multiple-application concept is CMORE, which "opens the 200-mm silicon processing facilities for R&D on silicon-technology-based process steps, process modules and complete processes, targeting the integration of additional functionality or performances surpassing those of standard CMOS processes," according to a recent paper by Lou Hermans, IMEC's NEXT department director and strategic business manager for its new silicon technology applications.
Much of CMORE's activity centers around development of process flows for new MEMS device concept and architectures, Hermans told Small Times. "We are mainly focusing on integrated MEMS, which means a combination of CMOS and MEMS technology. Many years ago, we made a choice to start working on silicon germanium as a structural material. Since then we have been continuously developing that technology. We have a number of projects in place where we are using this technology for realizing or testing certain concepts of certain device structures, [such as] micromirror arrays." Other MEMS applications being explored at IMEC include memory devices using cantilever structures (akin to IBM's Millipede technology), accelerometers, resonators, microbolometers, and thermopile-based energy harvesting.
Hermans cited several reasons for choosing silicon germanium. "It doesn't pose any contamination problems for the CMOS process environment. It is ideal for MEMS because of its high Young's modulus (tensile elasticity), high yield strength, absence of creep, no plastic deformation at typical operation temperatures, and insensitivity to fatigue failure."
IMEC employs what Hermans calls "a MEMS last/post-MEMS" or "monolithic integration" approach to MEMS-CMOS processing. "The MEMS structures are fabricated after completion of the CMOS processing on top of the CMOS wafer. The MEMS structures are realized by pure surface or bulk release etching on the completed CMOS wafer or by the deposition of additional structural layers on top of the CMOS circuitry that afterwards will be structured by surface micromachining."
Since the transfer of IMEC's advanced CMOS scaling activities to its 300-mm development fab, there has been much more access to the 200-mm facility for the heterogeneous integration programs, including MEMS, explained Hermans. "This gives us two things: of course, we have more access to the line, but on the other hand, the line is also becoming more stable. In the past, the scaling people always wanted to have the latest lithography tool and the latest deposition tool, in order to drive the scaling.
"Of course, this is not always what you want to have if you're working on applications where you're really making devices, where you're working toward yield, so you would like to work in a more stable environment. Due to the fact that it is not driven by scaling any more, we end up in an environment that is more stable and more suitable for this kind of work."
Some of IMEC's industrial partners have been showing increased interest in the center's MEMS programs. "There's definitely a growing interest, I think, driven by two things," said Hermans. "We are now in a situation that we can better respond to that interest, but it is also driven to some extent by the fact that some of the companies have stopped or are considering stopping their efforts in scaling in house, or are still doing scaling but only in cooperation with a silicon foundry like TSMC or UMC.
"But they are also looking for new products that they can run in their older fabs. So there's an interest for diversification away from pure digital or analog circuits, to circuits with a higher added value, and MEMS is one of the options."
August Technology Expands Wafer Inspection Applications to Include Emerging MEMS
August Technology Expands Wafer Inspection Applications to Include Emerging MEMS and Photonics Markets; Two New Customers Purchase NSX Series Systems
Business Wire, March 13, 2001
Business Editors & Technology Writers
BLOOMINGTON, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2001
August Technology Corporation (Nasdaq:AUGT), today announced it has received orders for NSX Series inspection systems from two new U.S.-based customers with applications in the emerging markets of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and photonics.
"The NSX Series has proven to be a valuable inspection solution for these emerging segments of the microelectronics industry," stated Mayson Brooks, August Technology's vice president of sales and marketing. "These newly developed photonics and MEMS devices are fabricated on wafers in a process similar to semiconductors, making the NSX an ideal solution for detecting defects and providing information for process enhancement for these customers."
Brooks continued, "We are continuing to see new activity in these markets as our customers anticipate and react to the needs of the consumer and business market. To remain competitive as production times shorten and processes evolve, these companies are using our NSX Series to inspect their products and enhance their ability to serve their customers."
MEMS, also referred to as micro machines, combine electrical circuitry and mechanical systems to perform specific functions and include devices such as optical switches used in networking applications, air bag sensors and pressure sensors. Photonics devices are used to guide, detect and control light sources in communications networking.
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The Company's successful new inspection applications provide further proof of opportunity for the NSX Series in revolutionary new markets. In the past several months the Company has also announced sales to the optoelectronics, micro display, data storage and print head markets.
Business Wire, March 13, 2001
Business Editors & Technology Writers
BLOOMINGTON, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 13, 2001
August Technology Corporation (Nasdaq:AUGT), today announced it has received orders for NSX Series inspection systems from two new U.S.-based customers with applications in the emerging markets of micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS) and photonics.
"The NSX Series has proven to be a valuable inspection solution for these emerging segments of the microelectronics industry," stated Mayson Brooks, August Technology's vice president of sales and marketing. "These newly developed photonics and MEMS devices are fabricated on wafers in a process similar to semiconductors, making the NSX an ideal solution for detecting defects and providing information for process enhancement for these customers."
Brooks continued, "We are continuing to see new activity in these markets as our customers anticipate and react to the needs of the consumer and business market. To remain competitive as production times shorten and processes evolve, these companies are using our NSX Series to inspect their products and enhance their ability to serve their customers."
MEMS, also referred to as micro machines, combine electrical circuitry and mechanical systems to perform specific functions and include devices such as optical switches used in networking applications, air bag sensors and pressure sensors. Photonics devices are used to guide, detect and control light sources in communications networking.
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The Company's successful new inspection applications provide further proof of opportunity for the NSX Series in revolutionary new markets. In the past several months the Company has also announced sales to the optoelectronics, micro display, data storage and print head markets.
Worldwide MEMS Systems market to reach $72 billion by 2011
Worldwide MEMS Systems market to reach $72 billion by 2011, says Yole Developpement and SEMI
Yole Developpement - July 17, 2007
The micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) systems market -- which includes products such as automobile airbag systems, display systems and inkjet cartridges -- totaled $40 billion in 2006, and is expected to top $72 billion by 2011, according to a market research report from SEMI and Yole Developpement. Jean-Christophe Eloy, founder and managing director of Yole Developpement, will present highlights fon emerging MEMS applications and supplier opportunities at SEMICON West on Wednesday, July 18 at 2:00 p.m.
According to the "Global MEMS/Microsystems Markets and Opportunities" report, MEMS devices totaled $5.9 billion in 2006, and are projected to grow to $10.8 billion by 2011, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 percent. Growth is fueled by increasing use of MEMS in consumer electronics. MEMS devices are defined as die-level components of first-level packaging, and include pressure sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones, digital mirror displays, micro fluidic devices, and more.
The materials and equipment used to manufacture MEMS devices topped $1 billion in 2006, with MEMS materials forecasted to grow at CAGR of 13%, while MEMS equipment is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 9% through 2011. Materials demand is driven by substrates, making up over 70% of the market, packaging coatings and increasing use of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). While MEMS manufacturing continues to be dominated by used semiconductor equipment, there is a migration to 200 mm lines and select new tools, including etch and bonding for certain MEMS applications.
"MEMS is proving to be a very versatile technology, replacing a number of incumbent technologies in consumer electronics. Traditional MEMS devices are also finding an increasingly broad implementation in consumer applications. Much of this high volume demand is being served by foundries, increasingly on 8-inch wafers," said Lubab Sheet, senior director of Emerging Technologies at SEMI. "However, there are still some manufacturing challenges such as stiction and packaging, both of which create opportunities for equipment and materials suppliers."
About this study
The Yole and SEMI report "Global MEMS/Microsystems Markets and Opportunities" details current and future applications and technology trends for MEMS devices, and provides in depth information and forecasts for the global MEMS materials, equipment, devices and systems markets. This year's report contains new sections on Emerging MEMS Devices (micro fuel cells, micro motors, energy harvesting devices and others) and Anti-stiction, as well as expanded coverage on MEMS-CMOS Integration. Covering MEMS applications, new trends, growing markets and opportunities, the 58-page report contains 57 quality tables/graphs, plus detailed facts and figures based on 57 in-depth interviews conducted with MEMS device manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers around the world.
The report was created by Yole Developpement in cooperation with and support from SEMI. The report is available for no additional charge to SEMI members. Others can purchase the report directly from Yole Developpement.
SEMI is a global industry association serving companies that provide equipment, materials and services used to manufacture semiconductors, displays, nano-scaled structures, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and related technologies.
Based in Lyon (France headquarters), Yole Developpement is a market research and business development consulting company, facilitating market access for advanced technology industrial projects.
Yole Developpement - July 17, 2007
The micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) systems market -- which includes products such as automobile airbag systems, display systems and inkjet cartridges -- totaled $40 billion in 2006, and is expected to top $72 billion by 2011, according to a market research report from SEMI and Yole Developpement. Jean-Christophe Eloy, founder and managing director of Yole Developpement, will present highlights fon emerging MEMS applications and supplier opportunities at SEMICON West on Wednesday, July 18 at 2:00 p.m.
According to the "Global MEMS/Microsystems Markets and Opportunities" report, MEMS devices totaled $5.9 billion in 2006, and are projected to grow to $10.8 billion by 2011, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13 percent. Growth is fueled by increasing use of MEMS in consumer electronics. MEMS devices are defined as die-level components of first-level packaging, and include pressure sensors, accelerometers, gyroscopes, microphones, digital mirror displays, micro fluidic devices, and more.
The materials and equipment used to manufacture MEMS devices topped $1 billion in 2006, with MEMS materials forecasted to grow at CAGR of 13%, while MEMS equipment is forecasted to grow at a CAGR of 9% through 2011. Materials demand is driven by substrates, making up over 70% of the market, packaging coatings and increasing use of chemical mechanical planarization (CMP). While MEMS manufacturing continues to be dominated by used semiconductor equipment, there is a migration to 200 mm lines and select new tools, including etch and bonding for certain MEMS applications.
"MEMS is proving to be a very versatile technology, replacing a number of incumbent technologies in consumer electronics. Traditional MEMS devices are also finding an increasingly broad implementation in consumer applications. Much of this high volume demand is being served by foundries, increasingly on 8-inch wafers," said Lubab Sheet, senior director of Emerging Technologies at SEMI. "However, there are still some manufacturing challenges such as stiction and packaging, both of which create opportunities for equipment and materials suppliers."
About this study
The Yole and SEMI report "Global MEMS/Microsystems Markets and Opportunities" details current and future applications and technology trends for MEMS devices, and provides in depth information and forecasts for the global MEMS materials, equipment, devices and systems markets. This year's report contains new sections on Emerging MEMS Devices (micro fuel cells, micro motors, energy harvesting devices and others) and Anti-stiction, as well as expanded coverage on MEMS-CMOS Integration. Covering MEMS applications, new trends, growing markets and opportunities, the 58-page report contains 57 quality tables/graphs, plus detailed facts and figures based on 57 in-depth interviews conducted with MEMS device manufacturers, equipment and materials suppliers around the world.
The report was created by Yole Developpement in cooperation with and support from SEMI. The report is available for no additional charge to SEMI members. Others can purchase the report directly from Yole Developpement.
SEMI is a global industry association serving companies that provide equipment, materials and services used to manufacture semiconductors, displays, nano-scaled structures, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) and related technologies.
Based in Lyon (France headquarters), Yole Developpement is a market research and business development consulting company, facilitating market access for advanced technology industrial projects.
ISE-CCM Nanotechnology Index is down -3.39% Year to Date
ISE-CCM Nanotechnology Index is down -3.39% Year to Date
October 11, 2007, (Emailwire)
The ISE-CCM Nanotechnology Index (ISE: TNY) is down -3.39% year to date, versus 7.50% for the S&P 500, 11.74% for the DJIA, and 10.23% for the Nasdaq.
TNY was co-developed by Cronus Capital Markets and the International Securities Exchange (ISE) in New York. TNY comprises 17 of the leading Nanotechnology companies such as; Cabot Corp. (NYSE: CBT), Headwaters Inc. (NYSE: HW), Symyx Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMX), and FEI COMPANY (NASDAQ: FEIC). TNY is currently trading options in the ISE.
Cronus Capital Markets CEO Michael Soni remarked that “monthly index reports are an important feature of CCM’s Index Support Program, especially for an index like TNY which covers an important aspect of the capital markets and receives significant investor interest.” CCM Index Reports, available at no cost to investors and the media, include index descriptions, objectives, volatility analysis, performance returns, product specifications, component breakdowns and component profiles with news links. The TNY report is available on www.iseoptions.com .
October 11, 2007, (Emailwire)
The ISE-CCM Nanotechnology Index (ISE: TNY) is down -3.39% year to date, versus 7.50% for the S&P 500, 11.74% for the DJIA, and 10.23% for the Nasdaq.
TNY was co-developed by Cronus Capital Markets and the International Securities Exchange (ISE) in New York. TNY comprises 17 of the leading Nanotechnology companies such as; Cabot Corp. (NYSE: CBT), Headwaters Inc. (NYSE: HW), Symyx Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ: SMMX), and FEI COMPANY (NASDAQ: FEIC). TNY is currently trading options in the ISE.
Cronus Capital Markets CEO Michael Soni remarked that “monthly index reports are an important feature of CCM’s Index Support Program, especially for an index like TNY which covers an important aspect of the capital markets and receives significant investor interest.” CCM Index Reports, available at no cost to investors and the media, include index descriptions, objectives, volatility analysis, performance returns, product specifications, component breakdowns and component profiles with news links. The TNY report is available on www.iseoptions.com .
Monday, November 12, 2007
MEMS The Next Step
Michael Orshan
Team Technologies
Progress in technology is always moving forward. This progress moving to commercial products is another story. MEMS and miniature technologies are an exciting space with huge promise. However, someone somewhere needs to do some dull thinking to get this into real products.
One area is the lack of development and production standards. How can we get truly versatile products if an assembly needs to be totally changes for each device? Who is the standards group that is working on this and when will they finish? Large companies will only invest in MEMS when the cost to product is worth it. Standards need to implement all the way from R&D to production. I spent many years building telecommunication products. We knew that issue such as heat, management, timing and alarms needed to meet the specifications outlined by both national and international associations. It was not a perfect world. Europe, North America and Asia all have slightly different ways of sending data. However, each follows some basic standards. This has lowered the R&D costs and allow for reasonable production costs with little change.
Another related area is the production cycle. In telecommunications we expected a product could get to the public in about two to three years. The entire final year was dedicated to industry certifications. Some of this does not happen today, due to costs, but the industry has matured and de facto standards are built into most devices. How long does a MEMS product take to build from day one? In needs to get down to a reasonable level.
Even with these issues, the capacity available to produce the MEMS products being created is in great question. Investors need to see the value in promoting standards and lower the production cycles. Then capacity building will be less of a risk. Today, another building new capacity needs to be involved in solving the industry problems. Sometimes working together is difficult, but it must be done. This needs to be done with the help of scientists, entrepreneurs, marketing, operations and the media.
Assuming everything begins to align this next issue should begin to dissipate. However, until that is done, the quality of MEMS devices needs to be addressed? Quality control is difficult when there is such a lack of assembly lines and standards. What do measure quality to? Again, without the quality measurements issue solved, will large companies invest?
MEMS and miniature technologies are the future of all devices. Most will agree to that. When this happens is a larger issue. My guess is as more and more mission critical applications use MEMS technology we will see the need for standards, quality and more funding will show up. More on mission critical applications next week.
Team Technologies
Progress in technology is always moving forward. This progress moving to commercial products is another story. MEMS and miniature technologies are an exciting space with huge promise. However, someone somewhere needs to do some dull thinking to get this into real products.
One area is the lack of development and production standards. How can we get truly versatile products if an assembly needs to be totally changes for each device? Who is the standards group that is working on this and when will they finish? Large companies will only invest in MEMS when the cost to product is worth it. Standards need to implement all the way from R&D to production. I spent many years building telecommunication products. We knew that issue such as heat, management, timing and alarms needed to meet the specifications outlined by both national and international associations. It was not a perfect world. Europe, North America and Asia all have slightly different ways of sending data. However, each follows some basic standards. This has lowered the R&D costs and allow for reasonable production costs with little change.
Another related area is the production cycle. In telecommunications we expected a product could get to the public in about two to three years. The entire final year was dedicated to industry certifications. Some of this does not happen today, due to costs, but the industry has matured and de facto standards are built into most devices. How long does a MEMS product take to build from day one? In needs to get down to a reasonable level.
Even with these issues, the capacity available to produce the MEMS products being created is in great question. Investors need to see the value in promoting standards and lower the production cycles. Then capacity building will be less of a risk. Today, another building new capacity needs to be involved in solving the industry problems. Sometimes working together is difficult, but it must be done. This needs to be done with the help of scientists, entrepreneurs, marketing, operations and the media.
Assuming everything begins to align this next issue should begin to dissipate. However, until that is done, the quality of MEMS devices needs to be addressed? Quality control is difficult when there is such a lack of assembly lines and standards. What do measure quality to? Again, without the quality measurements issue solved, will large companies invest?
MEMS and miniature technologies are the future of all devices. Most will agree to that. When this happens is a larger issue. My guess is as more and more mission critical applications use MEMS technology we will see the need for standards, quality and more funding will show up. More on mission critical applications next week.
CHIP-ON-MEMS- HETEROGENEOUS INTEGRATION OF MEMS AND CIRCUITS
CHIP-ON-MEMS- HETEROGENEOUS INTEGRATION OF MEMS AND CIRCUITS
New verified integration concept
VTI has verified a new heterogeneous integration concept for combining MEMS devices and integrated circuits: chip-on-MEMS or CoM. The concept is based on a combination of VTI's wafer level encapsulated 3D MEMS, wafer level packaging (WLP) technology and chip-on wafer technology. All these elements of CoM have existed for a few years. Combining them in an innovative way solves the tough packaging problem: how to combine cost efficiently MEMS with circuits.
The technology consists of steps of applying a redistribution and isolation layers on the MEMS wafer, dropping 300 micron solder balls, flip-chipping thinned ASICs and finally passivating the gap between the ASIC and MEMS by underfilling. The MEMS-wafer was probed so that only known good sites will be populated. After completion of the process the wafer will be diced and the final test performed when the dies are still on the dicing tape. Sensors will be also calibrated while still on the tape.
The first fully functional MEMS device based on CoM has a foot print of less than 4 mm2 and height 1 mm. The technology is now ready for product design and industrialization.
A new direction for system integration
The flip-chipped CoM is the first step on VTI's heterogeneous integration roadmap. It is a radical step away from the conventional packaging, which relies on integration on a carrier, either a pre-molded housing, a lead frame or a substrate. Eventually CoM will result in smaller size and lower cost than any carrier based packaging. All packaging will be just an extension of the processes of a wafer-fab.
CoM is not the first ever demonstration of wafer level combination of MEMS and circuits. But it solves many issues that are present with the earlier approaches. In CoM the MEMS-device and the ASIC are fully isolated in manufacturing: both can be 100% tested prior to combining. No area is wasted due to size mismatch. No area is wasted for the sealing between MEMS and the circuit.
The first implementation of CoM requires that the MEMS die is somewhat larger than the circuit and the I/O-count will be limited. After the flip-chipped CoM VTI will implement embedded CoM. Very thin dies will be embedded in polymer layers on the MEMS wafer. Interconnections between layers will be made by deposited metal films. Several circuits can be stacked. A real microsystem with MEMS and several circuits is possible. This is the technology for smart MEMS.
New verified integration concept
VTI has verified a new heterogeneous integration concept for combining MEMS devices and integrated circuits: chip-on-MEMS or CoM. The concept is based on a combination of VTI's wafer level encapsulated 3D MEMS, wafer level packaging (WLP) technology and chip-on wafer technology. All these elements of CoM have existed for a few years. Combining them in an innovative way solves the tough packaging problem: how to combine cost efficiently MEMS with circuits.
The technology consists of steps of applying a redistribution and isolation layers on the MEMS wafer, dropping 300 micron solder balls, flip-chipping thinned ASICs and finally passivating the gap between the ASIC and MEMS by underfilling. The MEMS-wafer was probed so that only known good sites will be populated. After completion of the process the wafer will be diced and the final test performed when the dies are still on the dicing tape. Sensors will be also calibrated while still on the tape.
The first fully functional MEMS device based on CoM has a foot print of less than 4 mm2 and height 1 mm. The technology is now ready for product design and industrialization.
A new direction for system integration
The flip-chipped CoM is the first step on VTI's heterogeneous integration roadmap. It is a radical step away from the conventional packaging, which relies on integration on a carrier, either a pre-molded housing, a lead frame or a substrate. Eventually CoM will result in smaller size and lower cost than any carrier based packaging. All packaging will be just an extension of the processes of a wafer-fab.
CoM is not the first ever demonstration of wafer level combination of MEMS and circuits. But it solves many issues that are present with the earlier approaches. In CoM the MEMS-device and the ASIC are fully isolated in manufacturing: both can be 100% tested prior to combining. No area is wasted due to size mismatch. No area is wasted for the sealing between MEMS and the circuit.
The first implementation of CoM requires that the MEMS die is somewhat larger than the circuit and the I/O-count will be limited. After the flip-chipped CoM VTI will implement embedded CoM. Very thin dies will be embedded in polymer layers on the MEMS wafer. Interconnections between layers will be made by deposited metal films. Several circuits can be stacked. A real microsystem with MEMS and several circuits is possible. This is the technology for smart MEMS.
Optical signals interact with MEMS
Optical signals interact with MEMS
R. Colin Johnson
EE Times (11/05/2007 3:40 PM EST)
--> -->PORTLAND, Ore. — Micro- and nanoscale mechanical structures have long been used to sculpt and channel optical signals, from waveguides to resonators, but lately the direction of influence has reversed.
Now optical signals are being used to manipulate these mechanical structures. Recently, researchers at both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge) and Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.) demonstrated new methods of using optical signals to control mechanical structures, at least one group of material scientists proposing to close the feedback loop.
The trend began many years ago with the invention of "optical tweezers" to manipulate living cells without damaging them. Now MIT engineers, professor Matthew Lang and doctoral candidate David Appleyard, have demonstrated next-generation technology: an optical tractor-beam that can manipulate both living cells and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) structures as large as 20 microns. "We've begun applying optics to building structures on chips," said Lang.
Separately, Cornell University professors Michal Lipson and David Erickson, along with their graduate students Bradley Schmidt and Allen Yang, report harnessing the evanescent field surrounding solid-core optical fibers to attract and propel micro- and nano-scale particles through microfluidic devices. Lipson, a pioneering researcher who manages a team of EEs conducting silicon photonics research, collaborated with mechanical engineer Erickson to characterize the velocities that can be achieved for various particle sizes, reporting that speeds of 28 microns per second were achieved for three-micron-diameter polystyrene spheres using about 54 milliwatts of optical power down the fiber.
Back at MIT, in a separate lab, EE professor Erich Ippen teamed with physics professor Marin Soljacic and their graduate students Milos Popovic and Peter Rakich, to unify the influence of optics-on-mechanical with mechanical-on-optics by closing the feedback loop between the two. The researchers have crafted a control theory detailing how feedback from mechanically coupled optical cavities can be used to dynamically tune their resonance.
"We hope to eventually demonstrate working MEMS devices that can perform all-optical functions not possible today, from switching to adaptive dispersion and filter synthesis for applications like optical clock recovery," said Popovic.
The team is now crafting MEMS membranes and cantilevers that can perform signal processing operations presently requiring expensive translation to electrical signals and back to optical, such as resonators that can track communications signals across their entire free spectral range of about 4.5 THz. -->
R. Colin Johnson
EE Times (11/05/2007 3:40 PM EST)
--> -->PORTLAND, Ore. — Micro- and nanoscale mechanical structures have long been used to sculpt and channel optical signals, from waveguides to resonators, but lately the direction of influence has reversed.
Now optical signals are being used to manipulate these mechanical structures. Recently, researchers at both the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge) and Cornell University (Ithaca, N.Y.) demonstrated new methods of using optical signals to control mechanical structures, at least one group of material scientists proposing to close the feedback loop.
The trend began many years ago with the invention of "optical tweezers" to manipulate living cells without damaging them. Now MIT engineers, professor Matthew Lang and doctoral candidate David Appleyard, have demonstrated next-generation technology: an optical tractor-beam that can manipulate both living cells and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) structures as large as 20 microns. "We've begun applying optics to building structures on chips," said Lang.
Separately, Cornell University professors Michal Lipson and David Erickson, along with their graduate students Bradley Schmidt and Allen Yang, report harnessing the evanescent field surrounding solid-core optical fibers to attract and propel micro- and nano-scale particles through microfluidic devices. Lipson, a pioneering researcher who manages a team of EEs conducting silicon photonics research, collaborated with mechanical engineer Erickson to characterize the velocities that can be achieved for various particle sizes, reporting that speeds of 28 microns per second were achieved for three-micron-diameter polystyrene spheres using about 54 milliwatts of optical power down the fiber.
Back at MIT, in a separate lab, EE professor Erich Ippen teamed with physics professor Marin Soljacic and their graduate students Milos Popovic and Peter Rakich, to unify the influence of optics-on-mechanical with mechanical-on-optics by closing the feedback loop between the two. The researchers have crafted a control theory detailing how feedback from mechanically coupled optical cavities can be used to dynamically tune their resonance.
"We hope to eventually demonstrate working MEMS devices that can perform all-optical functions not possible today, from switching to adaptive dispersion and filter synthesis for applications like optical clock recovery," said Popovic.
The team is now crafting MEMS membranes and cantilevers that can perform signal processing operations presently requiring expensive translation to electrical signals and back to optical, such as resonators that can track communications signals across their entire free spectral range of about 4.5 THz. -->
Electronics cooling, Power storage to Replace Batteries
Irvine Sensors'Phase 2 SBIR Awards Total $3.2 MillionPR Newswire (November 8, 2007)
COSTA MESA, Calif., Nov 08, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Irvine Sensors Corporation (Nasdaq: IRSN) announced today that it has received four Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research ("SBIR") awards over the past 5 months aggregating $3.2 million in contract value. These contracts were won in competition with other Phase 1 SBIR contractors for innovations in electronics cooling, power storage to replace batteries, ultra-miniature night vision viewers, and electronics anti-tamper devices. All of the awards are funded by various government units with identified defense applications for the respective technologies. However, one of the selection criteria for Phase 2 SBIR awards is the ability to also find commercial markets for the developed technology, and consistent with that aim, Irvine Sensors has identified and plans to pursue near-term commercialization opportunities.
Two of the recent SBIR Phase 2 awards involve development of Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems {"MEMS") devices. The most recent of these SBIR MEMS awards, received in October, addresses the key issue of heat dissipation, which has become an increasingly severe problem for both commercial and defense electronics as electronics chips have become faster and more powerful. Irvine Sensors has conceived and plans to develop a proprietary MEMS-based micro pump to drive cooling fluid through micro channels in the electronic devices at low pressure as opposed to high pressures associated with present solutions, which require correspondingly higher power.
A second MEMS SBIR Phase 2 award involves the development of a proprietary Irvine Sensors' answer to double A battery replacement, involving a novel, miniature combustion engine that uses butane or other easily available combustible liquids expected to provide higher energy for longer periods of time than lithium-ion technology. This technology is anticipated to have far- reaching applications if successfully developed and produced in volume.
A third recent SBIR Phase 2 award involves an extension of Irvine Sensors' proprietary infrared camera technology to further levels of miniaturization. The specific developmental goal for that contract is to exploit Irvine Sensors' high density 3D electronics technology and expertise to provide a several-fold size and weight reduction for night vision goggles and other viewers, which should make them much more comfortable to wear for both defense applications and such potential commercial applications as industrial security and fire fighting.
The fourth recent SBIR Phase 2 award was the one announced in August 2007 involving the development of a system to protect high value and sensitive electronics and software from piracy and reverse engineering. Keeping adversaries and competitors from reverse engineering information from electronics devices is rapidly becoming an industry-wide hot button for both military and commercial users.
All but the first of these SBIR contracts were included in the year-ending backlog announced on October 22, 2007.
Irvine Sensors Corporation (http://www.irvine-sensors.com), headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, is a vision systems company engaged in the development and sale of miniaturized infrared and electro-optical cameras, image processors and stacked chip assemblies, the manufacture and sale of optical systems and equipment for military applications through its Optex subsidiary and research and development related to high density electronics, miniaturized sensors, optical interconnection technology, high speed network security, image processing and low-power analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for diverse systems applications.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This message may contain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "thinks", "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will" and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, our expectations regarding our ability to successfully meet the developmental objectives of our recent SBIR Phase 2 awards and achieve broad commercialization of such technologies. Such statements speak only as of the date hereof and are subject to change. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.
Important factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, our ability to attract commercial sponsorship for any or all of the technologies we are developing under our SBIR Phase 2 awards; the impact of our working capital limitations on our ability to achieve the goals of our SBIR Phase 2 contracts: our ability to specify, develop, complete, introduce, market and manufacture new technologies and products in a cost-effective and timely manner; evolving technology and industry standards, and our ability to achieve broad market acceptance of products incorporating our technologies; adapt to and integrate any necessary changes in our planned development and commercialization activities to comply with such new technologies or standards; the availability and pricing of competing technologies and products and other competitive pressures; the effects of international conflicts, natural disasters, public health emergencies and other events beyond our control; and the general economic downturn, and potential impact of other economic and political conditions and specific conditions that may impact our operations. Further information on Irvine Sensors Corporation, including additional risk factors that may affect our forward looking statements, is contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10- Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and our other SEC filings that are available through the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov).
SOURCE Irvine Sensors Corporation
URL: http://www.irvine-sensors.com www.prnewswire.com
Copyright (C) 2007 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
COSTA MESA, Calif., Nov 08, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ -- Irvine Sensors Corporation (Nasdaq: IRSN) announced today that it has received four Phase 2 Small Business Innovation Research ("SBIR") awards over the past 5 months aggregating $3.2 million in contract value. These contracts were won in competition with other Phase 1 SBIR contractors for innovations in electronics cooling, power storage to replace batteries, ultra-miniature night vision viewers, and electronics anti-tamper devices. All of the awards are funded by various government units with identified defense applications for the respective technologies. However, one of the selection criteria for Phase 2 SBIR awards is the ability to also find commercial markets for the developed technology, and consistent with that aim, Irvine Sensors has identified and plans to pursue near-term commercialization opportunities.
Two of the recent SBIR Phase 2 awards involve development of Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems {"MEMS") devices. The most recent of these SBIR MEMS awards, received in October, addresses the key issue of heat dissipation, which has become an increasingly severe problem for both commercial and defense electronics as electronics chips have become faster and more powerful. Irvine Sensors has conceived and plans to develop a proprietary MEMS-based micro pump to drive cooling fluid through micro channels in the electronic devices at low pressure as opposed to high pressures associated with present solutions, which require correspondingly higher power.
A second MEMS SBIR Phase 2 award involves the development of a proprietary Irvine Sensors' answer to double A battery replacement, involving a novel, miniature combustion engine that uses butane or other easily available combustible liquids expected to provide higher energy for longer periods of time than lithium-ion technology. This technology is anticipated to have far- reaching applications if successfully developed and produced in volume.
A third recent SBIR Phase 2 award involves an extension of Irvine Sensors' proprietary infrared camera technology to further levels of miniaturization. The specific developmental goal for that contract is to exploit Irvine Sensors' high density 3D electronics technology and expertise to provide a several-fold size and weight reduction for night vision goggles and other viewers, which should make them much more comfortable to wear for both defense applications and such potential commercial applications as industrial security and fire fighting.
The fourth recent SBIR Phase 2 award was the one announced in August 2007 involving the development of a system to protect high value and sensitive electronics and software from piracy and reverse engineering. Keeping adversaries and competitors from reverse engineering information from electronics devices is rapidly becoming an industry-wide hot button for both military and commercial users.
All but the first of these SBIR contracts were included in the year-ending backlog announced on October 22, 2007.
Irvine Sensors Corporation (http://www.irvine-sensors.com), headquartered in Costa Mesa, California, is a vision systems company engaged in the development and sale of miniaturized infrared and electro-optical cameras, image processors and stacked chip assemblies, the manufacture and sale of optical systems and equipment for military applications through its Optex subsidiary and research and development related to high density electronics, miniaturized sensors, optical interconnection technology, high speed network security, image processing and low-power analog and mixed-signal integrated circuits for diverse systems applications.
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This message may contain forward-looking statements based on our current expectations, estimates and projections about our industry, management's beliefs, and certain assumptions made by us. Words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "thinks", "seeks," "estimates," "may," "will" and variations of these words or similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These statements include, but are not limited to, our expectations regarding our ability to successfully meet the developmental objectives of our recent SBIR Phase 2 awards and achieve broad commercialization of such technologies. Such statements speak only as of the date hereof and are subject to change. We undertake no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, our actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements as a result of various factors.
Important factors that may cause such a difference include, but are not limited to, our ability to attract commercial sponsorship for any or all of the technologies we are developing under our SBIR Phase 2 awards; the impact of our working capital limitations on our ability to achieve the goals of our SBIR Phase 2 contracts: our ability to specify, develop, complete, introduce, market and manufacture new technologies and products in a cost-effective and timely manner; evolving technology and industry standards, and our ability to achieve broad market acceptance of products incorporating our technologies; adapt to and integrate any necessary changes in our planned development and commercialization activities to comply with such new technologies or standards; the availability and pricing of competing technologies and products and other competitive pressures; the effects of international conflicts, natural disasters, public health emergencies and other events beyond our control; and the general economic downturn, and potential impact of other economic and political conditions and specific conditions that may impact our operations. Further information on Irvine Sensors Corporation, including additional risk factors that may affect our forward looking statements, is contained in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, our Quarterly Reports on Form 10- Q, our Current Reports on Form 8-K and our other SEC filings that are available through the SEC's website (http://www.sec.gov).
SOURCE Irvine Sensors Corporation
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