Fabless MEMS

By Michael Orshan

Are we really in a globalized market? As I was looking for news items to post on nano and microsystems, I saw a trend. The trend has been very popular for software, call centers, and many services. This is moving key components of ones business to different areas of the world. I question whether nanotech, MEMS and other advanced technology is ready for this.

I understand that the growing trend in semiconductors is fabless chip design houses. The design gets done, the design is sent to a fab and the fab creates a run of chips not knowing exactly what the chip does. This allows high end items with short chip runs to be satisfied. Military, prototype, and high priced applications all fit in this model. So do high volume runs fit this model as functionality becomes more and more customized per order. Areas such as Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan and China are doing quite well with this model.

However, I am now seeing this with MEMS. Can you just take a design and move it to a fab? What security do you need with the fab? What quality controls? What insurance that your design will not be stolen? Certainly the fab will need to know more than the knowledge being passed in the semiconductor world.

I’d like to hear your comments on this. I think if we can get to the semiconductor model, we will be able to lower costs and create high global productivity Maybe global rules need to be decided upon.