MEMS, Microfluidics and Microsystems Executive Review

RF MEMS phase shifters

We recently spoke with Dr. Koen Van Caekenberghe, author of several articles on RF MEMS technology for radar sensors, about RF MEMS phase shifters. Koen shares his thoughts on the small but growing RF MEMS phase shifter market including applications, market developments, pricing and vendors of RF MEMS phase shifters as well as alternative technologies.

The radar sensor market has a global turnover of about $6.25 billion annually according to Defense Industry Daily.  In Koen's opinion, approximately 50% of the budget is spent on airborne, ground-based, and naval AESA radar sensors, and approximately 25% of the budget is spent on mechanically scanned radar sensors -- and during the next decade, 20% of the mechanically scanned radar sensors might be replaced by PESA radar sensors based on RF MEMS shifters, resulting in a potential global market of $300 million annually.

MEMS based valves for flow control

We recently spoke with Sandeep Kumar, president and CEO of Microstaq.  The company was founded in 2000 to commercialize MEMS based valve components for industrial, residential, commercial, medical, and transportation applications, an overall $5 billion market, with an average price of $25 per component.

Utilizing a combination of its own and licensed technology, Microstaq has developed a silicon control valve based on MEMS processes to produce three-dimensional mechanical devices in silicon where fluids pass through and are controlled by the micromachined silicon features. 

Compared to incumbent mechanical flow-control devices used, for example, in a heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) applications, Microstaq’s valves can be as much as 30% smaller and 35% lighter in weight while improving system efficiency by 10-15%.

Applying MEMS technology to intelligent medicine

We recently spoke with Dr. George Savage, chief medical officer at Proteus Biomedical.  The company raised $32 million in VC funding last year and is applying semiconductor and MEMS technologies to ingestible and implantable devices and pharmaceuticals with the initial focus on increasing the efficacy of treatments for heart failure.

Almost a million patients are hospitalized in the US each year for the failure of the heart to maintain adequate circulation because of various stresses upon it.  Heart failure is the single largest expense for hospitalizations in the United States, costing $30 billion per year.

Microfabricated diamond probes for atomic force microscopes

We recently spoke with Dr. Nicolaie “Mike” Moldovan, MEMS Lead Scientist at Advanced Diamond Technologies, about the company's microfabricated AFM diamond probes. These probes are based on discoveries at Argonne National Laboratory that resulted in a new form of diamond film called ultrananocrystalline diamond produced by chemical vapor deposition.

According to Dr. Moldovan, the company's process results in probes far superior in performance to those fabricated from silicon nitride, and at a price that is much more affordable than traditional diamond AFM probes with individually mounted and sharpened tips that can be priced as high as hundreds or thousands of dollars.

The annual market for AFM probes is estimated to be $50 million and the growth rate is healthy due to the proliferation of AFMs in biology, chemistry, mechanics and physics research labs as well as in industries such as semiconductor chip manufacturing. 

Applying MEMS technology to the diagnosis of glaucoma

We recently spoke with Jean-Marc Wismer, CEO of Sensimed AG, a Swiss company with its principal focus on the design, development and commercialization of integrated microsystems for medical devices. The company's first product is a non-invasive solution for continuous monitoring of intra-ocular pressure (IOP) to aid the diagnosis and treatment of glaucoma. It is expected to complement existing devices that enable ophthalmologists to perform single pressure measurement snapshots on IOP but fail to capture "around-the-clock" dynamic behavior necessary for accurate diagnosis. 

Glaucoma is a disease that leads to blindness unless adequate lifetime treatment is initiated early on. According to Mr. Wismer, there are 67 million people with glaucoma, including nearly 7 million each in the US and Europe. This number is expected to increase to 80-100 million by 2020.  Glaucoma is the second cause of blindness after cataract.

MEMS application for treating cardiac rhythm disorder

We recently spoke with Eric Le Royer, CEO of Geneva-based Endosense, about how his company applied MEMS technology to the development of a new catheter to improve the procedures for treating atrial fibrillation. According to Mr. Le Royer, atrial fibrillation is today’s most prevalent cardiac rhythm disorder and is estimated to affect more than 6 million people worldwide. Of these, approximately 2.6 million cases have been treated by three types of therapy – 2.5 million with drugs, 60,000 with surgery and 70,000 with conventional catheter ablation. The catheter market for treating atrial cardiac disorder is expected to grow from $500 million today at a rate of 20% per annum and reach $1.25 billion in 2015.

MEMS technology for micro projection modules

We recently spoke with Marco Boella, CEO and Dr. Nicolas Abelé, CTO of Lemoptix, based near Lausanne, Switzerland, about their work to integrate high-resolution MEMS-based micro projection technology into information display systems, mobile phones and other applications.  According to Lemoptix, the largest market will be in embedded applications in mobile devices, such as mobile phones, laptops, digital still cameras and gaming.  The micro projection market is estimated to be worth $2 billion by 2012.

MEMS and semiconductors IP strategies

We recently spoke with Marius Domokos, an IP attorney specializing in strategic counseling for technology companies, who also worked as an in-house IP attorney for KLA-Tencor and Intel. Here Marius shares some thoughts on how the MEMS industry should approach IP protection. 

Fabless MEMS Operations: Strategies and Tactics

We recently spoke with Dr. Raj Gupta, a consultant in MEMS and silicon sensors, about his experiences with fabless MEMS operations.   Specifically, we discussed the transition process from prototype to volume production, the associated costs and challenges, as well as his specific experiences with some major MEMS foundries.

Special Event: MEMS Testing and Reliability Workshop

Co-produced by MEMS Investor Journal and MEPTEC

MEMS testing and reliability assurance are some of the most critical processes to ensure high yields and profitability.  According to recent studies, the total world MEMS test equipment market generated revenues of $50-$60 million in 2007, at a growth rate of approximately 10 percent.  While MEMS testing is similar to chip testing in the semiconductors industry, MEMS devices present further challenges because mechanical, chemical and optical parameters must be tested in addition to electrical properties.  MEMS foundries and even fabless MEMS companies need to ensure that they have in-house expertise in MEMS testing and reliability.  This workshop will enable your organization to stay current with the latest MEMS testing and reliability trends and therefore decrease waste while increasing yields and profitability.

MEMS Industry Challenges and Trends

We recently spoke with Karen Lightman, the Managing Director of MEMS Industry Group about her views on the current activities in the MEMS industry as well as latest developments in her organization.

The year of the 8-inch MEMS fab

by Jérémie Bouchaud, Wicht Technologie Consulting

Eight-inch MEMS fabs are hardly anything new. In revenue terms, a major part of the MEMS market has been processed on 8-inch lines since 2001, when Texas Instruments moved to 200 mm production. For many years, though, TI was the only significant manufacturer and the opportunity for equipment and wafer suppliers was limited.  Since 2005, a handful of companies have joined the 8-inch group; these are Hewlett Packard, STMicroelectronics, EPCOS and foundries Dalsa, DNP and tMt.  And indeed WTC estimates that in 2006 around 16% of the revenue generated by the MEMS market was produced from activity on 8-inch lines.

So what will the future bring? WTC believes that 2008 will be a transition year and expects the 8-inch revenue share of the MEMS market to more than double from $1.4 billion this year to $3.5 billion in 2011. This represents a growth of 16% to 31% in the same time. The revenue growth will accelerate in 2009 and 2010 as a number of new 8-inch MEMS fabs become operational.

Fundraising for MEMS and semiconductor startups

Many successful startup companies need funding to succeed.  We recently spoke with Jeff Hilbert, EVP of Development and co-founder of WiSpry, about his experiences with the fundraising process and commercialization of MEMS technologies.  Mr. Hilbert has raised over $54 million in venture capital and debt financing to fund two of his semiconductor startups and has authored a chapter in a recently published book Semiconductor Venture Capital Best Practices.

MEMS technology to boost storage density

Flash memory chips are predicted to begin slowing down their bit density growth in the next few years due to lithography related constraints.  Nanochip is one of the startup companies which is working to get around these limitations.   The company is developing a new class of ultra-high-capacity storage chips based on MEMS technology.  Nanochip’s technology will enable the storage of tens of gigabytes of data per chip, the equivalent of many high-definition feature-length videos, at a substantially lower cost than today’s flash memory solutions.

The company reported last week that it raised a $14 million financing round led by Intel Capital.  This new financing round will allow the company to complete development of its first prototypes later this year to support design verification testing and limited customer sampling in 2009.  We spoke with Nanochip’s CEO Dr. Gordon Knight.

RF MEMS switches deliver on early promise

by Jérémie Bouchaud and Bernardo Knoblich, Wicht Technologie Consulting

Few MEMS components have created so much excitement, and then such disappointment in so short a time. Is this component finally in production? Will there be an interesting market? And for whom? We have been following RF MEMS switches since 2000 and have just updated our technical and market analysis. Although the market was just $6 million last year, it will increase to $210 million in 2011.