MEMS, Microfluidics and Microsystems Executive Review

MEMS applications for treatment of nervous system disorders

by Paul Pyzowski, Guest Contributor

I had recently written an article here on the use of MEMS in neuroscience research applications, and Colin Johnson penned a separate article on how MEMS are enabling systems to restore sight for the blind.  This article focuses on the increasing use of MEMS for treating diseases and injuries of the central nervous system (brain and spine), including paralysis, Parkinson’s disease, and drug-resistant depression.

As background, according to Zack Lynch at the Neurotech Industry Organization, medical devices for treatment of nervous system disorders is a $7 billion market.  Although small compared to the $120 billion market for neuropharmaceuticals, the neuro-device market is growing at 15% per year and is considered a real growth market, albeit one with considerable investment requirements and considerable risk.

MEMS turning mobile devices into a worldwide sensor network

by R. Colin Johnson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

U.S. Department of Homeland Security has been exploring ways to deploy sensors nationwide by riding on the existing infrastructure, such utility poles, street lights, traffic signals and government weather stations, all of which have been proposed as recipients of a nationwide deployment of MEMS sensors.  The massive funding required for such a nationwide deployment has not materialized, and yet millions of MEMS sensors are being deployed in a worldwide wireless network – namely, inside laptop computers and smartphones.

MEMS market to propel toward double-digit growth in 2010

Powered by the seemingly recession-proof performance of the mobile phone and consumer electronics segments, the market for MEMS sensors is set to return to growth in 2010 after two straight years of decline, according to iSuppli Corp.  Approaching a point close to the historical peak of 2007, MEMS revenue this year is projected to reach $6.54 billion, up 11.1 percent from $5.88 billion last year.  The double-digit expansion predicted for 2010 compares to a decline of 6.8 percent posted in 2009, on top of a 3.6 percent contraction in 2008, iSuppli figures show. The market is predicted to expand through 2014, by when it is projected to grow by another $3.3 billion to hit $9.8 billion -- equivalent to an annual growth rate of 10.7 percent throughout the 2009-2014 period.

MEMS microbots harness insect “know-how”

by R. Colin Johnson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

Microbots based on MEMS have long been sought to collect environmental samples, to search for survivors in collapsed buildings and for other reconnaissance style missions that are ill-suited for people.  Although decades in the making, one major “hang-up” for fully autonomous operation of such microbots remains – a locomotion source.  The tiny mechanisms and electrical circuitry are relatively easy to cast, but currently there are no reliable locomotion sources on such a small scale.

MOEMS actuator moves FTIR spectrometers from lab to the field

by John Williamson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

Conventional FTIR spectrometers are characterized as bulky and sensitive to vibration and mechanical shock.  This sensitivity causes spectrometer mirror plates to come out of adjustment thereby rendering the instrument to be unusable until it is readjusted.  These weaknesses confine spectrometer application to laboratories with operation and readjustment performed by highly trained personnel.

RF MEMS switches are reliable: a comprehensive technology overview

by John Maciel, Ph.D.
Chief Operating Officer, Radant MEMS, Inc.

MEMS switches have been in development for over 20 years at numerous industrial, academic and government research laboratories.  Low insertion loss, high isolation, low power consumption, extreme linearity and the ability to be integrated with other electronics make MEMS switches an attractive alternative to other mechanical and solid-state switches.  This seemingly simple device has been fraught with reliability and packaging issues that have prevented commercial success – that is, until now.  Improvements in reliability and MEMS packaging have occurred at a rapid pace over the past 5 to 10 years.  The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has contributed significantly to the funding of these efforts as they look to apply this technology to future U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) programs.

MEMS restoring sight to the blind

by R. Colin Johnson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

Over a decade has passed since hope was raised worldwide that MEMS could make blindness a curable condition.  Now the long wait is finally over, with all the necessary tests and clinical trials clearing the final hurdles.  Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the final clinical trials for the Argus II retina developed by the Department of Energy's (DoE)  Artificial Retina Project, based on the pioneering work of Mark Humayun at the Doheny Eye Institute of the University of Southern California and Second Sight Medical Products, Inc.  Also this month, a second and simpler implant, called the "Implantable Telescope" by its maker, VisionCare Corp., received final FDA approval, making millions of legally blind worldwide eligible for the sight-restoring implant.

Groups partner on TSV process development for 3D MEMS and IC integration

EV Group (EVG), a supplier of wafer bonding equipment for the MEMS, nanotechnology and semiconductor markets, and the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), announced that they have entered into a two-year cooperation agreement to advance 3D IC integration technologies.  By minimizing interconnect length, 3D IC integration offers more flexibility in the designs and can operate at higher clock rates and consume less power.  The development in 3D IC also significantly simplifies chip-to-chip communications and the data transfer among the processing elements, enabling faster signal and data throughput so that high-frequency and high-transfer rates can be achieved.

MEMS industry overview: the past, the present and the future

As the MEMS marketplace continues to evolve at a rapid pace, many new and exciting trends are taking shape.  To provide some perspective, we recently spoke with Dr. Kurt Petersen, a MEMS industry veteran and highly successful entrepreneur who founded such companies as NovaSensor, Cepheid and SiTime.  In this detailed interview, Dr. Petersen provides unique insights on the main current trends in the MEMS marketplace, venture capital, most promising MEMS startups as well as potential future “killer apps” for MEMS and energy harvesting technologies.

MEMS gyro maker InvenSense files for IPO

After raising a total of $38 million in venture capital funding since the company’s founding in 2004, MEMS gyro maker InvenSense has filed for IPO this week.  The company’s main focus has been MEMS gyro sensors for consumer application segments such as console and portable video gaming devices, digital television and set-top box remote controls, handset and tablet devices, remote controlled toys and other household consumer and industrial devices.

InvenSense is reporting that it has shipped over 60 million units of their products.  The company’s net revenue was $7.8 million, $29.0 million and $79.6 million for fiscal years 2008, 2009 and 2010, respectively.  For fiscal year 2010, net income was $15.1 million and net cash provided by operating activities was $20.2 million.

MEMS for neuroscience research applications

by Paul Pyzowski, Guest Contributor

Most articles on MEMS related topics tend to cover large markets in automotive and consumer electronics, not the treatment of debilitating illnesses of the nervous system.  But even though the market for neurological applications today is small, MEMS and microfabrication technologies are helping neuroscience researchers in their quest to understand the workings of the brain, advancing knowledge in one of the most exciting fields of scientific endeavor today.  And what is more exciting, MEMS technologies are already being deployed in medical devices to treat injuries and diseases of the nervous system, with several products already in human clinical trials and more expected within the next twelve months.  Some of these products, quite literally, have neurosurgeons surgically implanting “MEMS on the brain”.

iPhone 4 carries bill of materials of $187.51, according to iSuppli

The iPhone 4’s design may be radically different -- but the strategy remains the same, with the latest member of the product line carrying a bill of materials (BOM) that should continue to generate high profit margins for Apple Inc., according to iSuppli.  The 16Gbyte version of the iPhone 4 carries a BOM of $187.51, based on a preliminary cost estimate derived from a physical teardown of the product.

Microstaq aims microfluidics at HVAC

by R. Colin Johnson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

Heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC/R) today use bulky solenoid-controlled valves to manage the flow of refrigerants.  But Microstaq claims its MEMS based silicon expansion valve (SEV) is smaller and more accurate than both conventional valves including the most advanced pulse motor valves (PMVs) and thermostatic expansion valves (TXVs).

MEMS automotive sensors to recover in 2010

Following its toughest year in recent memory, the market for MEMS automotive sensors will rebound sharply in 2010, but continued high sales might lead to an overheated market that could push the industry back into depression, according to new research from iSuppli Corp.  Global shipments of automotive MEMS sensors are projected to reach 591.2 million units in 2010, up a resounding 17.8 percent from 502.0 million.

Military enlists microfluidic hospital on-a-chip

by R. Colin Johnson
Contributing Editor, MEMS Investor Journal

The aim of a $1.6 million Office of Naval Research program is to create a microfluidic hospital on-a-chip by 2012 that can be deployed on the battlefield to monitor a soldier's injuries and administer medications.  Today injured soldiers are left where they lie -- after being shot, stunned or made victims of shrapnel wounds -- until "hot zones" cool off enough for medics to reach them.  But if each solider wore a hospital on-a-chip as a part of their standard-issue gear, then their condition could be assessed with microfluidic devices that harness MEMS techniques to diagnose and administer appropriate drugs to stabilize the injured soldiers’ condition until medics can reach them.