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Editor's outlook on this week's focus topic, MEMS, CMOS timing |
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Other perspectives on MEMS, CMOS timing |
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This issue's news highlights |
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Upcoming events |
Editor's outlook on MEMS, CMOS timing
Discera’s announcement yesterday about availability of its MEMS resonator products through Digi-Key is a milestone not only for the company, but also for MEMS oscillator technology. And it’s an important step for microsystems in general. Digi-Key is a leading electronics distributor that design engineers routinely turn to when seeking components, and the company’s president prepared a statement for Discera’s press release that refers to MEMS frequency-generation devices as “highly sought after and much anticipated…a proven and scalable silicon alternative to quartz that will give [customers] a competitive edge.” Indeed, Discera VP Venkat Bahl told Small Times that Discera’s products -- which are branded by its OEM partner Abracon -- are the lowest-price oscillators available through Digi-Key. And, Bahl added, the product training manual available at Digi-Key demonstrates that the technology is more reliable than the decades-old standard bearer -- quartz.
Those pricing and reliability advances are key. “MEMS technology often piques engineers’ curiosity and gets you in the door,” but ultimately, the sale is made only when the product delivers the right functionality at the right price, Bahl noted. He said Discera has worked hard over the past year to reduce manufacturing costs. Meanwhile foundries such as SVTC and IMT emphasize reliability testing as part of their offerings.
Discera’s announcement nearly coincided with that of Mobius Microsystems, which offers an all-CMOS timing device that promises superior pricing and size, as well as simplicity for CMOS integration. Mobius' Tunc Cenger told Small Times that electronics designers have long considered that an all-CMOS resonator would be the best possible solution for timing-reference needs, but it wasn't clear whether such a device was actually feasible.
Clearly Mobius’ technology has a long way to go (the first product evaluation boards will be available in May 2008, with production quantities coming available in Q3 2008). And while MEMS technology offers much tighter tolerances and is therefore necessary for applications needing superior accuracy, Mobius' targeted applications, including USB devices, have less stringent requirements and represent a large market.
According to Discera’s Bahl, Mobius has “great technology” and the company “will do well because it’s a big, fragmented market now.” But which technology will win long term? Stay tuned.
In any case, the announcements show great progress and promise for small tech. Accelerometer adoption has taken off and will continue, but accelerometers have a more limited application potential than timing devices, which are central to all electronics. This may be the “killer app” microsystems designers have been seeking.
Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated. Drop us a note at the address below.
Peter Singer
Editor in Chief, Small Times
psinger@pennwell.com
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Other perspectives on MEMS, CMOS timing
MEMS timing taking off, says WTC
MEMS-based oscillators are at last beginning to leave the shelves in quantity, says German technology analyst firm Wicht Technologie Consulting (WTC), which was recently acquired by market-research rival iSuppli.
More...
ABI forecasts "Everest climb" for MEMS timing devices
A report on the timing devices market and MEMS developers' efforts to unseat decades-old quartz technology says the upstarts face an uphill battle.
More...
Europractice IC service expands to MEMS prototyping
Tronics Microsystems SA, a manufacturer of custom MEMS components for demanding applications, and IMEC, representing Europractice IC Service, announced their collaboration to enable Europractice IC Service to add MEMS to its Multi-Project Wafer (MPW) programs....
More...
Binghamton University opens microelectronics manufacturing center
Binghamton University inaugurated its Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM) facility this week. A collaborative effort by Binghamton University, Endicott Interconnect Technologies, and Cornell University, the CAMM plans to pioneer microelectronics manufacturing research and development in a roll-to-roll (R2R) format...
More...
U of Michigan MEMS/nano facility gets $40m upgrade
The former Michigan Nanofabrication Facility and Solid State Electronics Laboratory is now the University of Michigan's Robert H. Lurie Nanofabrication Facility -- and it sports a 37,500 square-foot addition. About $20 million in new nanotechnology and MEMS/microsystems R&D equipment will be added...
More...
Angstron claims new nano-graphene platelets outperform other nanomaterials
Angstron Materials LLC says it is the first to offer large quantities of single-atom-thick nano-graphene platelets (NGPs), which the company says have thermal conductivity 5x that of copper, and surface area 2x that of carbon nanotubes.
More...
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This issue's news highlights
More daily news from this issueNanoBusiness 2008
May 4-6
New York
http://www.nanobusiness.org/
Cross Industry Issues for Nanomanufacturing Workshop
May 20-22
Gaithersburg, MD
betsy_davies@afandpa.org
Circa 2008
May 19-21
Albany, NY
http://www.circa-albany.com
Rapid Fielding of Innovation
May 28-30
Savannah, GA
Phone: 404-310-2634
info@nationalnano.org
http://nationalnano.org/Events/tabid/179/Default.aspx
NSTI Nanotech 2008
June 1-5
Boston, MA
http://www.nsti.org/Nanotech2008/
ICCE - Integration and Commercialization of Micro and Nanosystems International Conference & Exhibition
June 3-5
Hong Kong
http://www.asmeconferences.org/MicroNano08
Environmental, Health, and Safety Issues in Nanomaterials Workshop
June 9-10
Crystal City, VA
http://www.ceramics.org/ehsworkshop
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