A radical SOI-based approach puts  SiTime at the top of the fast-growing silicon-based timing market. SiTime, an analog semiconductor company, is revolutionizing the timing components industry with silicon MEMS timing solutions that replace legacy quartz products. SiTime offers oscillators (XO, SPXO), voltage-controlled oscillators (VCXO), temperature compensated oscillators (TCXO), and multi-PLL, multi-output clock generators. All these …

Transferring a processed (or partially processed) layer of circuits from one wafer onto another enables innovative new solutions for BSI, MEMS, RF, 3D and more. Smart Stacking™ is Soitec’s wafer-to-wafer stacking technology platform for partially or fully processed wafers (see Figure 1). It enables the transfer of very thin processed layers in a high-volume production …

A new Yole report highlights growth of SOI MEM S. Although MEMS technologies are not driven by CD shrinking as ICs, that does not mean MEMS do not undergo strong technological evolutions. The ever-growing MEMS markets, today mostly driven by consumer applications, now have to be performance-driven, cost-driven and size driven. SOI wafers are a …

All of VTI Technologies’ MEMS products are based on SOI wafers. The company’s CMA 3000 multi-axis accelerometer is the “stride sensor chip” in the miCoach real-time training system launched by adidas and Samsung last year.  (Courtesy: VTI Technologies, adidas and Samsung)

Micralyne’s robust, standardized fabrication process reduces time-to-market. One key issue companies face is time-to-market — how long it takes to move a MEMS-based product from an idea to generating revenues. Micragem™ is an SOI-based MEMS fabrication process with a set of design and process guidelines used to prototype and manufacture different types of MEMS components …

An IBM-Zurich team including Nobel laureates has extended the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) concept to data storage. IBM group manager and probe storage team member Michel Despont explains. While today’s magnetic data storage techniques are reaching some impressive levels, at some point in the not too distant future they will hit the physical limits of …

www.tronics-mst.com www.elamedical.com A European leader in pacemakers relies on SOI based accelerometers to adapt pacing to activity level. On the leading edge of medical technology, accelerometers that detect a person’s activity level are enabling major improvements in pacemakers and other cardiac devices. Pacemakers are used when the heart beats at incorrect levels; but of course, …

While microelectronics relies on SOI for its insulating layer, SOI-MEMS benefits from the single crystal silicon of the top layer and substrate. A good example is the latest product from TRONIC’S Microsystems, a French manufacturer of high-end custom components. The geophone, a seismic vibration sensor manufactured for Sercel (the world leader in oil exploration equipment), …