Endless Possibilities of MEMS — Viewpoint from a MEMS Foundry
Release Date：04 December 2012 | Data Source：
The IC design industry is based on cooperation with professional semiconductor foundry companies. We believe that the same model can be applied to the MEMS industry as well. Playing the role of the professional MEMS foundries will help MEMS design houses accomplish their ideas and commercialize MEMS devices and products
Just like the semiconductor industry once turned from IDM to wafer foundries, the micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) industry is now facing the controversy of the relative merits of IDM or wafer foundry model. SEMI Taiwan interviewed Dr. Yu Hsian Tsai, president and CEO of Asia Pacific Microsystems, Inc. (APM), one of the leading MEMS wafer foundries in the world. Tsai stated, "The IC design industry is based on cooperation with professional semiconductor foundry companies. We believe that the same model can be applied to the MEMS industry as well. Playing the role of the professional MEMS foundries will help MEMS design houses accomplish their ideas and commercialize MEMS devices and products."
MEMS applications are wide and diverse. Tsai shared new MEMS applications that integrate the MEMS Micro Scanning Mirror (MSM) in the mobile phone with an RGB light laser which gives the phone a pico-projector function. Consumers can then use the mobile phone as a projector anywhere. "An innovative function like this may completely define a new generation of mobile phones," Tsai said, adding "Application of accelerometers for the smart phone market is already matured and highly competitive with numerous players. For new MEMS device designers, there is no profit for such a saturated market."
(Detailed information please refer to SEMI Website)
