GLOBALFOUNDRIES, IME to Co-develop MEMS Platform Technology

Strong demand for sensors and actuators from the consumer electronics industry, particularly in the mobile phone segment, is fueling demand for microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices, according to market analyst iSuppli Corp. The research firm forecasts that the global MEMS industry will have a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10.7 percent during the period of 2009 to 2014.

In line with this, semiconductor foundry GLOBALFOUNDRIES is collaborating with the Institute of Microelectronics (IME), a research institute of Singapore’s Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), to develop MEMS capacitive sensor platform technology for power-efficient and highly sensitive motion sensing applications targeted at the consumer electronics, automotive and aerospace industries.

GLOBALFOUNDRIES, a founding member of the A*STAR MEMS Consortium, will provide its expertise in preliminary platform design specifications and process flow. IME, on its part, will focus on developing a modular and scalable capacitive sensor technology platform, standardizing on its MEMS fabrication facilities and tools.

According to iSuppli, the real engine of the MEMS market will be consumer electronics and mobile handset applications, which will have combined revenues of about $3.2 billion in 2014—accounting for about a third of the global MEMS market by that time. Another fast-growing area for the MEMS market will be the industrial sector, comprising process control and automation, instrumentation and energy, iSuppli reported. The research firm forecasts the industrial market to grow at a CAGR of 18.1 percent from 2009 to 2014, reaching a market size of $1.2 billion in 2014.

Institute of Microelectronics

Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR)

GLOBALFOUNDRIES