Foundry manufacturing for MEMS devices

Fairchild Semiconductor has licensed and successfully transferred processing technology to manufacture microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Fairchild Semiconductor has licensed and successfully transferred processing technology to manufacture microelectromechanical systems (MEMS).

Fairchild is the only electronics company to offer the Sandia National Laboratories SUMMiT (Sandia Ultra planar Multilevel MEMS Technology) IV technology, the world's most capable micromachining process, to third parties and for new product development at Fairchild.

MEMS devices are used in a broad range of applications for the telecommunications and consumer markets.

MEMS devices are extremely small machines and are used as sensors or actuators.

To manufacture these devices successfully can be a challenge and the patented SUMMiT IV process enables higher performing products due to tight control over film stress and device topography.

"Offering MEMS manufacturing with the SUMMiT IV technology to third parties affords us a new growth opportunity", said Rick Nasar, Fairchild's director of foundry sales.

"We're pleased to be licensed by Sandia as currently the only company to offer this technology for foundry manufacturing".

"The MEMS market is expected to grow to $7 billion by the end of 2004", said WT Greer, Fairchild's senior vice president and general manager, Interface and Logic Group.

"MEMS devices are in demand for applications that range from automobiles and aerospace to biomedical, navigation and cell phones.

Utilising the SUMMiT IV process technology will enable Fairchild to develop RF and optical MEMS devices".

The SUMMiT IV technology is well recognised as the leading micromachining process for MEMS devices.

"Network Photonics has worked with Sandia's SUMMiT IV technology and found the process to be a stable, well-characterised, platform for producing MEMS-based optical switching solutions", said Andy Goldstein, vice president of engineering for Network Photonics.

"This process meets the high levels of reliability and performance Network Photonics requires for its customers".

Fairchild is already in volume production of MEMS devices at its 6in wafer facility in South Portland.

"We are pleased to see a company of Fairchild's stature become a provider of our SUMMiT IV technology", said Jay Jakubczak, Sandia deputy director for Defense Programs Microsystems Application.

"It has been a goal of our MEMS effort to make our technology available for broad commercial applications and the relationship with Fairchild is an important step in achieving that goal".

Sandia has been providing access to the SUMMiT Technology through its SAMPLES prototyping programme that supports small quantities of MEMS devices.

Making the SUMMiT processing technology available through Fairchild significantly increases the volume of MEMS devices that can be manufactured.

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