Monthly Archives: February 2012

Coventor showcases MEMS design advances at IEEE MEMS 2012

Posted in: Coventor Blog by Marketing | Comments Off Friday, February 17, 2012

Coventor had its latest MEMS design solutions on display at the recent IEEE MEMS 2012 conference in Paris. The annual gathering of MEMS experts attracted more than 700 attendees from around the world, who came to see and hear about important developments in MEMS design and implementation. Of particular interest among attendees were design, simulation and analysis tools, electro-mechanical integration techniques, assembly and packaging approaches, and fabrication technologies.

Coventor at MEMS 2012

Coventor presents at MEMS 2012

Coventor was well-positioned with demonstrations of its newest products, including the just released CoventorWare 2012, which brings even greater levels of productivity and efficiency to the MEMS modeling, design and analysis process. Also of interest was the MEMS+ solution, which targets developers looking to integrate MEMS with traditional IC and system level design methodologies, using tight links to popular design environments from Cadence and The MathWorks.

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Analog Devices Sets High-Performance Benchmark With The Industry’s Lowest-Noise MEMS Microphone

Posted in: MEMS Products by Marketing | Comments Off Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Analog Devices, Inc., a global leader in high-performance semiconductors for signal processing applications, introduced today the high-performance ADMP504 the industry’s lowest-noise MEMS microphone. Delivering an SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) of 65-dBA, or 29-dBA EIN (equivalent input noise), the ADMP504 provides the same SNR performance as an array of two individual 62-dB SNR microphones. In addition, the ADMP504 provides an extended frequency response up to 20 kHz and a high PSR (power-supply-rejection) of 70 dBV. With this performance, the ADMP504 addresses the demanding requirements found in many industrial, professional audio and video conferencing applications. The new microphone leverages ADI’s patented MEMS technology and audio signal processing expertise and is available in a thin 3.35 mm x 2.50 mm x 0.88 mm surface-mount package.

ADI Microphone ADMP504 resized 600

For more information, download the data sheet or order samples

To view a video on the application of the ADMP504

For additional support, connect with engineers and ADI product experts on EngineerZone(TM), an online technical support community.

For more information on ADI’s MEMS microphone products.

Global shipments of MEMS microphones rose to 1.3 billion units in 2011, up 82 percent from 704 million in 2010 driven primarily by handsets, according to IHS.

“ADI’s high-performance MEMS microphones have earned market acceptance since they entered the market in 2008, particularly in smartphones and media tablets,” commented Jeremie Bouchaud, director and principal analyst, MEMS and sensors, IHS. “With further performance improvements, ADI is poised to enable many new and innovative applications in other markets such as industrial equipment monitoring and building security.”

More About the ADMP504 MEMS Microphone

The ADMP504 is a surface mount MEMS microphone that is reflow solder compatible with no sensitivity degradation. The sensitivity specification of -38 dBV is well suited for many codecs and discrete signal chain components. The high SNR of 65 dBA, or 29 dBA EIN, enables far-field audio-capture applications, as well as those using multi-microphone “beam-forming” algorithms. Low current consumption of < 180 A (typ) with a power supply voltage of 1.6 V to 3.3 V extends battery life for portable applications.

ADMP504 MEMS Microphone Key Features and Benefits

  • 65 dBA SNR, or 29 dBA EIN, enables excellent sound quality in high-definition applications.
  • Extended frequency response out to 20 kHz produces a well-balanced and natural sound.
  • High PSR of 70 dB V provides superior RF and electrical noise rejection allowing greater design flexibility for microphone placement and power trace routing.
  • The sensitivity specification of -38 dBV makes this microphone an excellent choice for many codecs and discrete signal chain components.
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Konica Minolta – New Development of Tiny-Drop-Size & High-Accuracy Inkjet Printhead: First for Printed Electronics Applications

Posted in: MEMS Products by Marketing | Comments Off Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Konica Minolta IJ Technologies, Inc. (Konica Minolta) is pleased to announce that it has successfully developed a high-accuracy inkjet head capable of 1-picoliter drop size, the first for printed electronics applications by utilizing Konica Minolta’s proprietary MEMS technologies for the first time. Sale of the new inkjet printhead in sample quantities is expected to start this spring.


Newly developed Inkjet Printhead KM128SNG-MB

The newly developed inkjet printhead “KM128SNG-MB” is a next-generation inkjet printhead manufactured with silicon MEMS technologies that utilizes semiconductor process technologies. Through MEMS technologies, Konica Minolta succeeded in developing highly accurate printhead construction (38mm width, in one row, 128 nozzles) capable of discharging in micro drop size. The company’s proprietary technologies in ink flow path design and high-precision assembly processes have achieved layout of tiny-size droplet highly precisely and stably. Furthermore, the new inkjet printhead is highly resistant to various inks required for industrial applications and suitable to use with low-viscosity inks. Utilization of MEMS technologies has helped integration of nozzles and resulted in benefits such as compact inkjet printhead. In line with requests from the market in the future, further integration of nozzles will be an area of enhancement for time to come. Specific applications for the newly developed inkjet printhead will include, among others, OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) display patterning, OLED lighting thin-layer coating, and new manufacturing technologies for high-value-added displays for smartphones and similar devices that require high accuracy.

Printed electronics market, including next-generation flexible displays, is expected to grow to approximately two-trillion yen in 2020 (research by Konica Minolta), where utilization of the newly developed inkjet printhead is highly expected. Konica Minolta is a founding member of Japan Advanced Printed Electronics Technology Research Association (JAPERA) that was formed in 2011. Through its innovative inkjet technologies for industrial use, Konica Minolta has been contributing to the research and development activities for next-generation printed electronics technologies with even more energy-saving, resource-saving and highly productive features in the near future.

Under its communication message “Giving Shape to Ideas,” Konica Minolta has been developing and manufacturing inkjet products, such as inkjet printhead, textile printers and high-value-added inks, with superb performance and enhanced values for industrial applications, by utilizing its proprietary precision processing technologies and material technologies that underlie its products’ advantages in saving energy and resources. With the newly developed inkjet printhead, the company will continue to contribute to further expansion of applications with industrial-use inkjet technologies and growth of the market.

Major Features of the Newly Designed KM128SNG-MB Printhead

  • Utilizes silicon MEMS technology used in semiconductor processing
  • First printhead for printed electronics applications to achieve a 1 picoliter drop size
  • High-accuracy printhead structure: 38mm wide; 128 nozzles in one row
  • Stable, highly accurate operation with accuracy drive control on a per-nozzle basis
  • High ink resistance and optimization for low viscosity inks for industrial applications
  • Provides highly uniform thin layer coating (at the 100nm level)
  • Optimized for display manufacturing technology, such as for OLED displays
  • Proprietary DPN (Drive Per Nozzle) drive board and evaluation equipment available

Specifications

Drop size 1pl
Number of nozzles 128 (in one row)
Print width 38mm
Maximum frequency 15kHz
Nozzle spacing 300 μm
Dimensions 67mm (W) x 40mm (D) x 70mm (H)
Weight approx. 55g
Fluid viscosity 1 – 5 mPa·s

Major Applications

OLED display patterning, OLED lighting thin-layer coating, new manufacturing technologies for high-accuracy, high-value-added displays for smartphones and similar devices

For information about Konica Minolta’s inkjet printheads, please visit:Konica Minolta Inkjet Print Head.

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MEMS Design Tool Continues To Evolve

Posted in: Coventor Blog, Press Coverage by Marketing | Comments Off Tuesday, February 14, 2012

By David Maliniak
Electronic Design

Driven largely by the consumer market, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are proliferating like wildfire in electronic systems. Nintendo’s Wii game platform has brought millions of them literally into the hands of consumers, and so has Apple’s iPhone, of which coming iterations will contain multiple MEMS devices.

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STIMESI Training Course – May, 15 – 18, 2012 – Trento, Italy

Posted in: Coventor Blog, Upcoming Events by Marketing | Comments Off Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Coventor will participate in an upcoming STIMESI Training course in Trento, Italy.  On day three of this four day course participants will learn how to use Coventor’s MEMS+® product design platform to construct a model of a MUMPs device using a library of behavioral model building blocks. Attendees will learn how to simulate the performance of the device together with system electronics. The course will also teach on how to use Coventor’s DESIGNER® to build and mesh a solid model from 2D layout and MUMPS process information and simulate this model in CoventorWare ANALYZER® using one of our Finite Element Analysis tools.

May, 15 – 18, 2012: MEMSCAP: MUMPs® (Multi-User MEMS) processes: Fondazione Bruno Kessler – FBK, Trento, Italy.

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DAC 2012: June 3-7, 2012 – San Francisco, California

Posted in: Coventor Blog, Upcoming Events by Marketing | Comments Off Monday, February 13, 2012

The Design Automation Conference is the premier gathering for electronic designers and brings together the complete ecosystem for advanced IC and system design. Coventor will display its leading-edge MEMS design solutions, which integrate with traditional IC and system design methodologies to enable true MEMS+IC design.

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