When will my country be able to take the lead in the MEMS field?
The 14th China International Nanotechnology Industry Expo (abbreviated as "Nano Expo") has come to a successful conclusion amid the attention of the public. This global nanotechnology event, with 1 main report, 13 sub-forums, 1 innovation and entrepreneurship competition, and 1 new product launch conference, brought together 18 academicians in the field of nanotechnology around the world, more than 450 top expert representatives from universities, research institutes, listed companies, and well-known enterprises and institutions, shared 476 professional reports, an increase of 132 reports over the previous session, a year-on-year increase of about 33%, and attracted 9,663 guests to attend the conference.
On this occasion, Xinshiye interviewed several outstanding companies in the domestic MEMS industry chain and launched a special report. This article is a transcript of Xinshiye's interview with Cai Yong, general manager of Suzhou Industrial Park Nano Industry Technology Research Institute Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as: MEMSRIGHT) and secretary-general of the MEMS branch of the China Semiconductor Association .
MEMSRIGHT is located in Suzhou Nano City. It is the first commercially operated 6-inch MEMS device R&D, pilot and mass production platform in China, including process R&D, pilot and mass production services for silicon-based MEMS and new material products such as lithium niobate and PZT. At present, MEMSRIGHT has a 3,000 square meter clean room and more than 200 sets of equipment, forming a mass production capacity of 60,000 wafers per year.
What is MEMS ? In what fields are these devices currently mainly used?
MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical System) is the integration of miniaturized mechanical and electronic components, which builds a bridge between the physical world and the digital world at the perception and execution levels. With the development of technologies such as mobile Internet and Internet of Things, MEMS, as a key component to achieve the interaction between the two, has become increasingly prominent.
MEMS can accurately detect a variety of physical and chemical parameters such as force, temperature, humidity, vibration, etc., and convert this information into electrical signals for digital system processing. For example, in automation control, if you want to make a robotic arm do an inkjet action through a mobile phone or material terminal device, you need to first use MEMS to convert the electrical signal in the digital world into an analog signal to accurately control the position, color, shape and size of the ink droplets in the inkjet printer.
In the wave of AI, what can MEMS do?
The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) has opened up new prospects for the application of MEMS. Taking 3D vision as an example, the traditional two-dimensional imaging system uses image sensors to obtain three-dimensional objects as 2D images. This method can achieve the perception of objects to a certain extent, but the lack of information will limit the real perception of the real world. Texas Instruments' MEMS micromirror products have achieved the miniaturization and integration of 3D structured light modules. This 3D vision module can be used in household robots and industrial robots, which not only improves the robot's ability to understand the environment, but also realizes high-precision operation of parts assembly in industries such as automobile manufacturing. In addition, with the continuous advancement of MEMS technology and industry scale, the popularization of embodied intelligent robots will become possible in the future.
Compared with ordinary chips, what are the similarities and differences in MEMS manufacturing?
Compared with traditional integrated circuits (ICs) that pursue extreme size reduction (such as 5nm , 3nm, and 1nm processes ) , most MEMS devices use relatively large process nodes, such as 350nm processes, and some devices may be built using 90nm and 65nm processes. In general, although the manufacturing size of MEMS is also shrinking, compared with ICs, its size is usually larger, and the accuracy requirements are mainly concentrated at the micron and nanometer levels.
However, MEMS has higher requirements than IC in some aspects. For example, MEMS is more complicated in thin film process and etching process . In the manufacturing process, the structure of IC is more of a plane, and only electrical performance needs to be considered, while MEMS is a 3D structure. In essence, it converts the changes of various characteristic parameters (temperature, pressure, gas, flow, etc.) in the environment into the differences of various electrical signals (voltage, resistance, current, etc.) through microstructures. There are many external variables that need to be considered, such as stress, material metal type, film type, etc. There are also many challenges in dealing with different material properties and ensuring structural integrity.
What is MEMSRIGHT’s accumulation of technical reserves and expertise?
As one of the companies focusing on the MEMS field, MEMSRIGHT has accumulated rich patents and technical experience, and has more than 70 patents, and the number continues to grow. At present, MEMSRIGHT's main business is concentrated on foundry services. At the same time, it also hopes to grow together with upstream and downstream companies in the industrial chain and promote the development of the entire industrial chain. In the face of the relatively weak situation of certain links in the country, it will also focus on and actively expand upstream business, including materials, when necessary. In addition, through close cooperation with strategic partners, we will jointly solve the problems facing the industry.
What role does MEMSRIGHT play in the development of the MEMS industry?
As a leading platform enterprise in Suzhou focusing on MEMS R&D and foundry, MEMSRIGHT has played a key role in the development of the domestic MEMS industry. MEMSRIGHT can provide 6-inch MEMS foundry services and 6-8-inch single-step process processing services, and is one of the largest MEMS foundries in China. By providing process development, pilot and mass production services for silicon-based MEMS and third-generation semiconductor materials such as gallium nitride products, MEMSRIGHT not only fills the technical gaps of many domestic independent devices, but also fills the gap between R&D institutions and large-scale foundries, and can fully meet the process R&D and mass production needs of MEMS small and medium-sized enterprises.
It is particularly worth mentioning that MEMSRIGHT was the first in China to explore and establish a quality control system suitable for MEMS. This provides customers with a higher quality product guarantee and is also a strong competitive advantage for MEMSRIGHT. Today, MEMSRIGHT continues to grow together with many partners. With years of technological accumulation, as well as the exploration, improvement and perfection of the MEMS quality management system, it has been able to effectively meet the actual needs of customers for small-batch mass production.
MEMSRIGHT is committed to supporting the development of small and medium-sized enterprises, and can also provide full-link services from research and development to mass production and shipment. This full range of services is crucial to promoting innovation in the MEMS field. Although MEMSRIGHT is a market-oriented company, its original intention is to promote the development of the MEMS industry, and its vision is to grow together with all companies. After years of hard work in the MEMS field, MEMSRIGHT has a complete and high-level micro-nano processing technology team with a complete process library and various device process matching capabilities. Product categories include silicon microphones, pressure sensors, micromirrors, inkjet heads, flow sensors, gas sensors, temperature sensors, thermopiles, filters, optical communication devices, biochips, etc. The business covers Northwest, North China, East China, Southwest, South China and other places. It has currently served more than 120 companies and more than 400 products, which has played a significant role in supporting and promoting the innovation and development of China's MEMS.
How is the development of China's MEMS industry?
MEMS technology is known as one of the revolutionary high-tech technologies in the 21st century. It was first applied in the military field and then gradually popularized in the civilian field. The automotive industry, medical and health monitoring industry, communications industry, and personal electronic consumer products industries such as mobile phones and game consoles have successively promoted the rapid development of the MEMS industry. The rapid growth of these industries has greatly promoted the application and development of local MEMS technology. Taking the automotive industry as an example, with the rise of domestic automobile brands, the demand for local suppliers with excellent performance and higher cost-effectiveness is increasing, which has accelerated the localization process of MEMS-related technologies.
In addition, in the context of the Internet of Things (IoT), since every smart device needs to interact with the real world, the demand for MEMS sensors is expected to increase dramatically in the future. This means that MEMS will become a growth point with great potential. Although China is still lagging behind developed countries such as the United States in some aspects of this industry, it is foreseeable that China will become one of the leaders in global MEMS technology innovation and application in the future with its huge market demand and rapid iteration capabilities.
In short, whether from the perspective of technological progress or market application, China's MEMS industry has shown strong development momentum. With the participation and support of more professional companies like MEMSRIGHT, this trend will be further strengthened, helping China achieve its leading position in the global MEMS field.
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