Novel Bonding technologies for wafer-level transparent packaging of MOEMS

Depending on the type of Micro-Electro-Mechanical System (MEMS), packaging costs are contributing up to 80% of the total device cost. Each MEMS device category, its function and operational environment will individually dictate the packaging requirement. Due to the lack of standardized testing procedures, the reliability of those MEMS packages sometimes can only be proven by taking into consideration its functionality over lifetime. Innovation with regards to cost reduction and standardization in the field of packaging is therefore of utmost importance to the speed of commercialisation of MEMS devices. Nowadays heavily driven by consumer applications the MEMS device market is forecasted to enjoy a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) above 13%, which is when compared to the IC device market, an outstanding growth rate. Nevertheless this forecasted value can drift upwards or downwards depending on the rate of innovation in the field of packaging. MEMS devices typically require a specific fabrication process where the device wafer is bonded to a second wafer which effectively encapsulates the MEMS structure. This method leaves the device free to move within a vacuum or an inert gas atmosphere.Comment: Submitted on behalf of EDA Publishing Association (http://irevues.inist.fr/EDA-Publishing

Low power wireless sensor network for building monitoring

A wireless sensor network is proposed for monitoring buildings to assess earthquake damage. The sensor nodes use custom-developed capacitive MEMS strain and 3D acceleration sensors and a low power readout ASIC for a battery life of up to 12 years. The strain sensors are mounted at the base of the building to measure the settlement and plastic hinge activation of the building after an earthquake. They measure periodically or on-demand from the base station. The accelerometers are mounted at every floor of the building to measure the seismic response of the building during an earthquake. They record during an earthquake event using a combination of the local acceleration data and remote triggering from the base station based on the acceleration data from multiple sensors across the building. A low power network architecture was implemented over an 802.15.4 MAC in the 900MHz band. A custom patch antenna was designed in this frequency band to obtain robust links in real-world conditions

Low power wireless sensor network for structural health monitoring of buildings using MEMS strain sensors and accelerometers

Within the MEMSCON project, a wireless sensor network was developed for structural health monitoring of buildings to assess earthquake damage. The sensor modules use custom-developed capacitive MEMS strain and 3D acceleration sensors and a low power readout application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). A low power network architecture was implemented on top of an 802.15.4 media access control (MAC) layer in the 900MHz band. A custom patch antenna was designed in this frequency for optimal integration into the sensor modules. The strain sensor modules measure periodically or on-demand from the base station and obtain a battery lifetime of 12 years. The accelerometer modules record during an earthquake event, which is detected using a combination of the local acceleration data and remote triggering from the base station, based on the acceleration data from multiple sensors across the building. They obtain a battery lifetime of 2 years. The MEMS strain sensor and its readout ASIC were packaged in a custom package suitable for mounting onto a reinforcing bar inside the concrete and without constraining the moving parts of the MEMS strain sensor. The wireless modules, including battery and antenna, were packaged in a robust housing compatible with mounting in a building and accessible for maintenance such as battery replacement

Yield Enhancement of Digital Microfluidics-Based Biochips Using Space Redundancy and Local Reconfiguration

As microfluidics-based biochips become more complex, manufacturing yield will have significant influence on production volume and product cost. We propose an interstitial redundancy approach to enhance the yield of biochips that are based on droplet-based microfluidics. In this design method, spare cells are placed in the interstitial sites within the microfluidic array, and they replace neighboring faulty cells via local reconfiguration. The proposed design method is evaluated using a set of concurrent real-life bioassays.Comment: Submitted on behalf of EDAA (http://www.edaa.com/

Use of scanned detection in optical position encoders

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