p25-26 EAS IC Awards 2008 foundry.qxd 1/7/08 14:29 Page 26
26 IC INDUSTRY AWARDS PREVIEW
Thanks to the high value-add of its and developing customers having the
offering its customers can rely on Tronics potential to become volume customers.
expertise to integrate MEMS-based This has enabled Silex to add
solutions in their products. This value add manufacturing capacity based on
differenciates Tronics from traditional customer needs and successes.
foundries that focus on MEMS processing
and allows for better understandin. Customer partnership
Tronics optimise the components they Silex has today a solid customer base
develop for their customers, ensuring their with more than 70 customers, which is
successful production and manfacturing considered large for the industry. Today,
while guaranteeing the high yield and Silex manufactures MEMS products in
functionality of its deliveries. Tronics volumes for ten of these customers. This
provides the customer, solutions in broad customer base gives Silex the
building reliable supply chain for their potential for a major increase in volume
specialised products and delivers production.
qualified, packaged, tested, components
and microsystems. Products
of its revenues are coming from series In an industry driven by cost of Three main categories of MEMS:
production of products for its customers, infrastructure and yield management, the ● Sensors
a significantly high number in this performance of Tronics show that they ● Actuators
emerging industry where a large number both assured customer satisfaction while ● Three-dimensional structures
of products are still under development. keeping an efficient operation.
The company also announced a net profit Tronics revenue growth clearly signals Sensor based MEMS sense pressure,
of 1.3 M€ (1.9M$) representing 12% of that the industry is maturing and we speed, direction, position, temperature
its sales revenues. foresee a further 30 percent CAGR for and light, among other things, and are
In a still emerging industry, the the industry in 2008 and a stronger used in the automotive, life science and
Tronics Microsystems performance is growth after 2009. But profitability of consumer electronics industries. MEMS
noticeable and shows a clear maturing of the majority of independent MEMS microphones also belong to this group,
the supply. Tronics Microsystems has built manufacturers and MEMS units of IC which are becoming more and more
its success in manufacturing customer manufacturers is yet to be proven. common in mobile phones. Actuators, for
specific components for demanding high- Tronics’ consistently profitable example optical switches, RF switches
end applications in the medical, performance underscores its leadership in and micro robots, work through
instrumentation and aerospace domain. manufacturing specialised high movement. Typical applications for pure
Recognising the impact and problems that performance products with high-yield, MEMS structures are microneedles and
packaging and testing represent in while maintaining a lean and efficient lab-on-chip products. Examples of
manufacturing a reliable MEMS device, business. relatively new and interesting areas of
Tronics Microsystems has integrated those development are RF MEMS, which can
capabilities as part of its offering early in send and transmit information, and fuel
its history. Two years ago the company cells in which the MEMS chip generates
increased its capabilities in this area by its own power supply.
building an internal assembly and Today, Silex manufactures 70 unique
packaging line and increasing its MEMS products – each one tailored for
characterisation and test capabilities. specific customers and applications. The
company’s largest products, in terms of
volume and value, are applications for
SILEX
handheld devices and lab-on-chips.
www.silex.com Several of the MEMS products that Silex
manufactures contain microsensors, which
Silex manufactures Micro Electro are used for example to measure pressure
Mechanical Systems (MEMS) - each one in the coronary artery.
tailored for specific customers and With a cross sectional area of less
applications. They are a leading dedicated than 0.1mm, they are among the world’s
MEMS foundry that brings MEMS smallest. Silex also produces
technology and capacity to device makers microneedles that are used to inject
and other high-tech industries all over the medicines and to measure biological
world. Customers are found in the signals, which can be used to diagnose
medical, biotech, telecommunications and malignant melanoma. Silex manufactures
consumer electronics industries. Silex optical switches for the
produce MEMS for the automotive and telecommunications industry, where a tiny
other manufacturing industries. chip can accommodate movable
micromirror arrays that transmit signals
There are considerable economies of scale in a fiber optic network.
in MEMS production. The marginal cost For other industries Silex also
of producing one more MEMS chip in an manufactures, gas sensors, micromirrors
existing factory is low. Silex produce for lithographic equipment and
MEMS chips for large volume customers micromotors for complex instruments.
www.euroasiasemiconductor.com July 2008
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