© 2013
MEMS Front-End Manufacturing Trends
MEMS standardization will never happen but companies are optimizing their own
technological platforms. Such process innovations are driving the MEMS equipment
& materials with a 7% CAGR over 2012-2018.
February 2013
1995
Sidebraze DIP
1996-2002
Plastic PDIP
1999 - today
SMT SOIC
& Die Down
2006
Stacked Die
QFN
~125 sq mm ~100 sq mm ~25 sq mm
6 & 6 mm
Source Freescale
Source MEMSiC
1995
Sidebraze DIP
1996-2002
Plastic PDIP
1999 - today
SMT SOIC
& Die Down
2006
Stacked Die
QFN
~125 sq mm ~100 sq mm ~25 sq mm
6 & 6 mm
Source Bosch Source SPTS Source Silex Source SUSS MiroTec
SAMPLE
© 2013• 2
Content of the report (1/3)
Scope of the report & definitions … 5
• Key Objectives of the Report
• What’s New in this Report Update?
• Key Features Of The Report
• Who should be interested in this report?
• Companies cited in this Report
• About the authors of this report
• Glossary
Executive Summary … 13
• Introduction
• MEMS belongs to the « More than Moore » law
• MEMS has a long history for fabrication
• No Moore law, but MEMS technology is evolving anyway
• Towards standardization ?
• MEMS require special process steps
• What makes MEMS different from the mainstream IC
industry
• MEMS Technologies to watch
• Examples of building blocks for MEMS platforms
• Equipment Market Forecast for MEMS devices
• Materials Market Forecast for MEMS devices
• Generic MEMS platforms
• Conclusions
Introduction to the MEMS industry – Market dynamics &
key players … 38
• MEMS Sensor & Actuator Applications
• MEMS Market Forecast Shipments (in Munits)
• MEMS Market Sector Forecast (in M$)
• 2011-2017 MEMS Device Forecast (in M$)
• MEMS Market Value 2011 / 2017 (in M$)
• 2011 MEMS Ranking in $M – TOP 30 players
• 2011 MEMS Ranking in $M – TOP 30 to 70 players
• Typology of MEMS Companies
• Typology of MEMS Foundries
• 2011 MEMS Foundry Ranking
MEMS devices equipment & materials forecast … 50
• Equipment & Material Demand in the MEMS area
• YOLE’s Methodology
• MEMS devices Equipment market forecasts
– MEMS Wafers Shipment Forecast (8’’ eq.)
– Equipment Market Forecast for MEMS devices
– Equipment Market Forecast Breakdown per type of tool
– Equipment Market Forecast Breakdown by type of
devices
• MEMS devices Material market forecasts
– Materials Market Forecast for MEMS devices
– Materials Market Forecast Breakdown by Materials
– Materials Market Forecast Breakdown by type of devices
© 2013• 3
Content of the report (2/3) Detailed MEMS process flows & manufacturing trends
analysis … 70
• Equipment & Material Supplier Overview
• Focus on MEMS accelerometer Bosch BMA250 3-Axis
• Focus on MEMS gyroscope ST Micro L3G3250A 3-Axis
• Focus on MEMS microphone STM MP45DT01
• Focus on MEMS Microbolometer FLIR ICS0601B
• Focus on MEMS Micro-mirror for pico projector - Texas
Instrument
• Focus on RF MEMS for Antenna Tuner - Wispry
• Focus on MEMS oscillator Discera DSC8002
• MEMS devices Front End cost structure & manufacturing
trends
• Introduction
• Ink-Jet Heads Cost Structure MEMJET Example
• Trends in IJH Manufacturing
• TPMS P-Die Cost Structure Freescale Example
• Trends in Pressure Sensors Manufacturing
• Microphone Cost Structure STMicroelectronics Example
• Trends in Microphones Manufacturing
• 3-Axis Accelerometer Cost Structure STMicroelectronics
Example
• Trends in Accelerometer Manufacturing
• 3-Axis Gyro Cost Structure STMicroelectronics Example
• Trends in Gyro Manufacturing
• Compass Cost Structure AKM Example
• Trends in Compass Manufacturing
• IMU Cost Structure Invensense Example
• New Approach From Tronic’s: M&NEMS concept
• Trends in IMU Manufacturing
• RF MEMS Cost Structure WiSpry Example
• Trends in RF MEMS Manufacturing
• Oscillators Cost Structure SiTime Example
• Trends in Oscillators MEMS Manufacturing
• Micro Mirror Cost Structure TI Example
• Trends in Micro Mirror Manufacturing
• Microbolometer Cost Structure FLIR Example
• Trends in Microbolometer Manufacturing
• Others MEMS
• Micro Display Cost Structure Qualcomm Example
• MEMS Auto Focus
• MEMS Technologies for Si Photonics
• MEMS-based RFID
• Si microfluidics
© 2013• 4
Content of the report (3/3)
MEMS Manufacturing Trends by Process … 118
• MEMS Manufacturing - what is changing, why …
• MEMS Si Substrates
– Thin wafers for MEMS
– Engineered SOI Wafers
– 6’’ vs 8’’ MEMS wafer size
• Lithography
• New MEMS Materials
• Etching
– DRIE
– Sacrificial etch
• MEMS 1st Level Packaging
– Thin Film Packaging
– Wafer Bonding
• MEMS to ASIC assembly
– CMOS MEMS frontier
– MEMS Interconnect
– TSV as an enabler for MEMS packaging
• From “standard” processes to technology platforms to
products
Conclusions … 272
• Final Conclusions
Appendices … 274
• Yole Développement presentation
© 2013• 5
Key Objectives of the Report
• This 2013 report is an update of the 2011 “Trends in MEMS Manufacturing &
Packaging” report
• The objectives of the report are:
– To give forecast in units and $M value for MEMS Equipment & Materials
– To provide an overview of the equipment & materials used for the wide range of
MEMS devices
– To present examples of MEMS processes manufacturing
– To show MEMS cost structures
– To highlight what is changing in MEMS manufacturing & why
• This report does not cover:
– Back-end and packaging equipment/materials forecast and related issues
– This has been covered in the Yole 2012 “MEMS Packaging, Market & Technology
Trends” report
© 2013• 6
What’s New in this Report Update?
• Up-to-date market forecast
– Equipment & material market forecasts in units, volume and
revenues from 2012-2018 and based on a methodology to
estimate realistic sales opportunities in the MEMS devices
– Cost breakdown per type of MEMS devices
• MEMS devices technologies process flows &
manufacturing trends analysis
– Analysis on the
• MEMS accelerometers/gyroscope
• MEMS microphone
• MEMS pressure sensors
• MEMS micro bolometers
• MEMS micro mirrors
• RF MEMS switch
• MEMS oscillators
© 2013• 7
What is changing in MEMS manufacturing, why …
• Today, MEMS fabrication is still very diversified without standarization:
– The Yole MEMS rule « one product, one process » still rules
• MEMS has a different sory and do not follow a roadmap as the semiconductor industry does.
‒ Indeed, many players have different manufacturing approaches for the same device and even in a same company,
processes will be radically different for same MEMS (e.g. CMOS MEMS or hybrid approach for inertial or
microphones).
• As from development to products, MEMS take typically 20-30 years from research to
commercialization, any way to speed up the commercialization process is welcome.
• So we see a clear trend for smaller, more cost effective MEMS devices specially for the consumer
market where small form factor and low cost are mandatory.
– For MEMS Packaging, there is already a trend toward standardization.
– And standardization is becoming increasingly critical to support the massive volume grow in unit shipments along
with decreasing overall costs associated with MEMS & sensor content, in particular related to their packaging.
• But MEMS size reduction cannot last forever e.g. for inertial, a minimal mass is needed for
movement detection.
– Today, die size reduction is mostly achieved by packaging innovation (e.g. new gold bonding, TSV interconnect) that
adds extra manufacturing cost but reduce the Si size. Overall, the final cost is lower compared to previous generation.
– New detection principle are currently developed under the roof of R&D Institutes (M&NEMS concept at Tronics’)
this could be the next step to lower MEMS size at the silicon level.
© 2013• 8
What is changing in MEMS manufacturing, why …
• After 50 years of development, the MEMS industry keeps innovating in processes.
• Standardization is on its way in packaging and, as MEMS competition shifts to the systems level,
competition at the process level could be less important.
• After years of developments, some process steps found their sweet spots:
– TSV technology is step by step diffusing into the MEMS industry. Both IDMs (ST, Bosch) and foundries now master
the technology.
– Thin films PZT (either CSD or sputtered deposition) is linked to new MEMS devices such as wafer-level auto focus or
uncooled IR sensors.
– Temporary bonding will be used as thinner wafers will be processed (e.g. oscillators).
– Cavity SOI success could depend on the success of NF as an open platform for MEMS manufacturing.
• The MEMS equipment & materials market will keep growing:
– The equipment market will have a 5.2 % CAGR, growing from $378M in 2012 to $512M in 2018.
– The equipment market will have a 10.5 % CAGR, growing from $136M in 2012 to $248M in 2018.
• It is unlikely to see standardization happening in the MEMS industry. But the need for more
performing, smaller and cost effective devices lead MEMS players to continuously modify &
adapt their process. Although no cross standardization like CMOS will happen, in-house
technology or product platforms help MEMS players to speed up time-to-market.
© 2013• 10
Adoption cycle for MEMS processes
1995 2020 2000 2005 2010 2015
Wafer Bonding
DRIE
XeF2
Room temperature bonding
Steppers
Temporary bonding
TSV
Cavity SOI
Graph here shows the timeline for new
MEMS processes adoption.
The left side of the arrow is showing the
starting time for the technology to be
used (e.g. DRIE started to be used in 96’
for Bosch inertial MEMS).
We expect to see more innovative MEMS
processes to be used in the future: TSV,
litho steppers, temporary bonding for thin
wafers, room temperature bonding
Thin film sealing
© 2013• 11
Specific tools & equipment Specific materials
Example of MEMS accelerometer
Sensor Process Flow (2/4)
Sacrificial oxide deposition
o LPCVD
Photolithography for patterning
o Stepper or Mask aligner
Polysilicon deposition
o Epitaxial reactor
o LPCVD
Planarization CMP
o CMP tools
Ion implantation
Metal deposition
o PVD sputtering
Photolithography for patterning
o Stepper or Mask aligner
Photolithography for patterning
o Stepper or Mask aligner
Oxide layer etching
o Wet etch tools Wet etch chemistry
Source gases
o Silane SiH4
Source gases
o Silane (SiH4) and oxygen
o Dichlorosilane (SiCl2H2) and
nitrous oxide (N2O)
o tetraethylorthosilicate (TEOS;
Si(OC2H5)4)
Sacrificial oxide 2 deposition
Polysilicon deposition as structural layer
Slurry & cleaning chemistries
Dopant ions
o Boron,phosphorus or arsenic
Sputtering targets
Polysilicon etching
Etching gases
o SFe/O2 etc…
© 2013• 12
An Example of Diffusion for a MEMS
Process The adoption cycle for DRIE
1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
R&D & Production Tools for non MEMS 0 0 1 4 10 15 27 30 28 29 34 48 55 61 82 107 127 153 191
Production Tools for MEMS 0 0 4 4 6 10 22 60 27 23 27 35 36 40 12 10 8 19 29
R&D Tools for MEMS 2 8 11 18 24 30 46 59 35 27 22 23 24 14 16 16 16 18 20
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
Nu
mb
er
of
cha
mb
ers
Diffusion Model for DRIE
“Telecom bubble”:
many investments for
optical MEMS
“DRIE starting point”
for MEMS
applications
(accelerometers)
MEMS for consumer
is driving a new
growth
2008/2009
financial crisis
3D TSV is driving
a new growth for
DRIE
© 2013• 13
$0 M
$100 M
$200 M
$300 M
$400 M
$500 M
$600 M
2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Sale
s fo
reca
sts
(M$
)
Global Equipment Market Forecast for MEMS (in M$)
Yole Developpement © January 2013
Equipment Market Forecast for MEMS devices
• We forecast the demand for equipment used in the MEMS area to grow from ~ $378M in 2012 to > $510M by 2018
at a CAGR of 5.2% over the next 5 years.
• It is interesting to see the MEMS market forecast to follow a cycle-like up & downturn similar to what the
mainstream IC equipment market undergo.
• Reasons behind is because the current MEMS devices market growth is driving a need for new tools investment.
But the capacity will exceed the real production need in 2016. After installed base will no longer cope with
increased MEMS demand, the need for new equipment will grow again (2018).
© 2013• 14
For More Information …
Dr. Eric Mounier
– Dr. Eric Mounier co-founded Yole Developpement in
1998. He is in charge of technology analysis for MEMS
related manufacturing technologies, Optical MEMS
(including micro-mirrors, micro-displays, auto-focus
and IR micro-bolometers) applications within the
company. Eric has also developed a unique cost
modeling tool “MEMSCoSim” able to evaluate the cost
of MEMS module manufacturing
Contact: [email protected]
Amandine Pizzagalli
– Amandine recently joined Yole Development Advanced
Packaging and MEMS manufacturing teams after
graduating as an engineer in Electronics, with a
specialization in Semiconductors and Nano Electronics
Technologies. She worked in the past for Air Liquide
with an emphasis on CVD and ALD processes for
semiconductor applications
Contact: [email protected]
© 2013• 15
Available MEMS Reports
Trends in MEMS
Manufacturing &
Packaging
MEMS Cosim+
MEMS
Manufacturing Cost
Simulation Tool
Ferro-Electric
Thin Films
MEMS
Microphone
Permanent Wafer
Bonding Thin Wafer
Handling
Sensor fusion of
acceleros, gyros &
magnetometers
Infrared Detector
Market, Applications
and Technology
Trends
MEMJET
Technology Trends
for Inertials MEMS
RF Filters, PAs,
Antenna Switches &
Tunability for Cellular
Handsets
Trends in MEMS
Manufacturing &
Packaging
Ferro-Electric
Thin Films
Motion Sensors for
Consumer & Mobile
applications
MEMS for Cell
Phones and
Tablets
Uncooled Infrared
Imaging:
Commercial &
Military Applications
IMU & Gyro for
Defense,
Aerospace &
Industrial
Status of the
CMOS Image
Sensors
New!
3-Axis Consumer
Gyroscopes
New!
Emerging Energy
Harvesting
Devices
New!
MEMS Front-End
Manufacturing
Trends
New!