© 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• 9

MEMS belongs to the « More than Moore » law

MEMS

© 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: mounier@yole.fr

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: pizzagalli@yole.fr

© 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!

© 2013• 16

Yole activities in MEMS

Media business News feed / Magazines /

Webcasts

Reports Market

Research

Consulting services Market research,

Technology & Strategy

www.yole.fr