electronica 2008, running from 11 to 14 November 2008, with its focus area 'electronica micronano-systems', will present minute electronics systems in a big way.
Key players for microsystems and MEMS will present new and innovative products for industries ranging from automobile manufacturers and consumer electronics through to medical technology and environmental engineering.
Microelectronics is one of the most important driving forces behind innovation for a large number of industries, for example automobile manufacturers, biomedical technology, telecommunications, automation technology, environmental engineering and building technology. The German Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies (VDE) has published current market figures which prove that microelectronics are becoming increasingly important: in 2007 worldwide sales of miniature electronic components and systems rose by 3,2% to $255,6 billion. Due to the strong demand for discrete components, opto-semiconductors and sensors, the industry is actually expecting an increase of around 7% for a total worldwide market volume of $275 billion in 2008.
A large number of international electronics pioneers will present their further developments in the area of microsystems and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) at electronica 2008. Texas Instruments has, for example, developed and miniaturised its micromirror arrays for beamers and video projectors to such an extent that DLP (digital light processing) pico-projector technology can now also be used for displays in mobile phones, digital cameras and portable media players.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems, another exhibitor at electronica 2008, will talk about 'small' new developments for mobile use: its miniaturised projection displays are based on lasers as a light source and two-dimensional microscanner mirrors for light deflection, and are therefore small enough to be integrated in mobile phones.
One of the key players in the MEMS sector is STMicroelectronics. The company will present, for example, its innovative acceleration sensors at electronica 2008. These miniature products protect portable infotainment devices or mobile medical monitoring systems against damage by registering, for instance, that the device has been dropped. The system is therefore able to lock the hard disk in split seconds and save the data stored on this hard disk.
Since it has been involved in this field since 1991, Omron Electronic Components is regarded as one of the pioneers of MEMS. The company’s product range includes MEMS-controlled blood pressure sensors with the so-called ‘donut’ design. Whereas conventional sensors can only use 10% of their area to record pressure, the corresponding figure for MEMS sensors is 50%. Omron also produces MEMS sensors which can register an air current from 1 mm per second and radio frequency (RF) MEMS which attain a switching frequency that is 10 times higher than conventional semiconductor-based switches.
Micro-driven, silicon-based sensors, micro-optics and bioMEMS devices are the main fields of activity of the electronica exhibitor Leister Process Technologies. The company’s latest gas sensors are based on laser diodes and are used, for instance, for permanent monitoring of gases in medicine, eg, for monitoring of blood gas values in patients.
Tronics Microsystems has made a name for itself as a manufacturer and integrator of customer-specific MEMS components. The company’s sensors are used, for example, as seismophones to localise oil reserves, while its bioMEMS can be used, for instance to analyse cell properties.
Last but not least, mention should be made of Epcos. The world market leader in the field of high-frequency filters (radio frequency filters, RF filters for short) believes that there is great future potential in MEMS technology, a view which was recently reinforced when the company took over the RF MEMS activities of NXP. In future, RF MEMS are expected to reduce the power consumption of mobile radio devices by up to 25% and increase the stability of radio links. According to industry insiders, MEMS has a potential market volume amounting to several hundreds of millions of Euros.
During the forum forming part of the ‘electronica micronano-systems’ focus area, experts will present the latest developments and technologies in lectures and podium discussions. In 2006 around 8000 visitors specifically attended this focus area and followed the practical talks by exhibitors during the forum.
For more information visit www.electronica.de/en
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