GNSS, dead reckoning, and MEMS IMUs

GNSS, dead reckoning, and MEMS IMUs
by Don Dingee on 10-31-2014 at 4:00 pm

GNSS is a wonderful invention, and low cost receivers have crept into smartphones and other mobile devices. However, GNSS does not solve all problems, especially in urban environments. The canyon effect blocks signals at street level between tall buildings, and signals do not penetrate to the interior of parking garages, tunnels,… Read More


MEMS+, Bringing MEMS into the Electronic World

MEMS+, Bringing MEMS into the Electronic World
by Paul McLellan on 09-19-2014 at 1:59 pm

One of the things about MEMS devices is that they almost always live on a chip that also contains the electronics necessary to process the output from the sensor. For example, an on-chip accelerometer for a car airbag deployment will contain the electronics necessary to process the signal from the sensor and end up with something… Read More


Coventor Brings More Accuracy & Performance into Design of MEMS Devices

Coventor Brings More Accuracy & Performance into Design of MEMS Devices
by Pawan Fangaria on 07-06-2014 at 9:00 am

Although MEMS devices in various forms are now found in most electronic devices, predominantly in mobile, automotive, aerospace and many other applications, their major revolution, I believe, is yet to happen. We are seeing rapid innovation in MEMS reflected by their improvements in precision, performance, size reduction,… Read More


MEMS Update from DAC

MEMS Update from DAC
by Daniel Payne on 06-11-2014 at 11:32 am

DAC has an interesting mix of vendors each year, and some of them are outside of the expected digital, analog or IP space. Last Tuesday at DAC I visited a company called Coventor that has three product lines:

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A Re-look at TI’s Businesses, Strategies & Future

A Re-look at TI’s Businesses, Strategies & Future
by Pawan Fangaria on 06-09-2014 at 8:00 am

In recent days I’ve seen several long discussions about Texas Instrumentslosing its grip in semiconductor industry when it came out of a business it was strong in, i.e. wireless business. It seems the semiconductor community has not digested the fact that TI, very rightly, came out of the OMAP business at the right time. The smartphone… Read More


New Frontiers in MEMS and Their Enablers

New Frontiers in MEMS and Their Enablers
by Pawan Fangaria on 05-11-2014 at 10:00 pm

With the 51[SUP]st[/SUP] DACapproaching quickly, I spent some time last week-end to look around about what new trends, technologies and innovations will be most talked about during DAC. Every year, I find some exciting new technologies in the semiconductor industry and the overall semiconductor ecosystem that get wider exposure… Read More


Evaluate MEMS Devices out-of-fab Before Fabrication

Evaluate MEMS Devices out-of-fab Before Fabrication
by Pawan Fangaria on 03-21-2014 at 10:30 am

MEMS design and fabrication is highly complex in the sense that the fabrication process heavily depends on the design, unlike IC fabrication which has a standard set of processes. A slight change in MEMS design can alter its fabrication steps to a large extent. For example, setting device parameters such as capacitance or linear… Read More


TI’s Way of Strategies – Formation & Execution

TI’s Way of Strategies – Formation & Execution
by Pawan Fangaria on 02-26-2014 at 8:30 am

For a company to stand still and continually prosper even after facing several downturns in its career of 80+ years, and still move swiftly with strong commitment and confidence, its strategy has to be right and rock solid possessing sustainable competitive advantage, and of course it has to be an early mover in everything it does… Read More


What will drive MEMS to drive I-o-T and I-o-P?

What will drive MEMS to drive I-o-T and I-o-P?
by Pawan Fangaria on 01-27-2014 at 5:45 am

By I-o-P, I mean Internet-of-People- I couldn’t think of anything better than this to describe a technology which becomes your custodian for everything you do; you may consider it as your good companion through life or an invariably controlling spy. This is obvious with the embedded sensor techno-products such as Kolibree, a … Read More


Quick MEMS Development Through Virtual Fabrication

Quick MEMS Development Through Virtual Fabrication
by Pawan Fangaria on 01-01-2014 at 7:00 am

The design and manufacture of MEMS is very different and in many ways more complex process than even the most advanced ICs. MEMS involve multiple degrees of freedom (i.e. the device to exhibit different characteristics under different physical state, motion or mechanics), making fabrication of MEMS extremely complex; and hence… Read More