Taiwan's IC Industry Geared Into MEMS Device Production

Taipei, April 20, 2009 (CENS)--Manufacturers across Taiwan's IC industry are readily making micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) devices, which are estimated to bring Taiwan's chip industry another crown after Taiwan becomes the world's No.1 supplier built-to-order chips.

Taiwan's first-tier silicon foundries including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC), Vanguard International Semiconductor Co. (VISC) and Advanced Semiconductor Engineering (ASE) Inc. have outfitted themselves with MEMS-manufacturing capability while second-tier suppliers like Lingsen Precision Industries, Ltd. and Siguard Microelectronics Corp. have begun offering contract manufacturing of the devices.

MEMS devices have gone into consumer electronics over the past two years, an expansion from automobile applications. Nintendo Wii and Apple iPhone are among the MEMS-featured consumer electronics. Nokia and HTC have followed Apple to embrace MEMS devices.

TSMC, currently the world's No.1 silicon foundry supplier, last year retooled part of its 0.35-micron logic process lines for MEMS production in hope of bringing down cost of the production. Meanwhile, the company set aside a production line in its six-inch wafer fab and a line in one of its eight-inch fab for MEMS production.

TSMC has so far landed contracts to make MEMS inject heads for integrated device manufacturer ADI of the United States and will begin to tap the market for MEMS radio frequency chips some time this year.

IC assemblers ASE, Siguard and Lingsen are also competing for MEMS orders, in which packaging and testing service account for half of production cost.

Fabless houses like Wolfson, ADI and Akustica have begun producing MEMS-based microphones in small volume using CMOS process.