mems

Hitachi Displays announced a display that uses microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, technology at the Ceatec conference this week in Chiba, Japan.

Hitachi is targeting the display, developed with Andover, Mass.-based Pixtronix, at future smartphones, tablet PCs, and digital cameras, among other devices. The target size is a screen with a 10-inch diagonal size or smaller.

At Ceatec, Hitachi is showing a 2.5-inch (320 by 240 resolution) prototype display that taps into Pixtronix's Digital Micro Shutter system, which combines thin-film transistor (TFT) technology and MEMS technologies. This results in a display that delivers better backlight efficiency and uses … Read more

You've probably heard of or even owned a computer that automatically turns off its hard drive when it senses shock or heavy vibrations. That is an example of sensitive human-machine intimacy. Another example I like is tilting the iPhone to use it as the driving bar for my racing games. Well, that nifty human-to-computer interaction is about to go to whole new level.

HP announced Thursday a new inertial-sensing technology that enables the development of digital micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) accelerometers that are up to 1,000 times more sensitive than those in high-volume products currently available.

A MEMS accelerometer is a sensor that can be used to measure vibration, shock, or change in velocity. When implemented, this allows the device to "feel" the environment it is in.

According to HP, the new sensing technology--the result of HP's 25 years of nano-sensing research--includes multiple detectors as part of a complete sensor network and therefore is capable of real-time data collection, management evaluation, and analysis. This information enables users to make better, faster decisions, and take subsequent action to improve safety, security, and sustainability. … Read more

Scientists at the University of Missouri are developing a small nuclear battery that they say can hold a million times more charge than standard batteries.

The radioisotope battery, being developed by Jae Kwon of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and other researchers, is the size and thickness of a penny.

That makes it smaller than nuclear batteries used in space and military applications. Kwon says it might shrink to less than the thickness of a human hair if the right materials are used.

The battery is designed to drive micro/nanoelectromechanical systems (M/NEMS). Such devices include labs … Read more

Electronic paper is stacking up to be a high-growth market, according to a new report.

Sales of e-paper displays are projected to soar from $431 million this year to $9.6 billion in 2018, market researcher DisplaySearch said Wednesday.

The number of units sold is forecast to grow 22 million this year to 1.8 billion in 2018.

E-books are currently the main use and sales driver for e-paper. Most e-book readers, such as the Amazon Kindle and Sony Reader, use the electrophoretic display technology from E Ink. A few e-readers, such as Fujitsu's Flepia, use a different technology … Read more

MemInfo lets users keep an eye on their computer's memory at all times. It gives a real-time look into the workings of computer systems. With ease and subtlety, MemInfo is a great tool for memory hogs.

The program's interface is so basic it doesn't matter that there is no Help file. There is basically no interaction here: users just view the statistics of their memory. What few commands there are operate quite simply. MemInfo embeds itself into the user's system tray and stays there. To view its information, users simply scroll over the small icon. A … Read more

When your iPhone's screen automatically reorients itself, it's using a nascent silicon technology expected to become a $1.7 billion market by 2013.

It's called an accelerometer--and the iPhone brought these devices into the mainstream.

"When you turn your iPhone to the side and the screen automatically adjusts from portrait to landscape view, there's an accelerometer at work. And when you swing your (Nintendo) Wii controller and bowl a virtual strike, there's an accelerometer at work there too," iSuppli noted in a report released Thursday. The market for these devices is expected to grow to $1.7 billion in 2013, up from $947.7 million in 2007, according to the market research firm.

Accelerometers are based on another burgeoning silicon field, Microelectromechanical Systems, or MEMS--also referred to as micromachines. MEMS are made up of components typically no larger than 100 micrometers in size and usually integrate a microprocessor and other components, such as the microsensor found in the iPhone's accelerometer.

Accelerometers in recent years have emerged as a popular input device for some of the world's hottest electronic products, causing shipments to boom, according to iSuppli. "Due to this rapid sales growth, accelerometers by 2013 will displace the current leading MEMS products--inkjet heads and Digital Light Processing (DLP) chips--to become the dominant type of MEMS device sold worldwide in 2013," said Jérémie Bouchaud, iSuppli principal analyst for MEMS, in a statement.

"Consumers' desire for motion-sensing in smart phones and video game systems will boost demand for accelerometers," Bouchaud added.… Read more

Spectators at the Olympics will get a chance to touch the flame-bearing torch--a replica of it, that is. Instead of fire, the torches have a microelectromechanical system (MEMS), an accelerometer, and lines of LEDS embedded within.

By waving the torch, an internal sensor will determine the left and right points, while the MEMS measures the degree of movement and transmits the information to a microchip that activates the LEDs to display "in the air" preprogrammed words or images relevant to the Olympics.

This idea is not novel, and you've probably seen similar products in gift shops. But … Read more

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the largest contract chip manufacturer in the world, will crank up its MEMS foundry business. Micro-Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) technology is used in Apple's iPhone and the Nintendo Wii.

MEMS typically have a microprocessor and other components such as microsensors. For example, MEMS technology is used in the iPhone and Wii to allow these devices to detect motion and changes in orientation.

In the iPhone, a device called an accelerometer detects when the user rotates the iPhone from portrait to landscape modes, then automatically adjusts the display, so the entire width of a web page or … Read more