X-Fab to expand MEMS foundry service

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Germany's X-Fab Silicon Foundries AG said that it will expand its foundry service to include 200-mm MEMS wafer processing.

X-Fab currently supports 150-mm foundry services for MEMS. The company already is working with customers developing MEMS devices on 200-mm wafers in combination with 0.35-micron CMOS technology.

Moving to the larger wafer diameter and monolithic MEMS/CMOS integration allows significant reductions in manufacturing costs, according to X-Fab (Erfurt, Germany).

X-Fab will install 8-inch MEMS process equipment in three phases in its dedicated MEMS clean room in Erfurt. Phase 1 adds equipment for bulk-silicon etching. This phase will be implemented throughout 2010.

Phase 2 adds to X-Fab’s silicon etching capability other main processes required for MEMS manufacturing, such as photolithography, thin film deposition and etching. Phase 3 also implements new processes that expand X-Fab’s technology capability with noble metals or other materials not found in CMOS fabs.

“X-Fab’s MEMS foundry service combines our extensive experience in this field with well established process control and quality assurance procedures required for the automotive sector and used throughout our CMOS and MEMS operations,” said Uwe Schwarz, head of X-Fab’s MEMS development team, in a statement.