Contemporary issues

ELMOS subsidiary manufactures 40.000 pressure sensors per day

Dortmund: Silicon Microstructures Inc. (SMI), a subsidiary of ELMOS Semiconductor AG, set a new production record. The company based in Milpitas, California, USA currently manufactures more than 40,000 pressure sensors per day. This is made possible because of its recently installed six-inch wafer MEMS manufacturing line.

The pressure sensors are used for automotive, medical and air conditioning markets. The product portfolio ranges from low pressure devices that measure human respiration to high-pressure devices designed for braking systems.

In focus is the worldwide smallest in serial production available pressure sensor SM 5108. Extending only 0.65mm by 0.65mm it can measure a range from one to ten bars.Good portions of the pressure sensor are further processed by the ELMOS subsidiary ELMOS Advanced Packaging in Nijmegen, Netherlands. The company spezialized in packages for semiconductors and sensors has developed special solutions for the different requirements. Therefore the pressure sensors from SMI can be integrated in customer specific and standard semiconductor solutions.

“The production record of SMI proofs that it has set the course for growth. The market for MEMS sensors will rise in the coming years. Through the increased capacity we can address new customers and markets”, says Dr. Frank Rottmann, member of the board for development and sales of ELMOS Semiconductor AG.

“In addition the close cooperation between SMI, ELMOS Advanced Packaging and ELMOS in Dortmund makes it possible to integrate sensors and evaluation electronics in a special package”, says Rottmann. The resulting microsystems can be used among others for tire pressure monitoring systems or airbags in automobiles.

The production at SMI was currently technically upgraded and extended by  modern machines for the manufacturing of MEMS sensors. The greatest benefit is the changeover to six-inch wafer. Therefore the production capacity was significantly enlarged and the compatibility to the manufacture at Dortmund is warranted.