NEW COOPE­RA­TIVE PROJECT MUSIC: COMPE­TI­TIVE SOLU­TIONS FOR MICROA­COUSTIC DEVICES

A new re­search project has been initiated with the goal of advan­cing microa­coustic MEMS devices, reflec­ting ongoing efforts in tech­no­lo­gical advan­ce­ments. Over the next 3.5 years, the project team aims to develop novel piezo­electric thin film confi­gu­ra­tions, improve the state-of-the-art in semi­con­ductor manu­fac­tu­ring tech­no­logy and actively develop next gene­ra­tion microa­coustic MEMS devices. The focus is on deve­lo­ping new tech­no­lo­gical solu­tions for MEMS micro­spea­kers with several poten­tial appli­ca­tions, from earphones to smart glasses.

MUSIC is led by Senior Scien­tist Anna­lisa De Pastina from the Re­search Unit Piezo­electric Micro­system Tech­no­lo­gies at SAL. Anna­lisa is respon­sible for the deve­lop­ment of MEMS with inte­grated piezo­electric trans­duc­tion, with a parti­cular focus on micro­tech­no­logy and design.

Mohssen Moridi, Head of Re­search Divi­sion Micro­sys­tems at SAL about the project: “We are glad to work on the deve­lop­ment of new tech­no­lo­gical solu­tions for piezo MEMS micro­spea­kers toge­ther with inter­na­tio­nally renowned industry part­ners. The results of this effec­tive coope­ra­tion will have a posi­tive impact on MEMS and inte­gra­tion of advanced piezo­electric thin-film tech­no­lo­gies, resul­ting in various emer­ging appli­ca­tions.

PROJECT CONSOR­TIUM: SAL MEETS INDUSTRY

At SAL, the two Re­search Units Piezo­electric Micro­system Tech­no­lo­gies and Thin Film Tech­no­lo­gies are involved in the project. Besides SAL, the consor­tium consists of the four renowned indus­trial part­ners STMi­cro­elec­tro­nics, USound, EV Group and Evatec.

STMi­cro­elec­tro­nics (NYSE: STM) is a global semi­con­ductor leader serving cust­o­mers across the spec­trum of elec­tro­nics appli­ca­tions.

USound is a fast-growing company that deve­lops advanced MEMS spea­kers for a wide range of audio devices, such as audio glasses, true wire­less (TWS) earphones, and over-the-counter (OTC) hearing aids. USound’s CTO Andrea Rusconi Clerici is looking forward to the colla­bo­ra­tion: “USound is pleased to be part of this inter­na­tional, inno­va­tive project enab­ling next gene­ra­tion MEMS-based actuator solu­tions.”

EV Group is a leading provider of wafer bonding and litho­graphy equip­ment for the MEMS, nano­tech­no­logy and semi­con­ductor market. “The inte­gra­tion of diffe­rent mate­rials in MEMS devices places high demands on manu­fac­tu­ring tech­no­lo­gies. We will leverage our exper­tise in wafer-level bonding to develop a new inte­gra­tion process with the aim to opti­mize the perfor­mance of next-gen spea­kers,” explains Bernd Diel­acher, Busi­ness Deve­lop­ment Manager at EV Group.

Evatec is a leading and complete thin film produc­tion solu­tions supp­lier in its core markets of Advanced Packa­ging, Power Devices, MEMS, Opto­elec­tro­nics, Wire­less Commu­ni­ca­tion and Photo­nics. Dino Faralli, Product Marke­ting Manager on Evatec’s cont­ri­bu­tions to the project: “The depo­si­tion of thin film piezo mate­rials like AlScN and PZT is a core know-how within Evatec. We are ready to cont­ri­bute to the project with the deve­lop­ment of a ‘produc­tion-ready’ depo­si­tion process for the next gene­ra­tion thin-film mspea­kers. Our work will mostly concen­trate on the opti­miza­tion of the resi­dual stress for the Pt/​AlScN layer stack.”

ABOUT SILICON AUSTRIA LABS (SAL)

Silicon Austria Labs GmbH (SAL) was founded in 2018 as a top non-univer­sity re­search center in the field of elec­tronic based systems. At its loca­tions in Graz, Villach and Linz, re­search is conducted on key tech­no­lo­gies in the fields of Micro­sys­tems, Sensor Systems, Power Elec­tro­nics, Intel­li­gent Wire­less Systems and Embedded Systems. SAL brings toge­ther key players from industry and science and thus valuable exper­tise and know-how, and conducts coope­ra­tive, appli­ca­tion-oriented re­search along the value chain. The aim is to acce­le­rate the value crea­tion process from idea to inno­va­tion – with excel­lent re­search and economic bene­fits. Owners are the Repu­blic (50.1%), the Provinces of Styria and Carin­thia (10% each), the Province of Upper Austria (4.95%) and the Asso­cia­tion for the Electric and Elec­tro­nics Industry (24.95%).

Silicon Austria Labs Contact:

Isabella Preuer
Head of Communications & PR     
Silicon Austria Labs          
Tel: +43 664 832 97 73    
E-mail: press@silicon-austria.com