TechBlog

The Nintendo Wii’s use of a MEMS-enabled motion controller and the Apple iPhone’s use of accelerometers to change the display from horizontal to vertical are examples of how MEMS are creating new ways for people to interact with electronic devices. They illustrate the continued expansion of MEMS technology from its beginnings in the automotive and industrial markets to applications that include energy harvesting, wireless communications, “smart homes,” and biomedical.

Big numbersAccording to the analyst group Yole Développement, the market was worth $5.8 billion in 2006 and will grow to $10.7 billion by 2011. The leading MEMS application, inkjet heads, is followed closely by sensors for airbag deployment and tire inflation monitoring. Texas Instruments (TI) makes Digital Light Processing (DLP) MEMS for computer displays as well as for digital projection. Wicht Technologie Consulting says that TI was the top MEMS manufacturer in 2006, with $905 million in revenues. TI has reportedly shipped more than 10 million DLP sub-systems since 1996.

While MEMS technology is about more than high-volume production, others have been similarly successful with mass production. ST Microelectronics’ 3-axis accelerometer is the enabling force within Nintendo’s Wii, and Analog Devices says it has shipped more than 250 million MEMS accelerometers for automotive, consumer, and industrial applications.

Continue reading ‘MEMS is moving. Here’s where.’ »

High-power diode lasers are well known as reliable and economic light sources in various medical, industrial, and scientific applications. Only the higher beam-parameter-product restricts the use of common diode lasers in some fields.Now, LIMO introduces the prototype LIMO25-C10×10-DL980 High-Power Diode Laser. This 25 Watt high power diode laser emits a 10 x 10 mm beam with a currently unrivaled small divergence of only 2 x 2 mrad. The exceptionally low beam-parameter-product of 5 mm mrad yields power densities of 5 MW/cm² in a 25 µm spot. Doubling of the output power is already in progress. Thus, LIMO will soon offer a 50 W high power diode laser unit.

The main areas of application for this high power diode laser are marking, micro material processing, pumping, and microsurgery.

Operation with thermoelectric cooling or simple tap water cooling guarantees high reliability and extended uptime for our high power diode lasers.

Continue reading ‘Marking, Micro Material Processing, Pumping And Microsurgery With Ultra-High-Brightness-Laser’ »