April - 2015 - issue > CXO INSIGHT

Semiconductor Manufacturing-The Next Frontier

Vivek Jain, SVP of the Technology and Manufacturing Group (TMG), Maxim Integrated

Friday, April 3, 2015

Forward

Vivek Jain, SVP of the Technology and Manufacturing Group (TMG), Maxim Integrated

New technology drives change, and semiconductors have been at the forefront of these changes since the integrated circuit was invented in 1958. Now, through the proliferation of technology throughout the world, we are on the cusp of a new wave of change-one driven by the Internet of Things (IoT).

This means it's an exciting time to be a semiconductor company. Technology has gone mobile and sensors are appearing everywhere. These sensors collect and distribute information about the environment they are in-temperature, motion, color, and more-that enable people to change the world in profound ways.

Integrating Sensors-the Next Manufacturing Challenge

Silicon-based semiconductors have a very good platform for integration of CMOS and Bipolar-based technologies. However, sensors are very different, and each one requires a unique solution. A microphone requires an etched cavity to collect sound. Movement is measured through special micro-machines called MEMS devices. Optical sensors that measure light have lenses and LEDs in addition to silicon. The trend is to integrate these diverse technologies into single packages. And as the packages get smaller and smaller, we invent new ways to integrate them. What the industry really needs is a common sensor platform that we can build from similar to the one semiconductors have. Once this is in place, we will see multi-function sensors proliferate in the world around us.

Low Power Devices-An Exciting Trend