Micro-electromechanical
systems (MEMS) and sensor fusion will play a critical role in enabling a
more intelligent and intuitive Internet of Things (IoT)—one that will
revolutionize the consumer space forever. The MEMS and sensor technology
is here today and now is the time to harness it for your products and
position yourself for this exciting future. I encourage you to read on
and learn about some great examples of MEMS enabling IoT.
-Karen Lightman, Executive Director, MEMS Industry Group
-Karen Lightman, Executive Director, MEMS Industry Group
MEMS: An Enabler of the Next Internet Revolution
Written by: Howard Wisniowski, President of HW Marketing Group.
The next internet revolution is
shaping up and MEMS
is poised to play an important role. Commonly referred to as the Internet of Things
(IoT) or Machine to
Machine (M2M) communications, this revolution consists primarily of machines
talking to one another, with computer-connected humans observing, analyzing and
acting upon the resulting 'big data' explosion it produces. While the first
internet/web revolution changed the world profoundly, the disruptive nature of MEMS,
M2M and the Internet of Things has the potential to change it even more as the
big data machine will no longer be dependent on human data entry. The internet
traffic will be automatically generated by millions of 'things' from which we can
retool large parts of the world for better efficiency, security and
environmental responsibility.
The enabling qualities of MEMS
sensors quickly come to mind since they are increasingly becoming cheap,
plentiful and can communicate, either directly with the internet or with internet-connected
devices. Almost anything to which you can attach a sensor — a football helmet,
an automobile, a smartphone, a cow in a field, a container on a cargo vessel,
the air-conditioning unit in your office, a lamppost in the street — can become
a node in the Internet of Things. Be it on location, altitude, velocity,
temperature, illumination, motion, power, humidity, blood sugar, air quality,
soil moisture... you name it, MEMS-based sensors will play an important role in
gathering and/or disseminating data from millions of devices.
Deeper into the signal chain,
however, is another class of MEMS devices that is evolving and will have a
profound impact. At the heart of all the “connected” devices will be a
component that provides the timing that enables all communication to occur.
In the past, timing components have
typically been manufactured from quartz crystals, a nearly century-old
technology unsuitable for integration into small, low power connectivity ICs. In
contrast, a new generation of MEMS timing devices are appearing and are offered
by companies such as Sand 9, Silicon Labs, IDT, and SiTime.
Major advantages of MEMS timing devices include vibration immunity, shock
resistance, power supply noise immunity, small package dimensions, and reliable
operation at high sustained temperatures. Additionally, sourcing MEMS timing devices is significantly easier
that quartz. Leadtimes are shorter, the ability to react to sudden upside is
much faster, and the ability to leverage semiconductor batch manufacturing
enables cost benefits as volumes scale.
For the IoT market, small size is a
key factor. New timing devices are now available in ultra-small WLCSPs and can
be co-packaged with Bluetooth Smart ICs. An example of this is
Sand 9’s MEMS resonators. Rugged,
simplified Bluetooth Smart SiPs with the smallest dimensions and lowest power
requirements are one of the factors driving Bluetooth adoption and IoT growth by enabling
applications such as new
industrial designs for wearable devices and tags. With
an ever increasing number of Bluetooth devices able to connect
wirelessly, both the ecosystem and each device in it will increase in value and
usefulness.
Speaking of smaller size, zero operate power, and higher
performance, another MEMS technology is emerging that will also impact product
designs serving the IoT trends. MEMS switches are now being introduced that
require no power to switch while robust enough to handle 300mW of ‘carry power’ performing as a
sensor, high carry current switch or both. Announced earlier this year, Coto Technology’s RedRock™ MEMS-based magnetic reed switch is
the latest example and is currently the world's smallest single-pole, single
throw (SPST) switch at only 2-by-1 millimeter (with an even smaller one on the
way). It is activated or closed by a magnetic field of less than 25 milliTeslas
while being highly directional, making it virtually immune to stray magnetic
fields. Applications that benefit include ultra-small hearing aids, implantable
insulin pumps, capsule endoscopes in-a-pill, and even devices that track birds,
land animals and sharks off the coast of Chatham Massachusetts, all products
connected for data logging and programming.
