SWISS-SINGAPORE Workshop Microsystems for Harsh ...

SWISS-SINGAPORE
Workshop
on
Microsystems for Harsh
Environment Applications
Monday, 22 January 2007
Co-Sponsored by
Supported by
Speakers
Dr Thomas Maeder, EPFL
Dr Alex Dommann, CTO, CSEM Ltd
Dr Thomas Hinderling, CEO, CSEM Ltd
Mr Sean Neylon, CEO, Colibrys and Chairman, NEXUS
Prof Nicolaas de Rooij, Director IMT, University of Neuchâtel
Mr Alvin Ho, Account Manager, IE Singapore
Dr Dennis Song, Managing Director, FOSTA Pte Ltd
Dr Ashwin M Khambadkone, Assistant Professor, NUS
Dr Albert Lu, Group Manager, SIMTech

Program
08:30 Registration
09:00 Welcome Address by SIMTech & Swiss House Singapore
Dr Lim Ser Yong, Executive Director, SIMTech
Dr Suzanne Hraba-Renevey, Executive Director, Swiss House Singapore
09:10 Harsh Environment Innovation
Dr Thomas Hinderling, CSEM Ltd
09:40 Trends for Automotive Electronics
Dr Alvin Ho, IE Singapore
10:10 Microsystems for the Space and Transport Industries
Prof Nicolaas de Rooij, IMT Neuchâtel
10:40 Tea Break & Networking
11:10 Sensors and Packages based on LTCC and Thick-film Technology for
Severe Conditions
Dr Thomas Maeder, EPFL
11:40 Multi-functional Substrate Technologies
Dr Albert Lu, SIMTech
12:10 Challenges in Power Electronics Circuits for Extreme Operating conditions
Dr Ashwin M Khambadkone, NUS
12:40 Buffet Lunch & Networking
14:00 Fibre Optic Sensor Technology and Application
Dr Dennis Song, FOSTA
14:30 Trends in Inertial and Seismic Sensing in Defense and Aerospace
Applications: How far will MEMS succeed in meeting these needs?
Mr Sean Neylon, Colibrys
15:00 Fibre Optic Sensor Technology and Application
Dr Alex Dommann, CSEM
15:30 Panel session / Q&A
16:00 Wrap-up / Tea Reception

Abstract and speakers’ biographies
Harsh Environment Innovation
Dr Thomas Hinderling
CEO, Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM SA) Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Email: thomas.hinderling@csem.ch
Biography
After studies at the University of Zurich that led to a master in nuclear physics; and a
postgraduate course in molecular biology, Thomas Hinderling did his PhD at the Institute
of Biomedical Engineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich.
He started his professional career at NASA, in Houston and San Francisco (Ames
Research Center), where he was in charge of a project to measure bone density of
astronauts in zero gravity conditions. In 1980 he went back to Switzerland, where he
worked for Schindler Aufzuege (elevators) AG and was responsible for the R&D
department. After ten years at Schindler he moved to Landis & Gyr Energy Management
AG in Zug, Switzerland, where he had the worldwide R&D responsibility. Still for the
same company, he moved to Hong Kong and became the CTO for Landis & Gyr Energy
Asia Pacific Inc. In that function he was in charge to build-up businesses in Asia,
especially in China, India, South Korea and Australia.
Since April 1997, Dr. Thomas Hinderling has been the CEO of CESM (Centre Suisse
d’Electronique et de Microtechnique) in Neuchatel, Switzerland. Besides that, he has
been nominated as ‘Professeur titulaire’ at the EPFL Swiss Federal Institute of
Technology, Lausanne, Switzerland. Thomas Hinderling is the co-founder of around 20
companies, such as Semtech, Uditis, Avalon, Photonfocus and Colibrys. Currently, he is
a holder of 4 patents.

Accurate microscopic method to investigate the aging of
micromachined silicon actuators
Dr Alex Dommann
CTO, Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique (CSEM SA) Neuchâtel, Switzerland
Email: Alex.DOMMANN@csem.ch
Typically a strong argument to use monocrystalline material and especially silicon is its
potential resistance against aging. However, quantified results of this fact are rarely
published. We compare the strain and dislocation density induced by thermally grown
silicon dioxide on silicon wafers with those in a microfabricated thermal bimorphous
beam actuator as well as the influence of aging on these parameters. A high-resolution
X-ray diffractometer allows measuring the strain of a crystal. This is an accurate, non
destructive microscopic method applied in this field to obtain quantified results on the
crystalline disorder. Aging of a crystal can be documented by this method as a change of
the strain and by simulation the strain profile. The method is applied to actuators on
which hysteresis was observed.
Biography
Alex Dommann earned his PhD at the ETH Zurich after completing his diploma in solidstate
physics and crystallography at the University of Zurich. In the following years he
was research fellow at the applied physics department of the California Institute of
Technology and the JPL of NASA, Pasadena (CA), research scientist at the Paul
Scherrer Institute (PSI) in Würenlingen and at the Laboratorium für Festkörperphysik of
the ETH in Zurich. In 1991 he was appointed Professor of materials research at the
Interstate University of Applied Sciences Buchs, NTB, Switzerland. He took a sabbatical
leave in summer 1997 as visiting faculty at Caltech, Pasadena, were he carried out
research on amorphous metals and diffusion barriers. He was scientific Head of the
Institute for Microsystems at NTB between 1997-2004. In 2005 he was appointed CTO
of the CSEM, Centre Suisse d’Electronique et de Microtechnique S.A., at Neuchatel. His
research concentrates on the structuring, coating and characterization of thin films and
MEMS structures. He made significant contributions to all aspects of thin films
characterization and aging of MEMS. His studies led to a variety of new semiconductor
structuring and coating processes. His contributions have opened up exciting
possibilities for future research in the area of semiconductor and MEMS structuring and
coating. He is member of different national and international committees.

Sensors and packages based on LTCC and thick-film technology
for severe conditions
Dr Thomas Maeder
Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL)
Email: thomas.maeder@epfl.ch
High temperatures, very high pressures and/or the presence of aggressive media cannot
be covered by standard packaging methods, which only provide limited environmental
stability. Ceramic technologies such as LTCC (Low Temperature Cofired Ceramic) and
thick-film, on the other hand, offer easy manufacturability while achieving hermeticity /
media isolation as well as outstanding chemical and thermal stability. This contribution
will present several sensor and packaging applications of these technologies to devices
which must perform under harsh conditions, as well as potential future developments.
Biography
After graduating from the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in
materials science, Thomas Maeder pursued with a PhD in piezoelectric thin films, and a
post-doc at IBM Rüschlikon in single-crystal conductive oxydes. He now heads a thickfilm
technology group at the EPFL, and also is active in materials technology at Sensile
Medical, a start-up medical device company. His current areas of interest are thick-film
and LTCC technology for advanced sensor and packaging applications, and materials
for medical sensors.

Trends in inertial and seismic sensing in defence and aerospace
applications: How far will MEMS succeed in meeting these needs?
Mr Sean Neylon
CEO, Colibrys, and Chairman, NEXUS
Email: Sean.NEYLON@colibrys.com
Biography
Sean Neylon obtained a Physics degree from the Imperial College of Science &
Technology in London in 1977. Thereon he joined GEC Hirst Research Laboratories as
a design engineer and later GEC Marconi where he was involved in a number of roles
including design, development and manufacture of SAW filters, Microwave, Millimetre
wave & RF Components. In the early 1990s as Business Development Manager he was
responsible for diversifying the business away from traditional space & defence markets
and into new emerging markets including mobile telecommunications and new
automotive applications, successfully supplying innovative RF electronic subsystems to
first tier manufacturers e.g. BMW, Rover and Volvo.
In 1997, he joined MICRONAS SA in Switzerland as assistant chief executive officer
assisting in the restructuring of their operations following the acquisition of ITT
Intermetall GmbH. In January, 1999, he joined CSEM as executive vice-president
responsible for the microsystems manufacturing division with the specific mission of
preparing it as a spin-off. Since the 1st of January, 2001 he has been the CEO of
Colibrys SA and following the acquisition of Applied MEMS in December he has been
the president of Colibrys Inc., Stafford Texas USA.
Sean Neylon is currently Chairman of NEXUS, the European Microsystems Networking
Association.

Microsystems for the Space and Transport Industries
Prof Nico F. de Rooij
Chair of Microelectronics, Institute of Microtechnology
University of Neuchatel, Switzerland
Email: Nico.DeRooij@unine.ch
This communication presents some realizations at the Institute of Microtechnology in the
field of microsystems for application in harsh environments. Special design and
characterization have been performed for microsystems related to their application in the
space and automotive environments. The presentation will review the activities in the
field of micro-thrusters, AFM probes and optical switches for space application. Microthrusters
using the solid propellant concept are especially suitable for application under
vacuum and after long storage time before use. A dedicated miniaturized AFM system
has been developed to participate in a NASA mission on mars in 2007. Electrostatic
optical switches on silicon used in the telecommunication industry have been space
qualified and details about the device and its qualification will be given. Finally, the
development of micro low-power gas sensors for application in the automotive industry
as ventilation flap regulators will also be discussed.
Biography
Nicolaas F. de Rooij received an M.Sc. degree in physical chemistry from the State
University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, in 1975, and a Ph.D. degree from Twente
University of Technology, the Netherlands, in 1978. From 1978 to 1982, he worked at
the research and development department of Cordis Europa N.V., the Netherlands. In
1982, he joined the Institute of Microtechnology of the University of Neuchatel,
Switzerland (IMT UNI-NE), as professor and head of the sensors, actuators and
microsystems laboratory. Since October 1990 till October 1996 and again from October
2002, he is acting as director of the IMT UNI-NE. He lectured at the Swiss Federal
Institute of Technology, Zurich (ETHZ), and since 1989, he has been a part-time
professor at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, Lausanne (EPFL). His research
activities include microfabricated sensors, actuators, and microsystems. He was a
member of the steering committee of the International Conference on solid-state
Sensors and Actuators and of Eurosensors. He is a member of the editorial boards for
the journals Sensors and Actuators, Sensors and Materials and the IEEE Journal of
Microelectromechanical Systems.
Dr. de Rooij is a Fellow of the IEEE and of the Institute of Physics (IOP UK). He is
corresponding member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences and
individual member of the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences in recognition of his
activities in the field of MEMS. He has authored and coauthored over 250 technical
papers. He has received a number of awards, including the Schlumberger Fund Award
(1992) and the Visiting Investigatorship Program (VIP) Award from A*STAR’s Science
and Engineering Council (SERC), Singapore (2005-2008).

Trends for Automotive Electronics
Mr Alvin Ho
Account Manager, IE Singapore
Email: Alvin_HO@iesingapore.gov.sg
Almost every aspect of modern automotive design—from the powertrain to emissions
reduction to cabin comfort—has been positively and radically affected by advances in
automotive electronics. Integrated electronics and sensor systems are becoming an
accepted fact of life for automotive systems designers and consumers alike. The
automotive electronics and sensors markets are being driven both by rapidly developing
technology and by consumer demand for increased safety on the road. Worldwide
demand for automotive electronics is forecast to advance 7.1 percent annually to $100
billion in the year 2007, much more rapidly than vehicle production itself. According to
Telematics Research Group, 50 percent of all vehicles sold in 2010 will be equipped with
DVD players, global positioning satellite navigation systems, satellite radios and cell
phone accessories. In the early 1980s, electronics equipment on a car accounted for
only about 2% to 3% of the total cost of a car, but the ratio is expected to jump to about
40% in 2010 (or much higher on luxury car models). With the increasing trend towards
increasing electronic complexity in the car, what are some of the key technologies and
standards that will come to dominate the automotive electronics scene? Who are the key
drivers behind some of these technologies? What are some of the critical success
factors for riding on the wave of electronics revolution sweeping through the automotive
industry?
Biography
Alvin Ho Tse Ming began his career in Agilent Technologies in where he gained
extensive operational experience in managing Contract Manufacturers (CM) in China,
Malaysia and Thailand. His stellar performance in operational management
subsequently earned him the highest performance ranking ever in his department’s
history and the privilege to be the sole representative of his business unit to the Agilent‘s
Six Sigma Black Belt Program. He then became the first candidate across the entire
Agilent Technologies to be awarded Motorola’s Certified Six Sigma Black Belt. His
project, which achieved combined cost savings exceeding USD 1.5 million, was also
awarded the Best Six Sigma Project for its outstanding results. Alvin is also currently
certified as a Black Belt by both ASQ and SQI. In addition, he was instrumental in
implementing a more efficient supply chain management system and a more stringent
quality control system at the CMs, which resulted in 6 million USD more in terms of
revenue for Agilent Technologies. He also led cost-reduction programs resulting in 300K
USD in annual savings and has helped to reduce production cycle-time at CMs by 30%.
His areas of expertise and specialization are in SQC, DOE, DFM, TQM, Kaizen, Kanban
and DFSS.

Alvin is currently serving as an Account Manager at IE Singapore, representing the
Electronics and Precision Engineering industry. Under this portfolio, he is responsible for
crafting and implementing nation-wide policies to grow the Electronics and Precision
Engineering sector. In addition, he advises Singapore’s SMEs on their corporate growth
strategies, M&A efforts and on core internationalization competencies such as branding
and manpower. He is also part of the Working Committee for the National Initiative for
Automotive, Auto IGNITE, and has initiated and overseen various marketing campaigns
and business matching events for the Automotive Parts industry of Singapore. He has
also delivered numerous public seminars and speeches on strategies to achieve global
success in the automotive industry.
To date, Alvin’s achievements include the facilitation of S$500 million worth of overseas
sales by Singapore’s SMEs, due to close cultivation of key global MNC accounts. In
addition, he has helped to generate over S$50 million worth of overseas investments by
Singapore SMEs in China and India. He also initiated and organized the inaugural Auto
IGNITE Forum 2006, the first-ever automotive-centric procurement event which brings
together more than 200 automotive professionals from over 80 companies and is held
over 2 days of business matchings and seminars. His efforts in the Automotive Parts
industry have also ensured that the industry achieves an annualized growth rate of
10.1% to S$640 million in terms of revenue in 2006 alone.
His educational qualifications include a Bachelors in Electrical Engineering (Hons) with a
Minor in Technopreneurship, and a Master of Science in Industrial & Systems
Engineering, from NUS. In addition, he has produced research papers in the area of
knowledge management.

Fibre Optic Sensor Technology and Applications
Dr Dennis Song
Managing Director, FOSTA Pte Ltd
Email: dennis.song@fos-ta.com
Fibre optic sensor (FOS) is one of today's fastest developed sensing technologies for
structural health monitoring (SHM). Optical fibre, which is nowadays commonly used in
telecommunication industry, can be made as sensors for discrete and distributed
measurement of temperature, strain and other engineering quantities. Canada published
FOS SHM design manuals in 2001. American Concrete Institute also has its design
guidelines. US, Canada and Japan installed thousands of the sensors in their critical
structures in recent decades. In Singapore, more than two thousands FOS have been
installed in the past five years. FOS can be installed into aircraft, boat, vehicle, building,
dam, highway, tunnel, bridge, offshore platform, pipeline, power plant, security,
environmental, and any structures to verify their design, monitor their structural
performance, increase lifetime and reliability, and decrease maintenance activities. Dr
Song's topic will cover the types of FOS, their characteristics, and FOSTA's project case
studies.
Biography
Dr Dennis Song is the Managing Director of FOSTA Pte Ltd, a hi-tech structural health
monitoring and Instrumentation Company. They design, fabricate, install and operate
FOS SHM systems in Singapore and the region. Before FOSTA, he was the Senior
Manager of Regional Business Development Division and Technology Division of CPG
Laboratories, a subsidiary of CPG Corporation. Dennis has 20 years of working
experience to provide engineering testing and consultancy services for various
industries. Before joining CPG, Dennis was a Senior Consultant and Project Manager of
PSB Corporation.
Dr Song graduated from China in Engineering in 1984 and obtained his PhD from
Imperial College, UK in 1993, followed by MBA from NTU in 2002. He has more than 20
publications in journals and conferences, and holds three patents in composite material,
car park management and fibre optic sensors. He is a UK professional engineer and
member of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, Institute of Materials (UK), Singapore
Non-Destructive Testing Society and FRP Society.

Multi-functional Substrate Technologies
Dr Albert Lu
Group Manager, Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech)
Email: cwlu@simtech.a-star.edu.sg
Harsh environment and high performance applications including automotive electronics
and avionics are driving the need for advanced platform technology solutions including
power electronics, smart sensors and multi-functional substrates. This presentation will
provide an overview of market drivers and technology trends in automotive electronics.
Key challenges for power train, engine management and safety systems include
reliability, interconnection density, thermal management and high frequency
performance. The state-of-the-art in multi-functional substrate technologies including
large area polyimide and low-temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) as well as wide
bandgap semiconductor technologies including SiC and GaN will also be presented.
Biography
Dr Albert Lu is Group Manager and Research Scientist with the Multi-functional
Substrate Technology Group at Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology
(SIMTech), a research institute of the Agency for Science, Technology and Research
(A*STAR). . He leads a research team on multi-functional integration and cost-effective
manufacturing processes for microsystems, cutting across a wide spectrum of
applications in electronics and precision manufacturing industries. He was the recipient
of the Lee Kuan Yew Award for Mathematics and Science in Singapore as well as the
Institution of Electrical Engineers Prize in UK. Dr. Lu also serves in key professional
committees, including the advisory board of GlobalTRONICS, member of the
International IPC Committee for Embedded Passives and is the Singapore Chief
Delegate for the Micromachine Summit.

Challenges in Power Electronics Circuit for Extreme Operating Conditions
Dr Ashwin M Khambadkone
Assistant Professor, National University of Singapore (NUS)
Email: eleamk@nus.edu.sg
Power electronic systems are an important component for any electronic system. From
IT applications such as power supplies for future microprocessors to automotive
electronics, they play a vital role in efficient energy conversion. Power electronic system
design is being driven by power densities and EMC requirements. Extreme operating
conditions pose challenges to the standard designs. The talk will present two examples
of extreme operating conditions and the challenges they pose for design of these
systems.
Biography
Dr Ashwin M. Khambadkone received the Dr.-Ing. degree in 1995 from Wuppertal
University, Germany. He also holds a Graduate Certificate in Education from University
of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia. In 1987, he joined the Electrical Machines and
Drives Laboratory, Wuppertal University, as a Research Assistant. He was involved in
research in the areas of PWM methods, field-oriented control, parameter identification,
and sensorless vector control. He was also involved in industrial development of vector
control drives. From 1995 to 1997, he was a lecturer at the University of Queensland. He
was also at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, India in 1998. Since 1998 he is an
Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore. His research activities are in
the control of AC drives, Design and control of power electronic converters and fuel cell
based systems.
Dr Khambadkone is the recipient of the Outstanding paper award for the year 1991 and
the Best paper award for the year 2002 both in the IEEE Transaction on Industrial
Electronics.