Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 February 2011
Minimizing risk is an important factor in new product planning because high volume breakthrough products require tens of millions of dollars to develop and bring to market. Sometimes risk can be minimized by following the IC model: build new devices on an existing process – just change the mask set. This approach obviously has limits. Adoption of new materials and processes greatly expands the horizon for “disruptive” products. This paper uses a case study approach to examine how changes in masks, materials and unit processes were used, and will continue to be used, to produce MEMS products for high volume applications.