Advantest has declared that it will start shipping MEMS relay samples in April 2012. These relays are designed for a number of applications such as high-speed communications devices, semiconductor testing equipment, high-frequency wave measurement equipment as well as for the related components.
Advantest to Ship MEMS Relay Samples in April 2012 (Credit:Business Wire)
Existing high-frequency wave relays normally utilize electrostatic or electromagnetic actuation. Electromagnetic relays are huge in size and consume more amount of power, while electrostatic relays require higher actuation voltages and can be affected easily by static electricity. Advantest’s MEMS relays overcome these obstacles by utilizing piezoelectric actuation.
The MEMS relay has a 1-µm-thick piezoelectric film produced by Advantest’s in-house deposition technology. This piezoelectric film is essential to the relay to work at low actuation voltage. The relay also demonstrates high reliability by utilizing contact-point control technology that is fine-tuned in the company’s semiconductor testing equipment.
The compact MEMS relay consumes less power when compared to electromagnetic relays, and is better than electrostatic relays concerning actuation voltage and environmental susceptibility. It can handle a high-frequency transmission of up to 20 GHz as it uses the high-frequency measurement technology of Advantest. The company plans to start the mass production of the MEMS relays in January 2013.
Besides serving the semiconductor testing field, Advantest will launch innovative solutions in fields like medical care, pharmaceutical and automotive sectors. Advantest produces automatic test equipment for use in the semiconductor industry and measuring tools for designing and manufacturing electronic instruments and systems. The company also targets at research and development for promising markets, which gain from the recent developments made in terahertz and nanotech technologies.