MEMS contest launches at DATE

The DATE 2016 conference saw the launch of a competition to encourage novel designs using MEMS technology.

Cadence Design Systems, Coventor, X-Fab and Reutlingen University are jointly sponsoring the contest that looks for imaginative design concepts that combine MEMS and mixed-signal technologies. The organizers aim to provide free training workshops to familiarize the participating teams with the design tools, design methodologies and process technologies involved.

A panel of highly experienced industry professionals and respected academics judge the submissions. Each entry will be judged on the degree of innovation demonstrated in hardware and methodology, the novelty of the application and the value the design provides. Awards for the top three submissions will be presented at Cadence’s annual user conference, CDNLive EMEA 2018, in Munich and the winning team’s solution will be manufactured at X-Fab’s wafer production facilities.

“Supporting innovation and advancement in electronic design is fundamental to what this contest is all about,” said Alexander Duesener, EMEA corporate vice president for Cadence. “Creating mixed-signal logic and MEMS designs requires a new process flow and totally new thinking. By enabling the winning design team to turn their concepts into manufactured designs, we highlight the value of MEMS and mixed-signal designs in today’s products.”

“The MEMS Design Contest calls attention to the increasing integration of MEMS and mixed-signal technologies in phones, cars and internet of things devices,” said Stephen Breit, vice president of engineering at Coventor. “By offering design teams state-of-the-art Cadence and Coventor tools in combination with X-Fab’s latest MEMS and CMOS design kits, we hope to inspire new applications of our combined solution for efficiently designing, integrating and manufacturing MEMS and mixed-signal CMOS technologies.”

“By enabling the winning design team to turn their ideas into manufactured designs, X-Fab is highlighting the value of proven MEMS process technology and design enablement through our design kits,” added Joerg Doblaski, design support director at X-Fab.

For complete information on the contest and how to enter visit: www.cadence.com/MEMS_Design_Contest_2018