AMFitzgerald provides full service engineering for customers throughout the entire MEMS development cycle, from concept evaluation to foundry transfer. The company's key service is expert MEMS prototyping, performed by AMFitzgerald's process engineers at university facilities, which enables customers to quickly and cost-effectively iterate new MEMS designs in small wafer batches.
Integration of the Sil-Via® into MEMS systems enables significantly reduced form factor and true wafer level packaging solutions. "There is an unmet need for TSV at the prototype stage," says Dr. Alissa M. Fitzgerald, founder and managing member of AMFitzgerald. "Many MEMS devices, such as imagers or medical devices, need TSVs to meet performance demands, challenging form factors or packaging requirements. Our unique ability to integrate a standardized TSV in a prototype device will provide our customers with a strategic advantage in terms of reduced timeline, risk and cost."

Silex's Sil-Via® technology has a proven history of volume production supply into a wide range of MEMS applications, including the cellular handset market. "Customers will now be able to integrate our standard TSV and wafer level packaging technologies very early in the development cycle," says Tomas Bauer, VP Marketing & Sales, of Silex Microsystems. "We feel this is an important service to the MEMS industry, where there is an urgent need to shorten time to market. Customers who start integration of the packaging solution already at the prototype stage will be able to move faster and with more confidence into volume production."

A.M. FITZGERALD & ASSOCIATES, LLC is the leading provider of engineering services to clients developing novel MEMS-enabled products. Services span three major areas: pre-foundry MEMS prototyping and product development, simulation for reliability and design optimization, and technology strategy. The company utilizes low-cost university facilities to build early stage prototypes for its clients, with an emphasis on improving design robustness and manufacturability for efficient transfer to foundry. www.amfitzgerald.com.

SILEX MICROSYSTEMS AB (PUBL) is a world leading MEMS foundry providing manufacturing capacity, advanced process technologies and proven standard process platforms to a wide range of high-tech companies. Yearly managed capacity exceeds 50 thousand 6-inch wafers and 100 thousand 8-inch wafers. www.silexmicrosystems.com