Freescale sets up 200-mm MEMS line

The newly added line at Freescale's Oak Hill Fab in Austin, Texas, complements the company's existing 150-mm MEMS capacity in Sendai, Japan.

The 200-mm capacity will allow Freescale to explore and integrate new MEMS capabilities. First developed in the 1970s, MEMS-based sensors remain at an early stage of product cycles.

Freescale continues to design and manufacture integrated piezoresistive and capacitive sensors. MEMS technology enables signal conditioning, connectivity, embedded control and innovations in firmware and software.

"As customers continue to demand low-cost, robust and highly functional sensors in smaller form factors, Freescale's additional 200-mm MEMS manufacturing line will certainly help to satisfy the upsurge of application opportunities in the price-sensitive automotive, industrial, medical and consumer markets," said Demetre Kondylis, vice president and general manager of Freescale's Sensor and Actuator Solutions Division, in a statement.