Next-Gen Microelectronics Design: Manufacturing Challenges and Opportunities
The
innovations driving the development of technically sophisticated, smaller
electronics are transforming the electronics assembly landscape. Hardware
manufacturers are under pressure to achieve new advancements in
miniaturization, improve device performance, lower costs and speed
time-to-market. These factors have a significant impact on their design and
production processes, including introducing die level functionality such as
micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS).[1] This
elevates the role a trusted partner like Celestica plays in shepherding their
new ideas from design through prototyping and volume production.
Companies
across every industry today are competing in what Celestica calls “The Acceleration Economy”
characterized by three powerful forces: high customer expectations; emerging
technologies; and globalized innovation and competition. OEMs partner with
Celestica to succeed in this environment because of our 20+ years of experience
in manufacturing some of the most complicated electronics in the world.
Celestica’s
Microelectronics Lab in Newmarket plays a key role in helping OEMs develop
innovative product designs and manufacturing processes that meet their customers’
high expectations, reduce time-to-market and lower costs. This enables
manufacturers to focus on their core priorities, such as creating technology
differentiation and go-to-market strategies, that enable them to grow their
businesses.
“Achieving
these goals demands going beyond making advancements in miniaturization,” says
says Mike Berry, Celestica’s Microelectronics Lab Manager. “Product designs are
becoming increasingly complex to incorporate moving, connectivity and
mechanical systems or exposed silicon chips. They necessitate manufacturing
processes that are more intricate than making millions of packaged components
with wire bonding and soldering.”
We
leverage these cutting-edge techniques and processes in our clean room
environment to help our customers design and produce innovations across a wide
range of markets, including electronic retail shelf displays that automatically
update prices, eliminating the need to do so manually, and sensors that will
allow your car to drive itself.
Cepton
Technologies, Inc. is a developer of industry-leading 3D sensing solutions for
automotive, industrial and mapping applications. The company made waves earlier
this year at CES 2019 by demonstrating its Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR)
solutions that enable autonomous vehicles to instantly recognize and track
objects on all sides and take necessary actions to avoid accidents.
Cepton partnered with Celestica to
reduce the size of its LiDAR sensor so that it fits within the vehicle’s body
without sacrificing range and performance. We optimized the product design and
moved it into fast high-volume production. How fast is fast? It takes a Cepton
technician more than two hours to build one LiDAR sensor by hand. Celestica’s
fully automated process reduced that time to just a few minutes.
“Celestica
is the most agile contract manufacturer partner when it comes to the
manufacturing of optical and electronic assemblies,” says Cepton CEO Dr. Jun
Pei.
The
Cepton-Celestica partnership is a case study for overcoming the pressures of
next-gen microelectronics design and manufacturing. Cepton excels at fast-paced
technology design and development of prototypes, and Celestica brings complementary
operational and management excellence. Together, we are producing technology
that is transformative for the entire automotive industry.
Succeeding in the
Acceleration Economy demands constant innovation. The Celestica
microelectronics lab offers our customers the capabilities and engineering
expertise to design and manufacture projects that are "non standard"
applications across the communications, aerospace and defense, automotive,
smart energy, retail, and healthtech markets. Learn more about the full breadth of our capabilities.
[1] “Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) are microscale
devices and systems that integrate electronic components with mechanical ones.”
Microelectromechanical systems. (2018, October 03). New World Encyclopedia http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/p/index.php?title=Microelectromechanical_systems&oldid=1015006