NARL unveils sensor technology to make smaller, powerful chips

The National Applied Research Laboratories (NARL) yesterday unveiled technology that allows semiconductor companies to produce smaller and more powerful sensor chips.    The technology enables the integration of vibrating microelectronic systems into a regular complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) chip, and will help Taiwan's integrated circuit (IC) players to design, manufacture, test and package sensor chips made from this technology, NARL said.   According to NARL, the design, manufacture, testing and packaging of sensor chips are currently monopolized by a handful of large multinational conglomerates, a situation that has prevented Taiwan IC firms from entering the sensor chip market.   With this technology, Taiwan IC companies will have an bigger presence in the increasingly important sensor chip market, which is expected to have a production value of US$20 billion in 2016, a rise from the current US$10 billion, NARL said.   Sensor chips can detect variations in temperature and breathing and have applications in various industries. They can be incorporated into handsets, necklaces, rings and medical pads to detect various physiological data such as blood pressure, blood sugar levels, heartbeat and the concentration of oxygen in blood, NARL said.   "Incorporating Taiwan-developed sensor chips into electronic, biotechnology and green energy products will raise Taiwan IC firms' visibility in the global sensor chip industry and strengthen the island's intelligent lifestyle electronics sector," NARL said.