Published: August 16, 2005

Microfabrica Kicks Off EFAB(TM) Access Design Competition

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Prizes Include Free Prototypes, Segway(TM) Scooters and a Toshiba DLP Projector

Microfabrica and MOSIS have launched the EFAB(TM) Access Design Competition for microdevices. Offered by MOSIS, EFAB(TM) Access, the leading low-cost prototyping service for MEMS and microdevice development, is the first multi-project run service to offer Microfabrica's breakthrough EFAB(TM) 3-D micromanufacturing technology. The three winning microdevice designs will be built free of charge, through the EFAB(TM) Access program.

The EFAB(TM) Access Design Competition is open to all individuals who have commercial or research interest in microdevices, including businesses, university faculty, students, research labs, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers and design contractors. There is no limit to the number of entries per person or organization.

Microfabrica and MOSIS will award three contest winners with prototypes of their designs. In addition, the top three contestants will receive MEMS-related prizes; a Segway(TM) i180 (first place), a Segway(TM) p133 (second place), and a ToshibaTDP-T90U DPL projector (third place).

EFAB(TM) Access gives companies, universities, research labs, and individuals the ability to design three-dimensional MEMS and microdevices and have their prototypes produced economically through MOSIS. The program opens the door to a wide variety of 3-D applications, including sensors, actuators, RF devices and medical instruments.

Entries must be submitted by November 11, 2005, and the winners will be announced in January 2006. The submissions will be judged by a panel comprised of independent industry experts, including Al Pisano of the University of California, Berkeley and Andrei Shkel of the University of California, Irvine.

"We are looking forward to launching our EFAB(TM) Access Design Competition, and replicating the success we had with our 3-D MEMS Design Challenge two years ago," said Vacit Arat, president and CEO of Microfabrica. "I'm fascinated that engineers worldwide, from so many different disciplines, can submit their innovative designs sharing the same EFAB(TM) process layers, for drastically different applications. EFAB(TM) may well be the first MEMS process that breaks the old one-process-one-product rule. We are very excited that our EFAB(TM) technology ignites such creativity among MEMS designers."

"I am particularly pleased to be part of the judging team," said Al Pisano, engineering professor and department chair at the University of California, Berkeley. "Microfabrica's EFAB(TM) technology is unique in its ability to make detailed, 3-D MEMS structures out of metal, and I believe that this will become an important part of the palette of MEMS fabrication techniques. The devices conceived for fabrication will be exciting, since EFAB(TM) is all about bringing innovative MEMS designs to manufacturing readiness."

Microfabrica's EFAB(TM) technology enables unprecedented flexibility in 3-D design, allowing devices to be built with many tens of layers of metal. This makes possible a wide range of applications, including:

Sensors & Actuators

--  High-force, low-power electrostatic actuators
--  Inkjet printheads
--  Multi-axis accelerometers
--  Gyroscopes

RF Devices

--  High-Q inductors and capacitors, tunable or fixed
--  Capacitive or metal-contact switches
--  Resonators
--  Filters
--  Antennas

Biomedical Devices

--  Minimally-invasive surgical instruments
--  Drug delivery devices
--  Molds for plastic microfluidic parts
--  Implantable devices
--  Pumps, valves, fluid mixers

Optical Devices

--  Scanning mirrors
--  Fiber alignment devices
--  Optical module packages

For further details about the EFAB(TM) Access Design Competition and full contest rules, please visit .

About Microfabrica Inc.

Founded in 1999, Microfabrica Inc. is a leader in microdevice manufacturing. The company's breakthrough proprietary EFAB(TM) technology brings a new paradigm to micro-manufacturing, offering unprecedented flexibility, ease-of-use and quick time-to-market in a wide range of applications, including wireless, consumer electronics, automotive and military/aerospace. EFAB(TM) is the first manufacturing technology that can fabricate intricate, truly three-dimensional microdevices by depositing many tens of precision metal layers. The technology opens up a world of possibilities for complex microdevices and microsystems previously impossible or impractical to manufacture using other approaches.

Microfabrica is headquartered in Burbank, California. For more information, please visit www.microfabrica.com

EFAB is a registered trademark of Microfabrica, Inc.

Photos available upon request.