Cadence Design Systems, Coventor, X-FAB and Reutlingen University - joint sponsors of the worldwide MEMS Design Contest - today announced the commencement of the design phase of the contest with the selection of ten semi-finalist teams who will compete for the top prize.  The contest was created to highlight and encourage the development of innovative MEMS and mixed-signal designs projects. Contest organizers carefully evaluated submissions from all over the world and selected the ten most innovative ideas to be further explored and developed during the design stage of the contest.  Submissions ranged from teams of two to nine, addressing areas such as surgical robots, energy harvesting and automotive Heads Up Display (HUD) applications.  

“We are encouraged by the impressive quality and range of design submissions we received.  This highlights how MEMS design is a specialized skill that is becoming increasingly important to fulfill the growing demand for IoT applications,” said Mr. Volker Herbig, Vice President, BU MEMS at X-FAB Group. “The semi-finalists will now go on to develop their MEMS and mixed-signal designs using state-of-the-art Cadence and Coventor tools in combination with X-FAB’s latest MEMS and CMOS design kits. We look forward to seeing the creative ways the contest semi-finalists will use our integrated design and manufacturing technology.”

All ten design teams in the semi-final round will receive the design tools, methodologies and process technologies needed to create their MEMS and mixed-signal designs as well as free access to various blocks of Intellectual Property (IP) that can be used as part of their design such as digital standard cells, I/Os, RAM and ROM blocks.

The design phase of the contest runs from now until December 31, 2017. The top three finalists will be announced on February 28, 2018 and prizes will be awarded at the annual Cadence user conference, CDNLive EMEA, in Munich, Germany, in 2018. 

The first-prize winner will receive a $5000 cash award, have their design manufactured at X-FAB’s wafer production facilities and get a free, one-year license of Coventor’s MEMS design software. The second and third prize winners will receive $2,000 and $1,000 cash prizes respectively, along with a private tour of X-FAB’s foundry facilities. 

About the Contest Organizers

Cadence (<link http: www.cadence.com _blank external-link-new-window cadence>www.cadence.com) enables electronic systems and semiconductor companies to create the innovative end products that are transforming the way people live, work and play. Cadence’s software, hardware and semiconductor IP are used by customers to deliver products to market faster—from semiconductors to printed circuit boards to whole systems. The company’s System Design Enablement strategy helps customers develop differentiated products in mobile, consumer, cloud datacenter, automotive, aerospace, IoT, industrial and other market segments. Cadence is listed as one of FORTUNE Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For. 

X-FAB (<link internal-link internal link in current>www.xfab.com) is the leading analog/mixed-signal and MEMS foundry group manufacturing silicon wafers for automotive, industrial, medical and consumer. X-FAB’s analog-digital integrated circuits (mixed-signal ICs), sensors and micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) are manufactured at six production facilities in Germany, France, Malaysia and the U.S. X-FAB employs more than 3,800 people worldwide. 

Coventor, Inc. (<link http: www.coventor.com mems-solutions _blank external-link-new-window coventor>www.coventor.com/mems-solutions) is the market leader in automated design solutions for developing semiconductor process technology and micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS). Coventor serves a worldwide customer base of integrated device manufacturers, memory suppliers, fabless design houses, independent foundries, and R&D organizations from its headquarters in Cary, North Carolina, and offices in Silicon Valley, California, Waltham, Massachusetts, and Paris, France. 

Reutlingen University (<link http: www.reutlingen-university.de _blank external-link-new-window to reutlingen>www.reutlingen-university.de) is one of Germany’s leading universities, offering international academic programs with close ties to industry and commerce. It will help formulate and organize the call for participation of the contest. 

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