Professional retrograde chronograph with programmable MEMS movement
Awarded
CES® 2024 Best of Innovation
The 1st hybrid MEMS micromotor obtains the “Best Of Innovation” award, the highest distinction of the CES® 2024 Innovation Awards in the “Embedded Technologies” category.
* The CES Innovation Awards are based upon descriptive materials submitted to the judges. CTA did not verify the accuracy of any submission or of any claims made and did not test the item to which the award was given
“As a precursor in silicon
micromechanics, we design, build and
integrate high-performance MEMS.“
“We are anticipating the technologies of the future for you by stretching the limits of miniaturization.”
“The company was founded in 2003 to
take up a crazy and resolutely avant-
garde challenge: to create a drone in
the form of a dragonfly.”
WELCOME TO A NEW DIMENSION
Very high-performance electrostatic micromotors for linear or rotary drives
Extremely precise silicon micromechanical parts produced on demand to meet particular specifications
THE MEMS REVOLUTION
SilMach: a pioneer in MEMS micromechanics on silicon
“As a precursor in silicon
micromechanics, we design, build and
integrate high-performance MEMS.“
- Micromotors to drive mobile and/or connected systems
- Energy-free microsensors used to check the health of structures.
We are anticipating the technologies of the future for you by stretching the limits of miniaturization. There is a world between the extreme precision of the patterns produced in white rooms and the very best precision mechanics, and between the aseptic world of silicon and the operational environment we service! SilMach® is at the heart of this technological transfer. Our know-how gives you the opportunity to benefit from the extraordinary potential of MEMS micromachines in your applications. The goal is to become more compact and create new functionality!
Our brands
SilMach designs, develops, builds and integrates:
- The ChronoMEMS® solutions: energy-free hybrid MEMS mechanical sensors designed to monitor your structures.
- The PowerMEMS® solutions: electrostatic micromotors and microsystems designed to drive the ultra-compact and extremely precise mechanisms used in connected objects, mobile technologies, embedded systems and scientific instrumentation.
- MyMEMS® solutions: silicon parts and components produced on demand.
Success story
The company was founded in 2003 to take up a crazy and resolutely avant-garde challenge: to industrialize the first MEMS, while the discipline was still in an embryonic state on the international stage! Under the watchful eye of major institutions and renowned industrial companies, the CNRS start-up, under the leadership of its visionary founder, Patrice Minotti and his team of scientists, produced the first demonstrators, such as the emblematic “Dragonfly” bio-inspired nanodrone, which were qualified as genuine “technological breakthroughs”. The technological success and coverage in the international media marked the beginning of the SilMach® adventure!
In a few years, the company developed breakaway technologies for quartz watch drives, then invented its ChronoMEMS® structure monitoring system in partnership with the French Defence Armament Procurement Agency (DGA).
In 2003, SilMach® received the French Ministry of Research’s national award for new innovative technological companies, and has received numerous distinctions since then: the “Micron d’Or” at the 2004 and 2014 MICRONORA exhibitions, the Science and Defense award in 2006, the 2010 INPI prize for innovation, the 2014 General Chanson award for engineering. It became a member of BPI France Excellence in 2014, won the INPI Talents award in 2015 and the “Victor de l’Entreprise” award in 2016.
Thanks to these awards and its continuous efforts to innovate, today the company is well recognized and works with numerous industrial manufacturers in France and worldwide in the aerospace, nuclear, military, land transport and watch-making sectors, who are all convinced of the infinite potential of the applications on offer from SilMach®.
RESEARCH AND EXPERTISE
SilMach®’s engineers go beyond the conception, modeling, design and prototyping of MEMS solutions to develop all the mechanical and electronic interfaces required to integrate SilMach®’s innovations in the host products.
From the sale of upstream R&D services, to co-development partnership contracts, SilMach® supports its industrial customers up to the prototyping, pre-series and production phases, by making the products itself or by organizing technology transfers with specialized foundries.
All this know-how works to meet your needs.
SilMach received the support of the Burgundy-Franche-Comté regional government through European funding (FEDER) for the industrialization of its means of production and the control of its processes.
New services
MANUFACTURING & ASSEMBLY of your silicon parts
Proven manufacturing know-how, patented assembly technologies.
MANUFACTURING SILICON PARTS
With 20 years of experience in the development of manufacturing processes for silicon parts, SilMach masters all stages of manufacturing silicon components in a clean room.
DEEP ETCHING
Expert in deep etching (DRIE), SilMach has a wide range of techniques to produce your parts in silicon from a few microns thick to several hundred microns, in single-layer silicon wafer or in double-layer structure wafer (SOI: Silicon On Insulator).
POST-PROCESSING and FINISHING:
SilMach's hybrid MEMS products required the development of numerous post-processing and finishing processes: silicon surface oxidation, heat treatment, thin-layer material deposition by spraying or material evaporation, etc. We provide all of this know-how for your projects.
OTHER SERVICES:
For the most demanding projects in terms of design or functionality, SilMach offers specific wafer process capabilities. For more information, please feel free to contact us.
ASSEMBLY BY HYBRIDIZATION
For its own needs, SilMach has invented new techniques for assembling micromechanical silicon parts with high precision, in particular for the watchmaking, medical, electronics, aeronautics and defense fields. With a unique know-how recognized internationally, these so-called “hybrid” techniques are available for your projects:
PICK & PLACE: AUTOMATED ASSEMBLY
A guarantee of repeatability and quality, automated die-bonder assembly meets your expectations in terms of productivity and precision with capacities of +/- 3 µm.
SEMI-AUTOMATED AND MANUAL ASSEMBLIES:
Cobots and manual assembly stations are available for more complex or limited volume assembly needs.
WIRE-BONDING: CONNECTED TO ELECTRONICS
Do you want to connect silicon chips into your electronic environment? Take advantage of our automated wire-bonding capabilities for repeatable production.
AUTOMATED TESTING & QUALITY CONTROL
An essential complement to manufacturing and assembly services, SilMach provides you with its testing resources to qualify and control production:
OPTICAL AND ELECTRONIC TESTING MEANS:
Single unit or automated test and characterization on 4'' and 6" wafers, using optical and electronic methods: depending on your specifications, dedicated means can be developed.
ISO 9001:2015 CERTIFICATION
Certified ISO 9001:2015, SilMach is engaged in a process of continuous improvement. The company and all of its staff support you in this process and remain attentive to your needs on a daily basis. We look forward to meeting you!
OUR SERVICES, FOR WHICH MARKETS?
WATCHMAKING
MEDICAL
AERONAUTICS
OPTICAL
The manufacturing of hybrid MEMS products demands unique know-how in the integration of ultra-precise silicon components in a conventional micromechanical environment. SilMach uses clean room production lines to manufacture its silicon components, which are then assembled in a high-precision mechanical environment, similar to that found in watch-making. Every product, be it standard or specifically adapted to the needs of a customer, follows a quality control process that includes a systematic operational test prior to delivery.
Do you have a manufacturing or assembly project?
We can respond to it.
OUR MARKETS
ENERGY
NAVAL
AERONAUTICS
EARTHLY
WATCHMAKING
STRUCTURE
ChronoMEMS® is a range of “passive” sensors that do not require a source of energy, or an energy recovery system, in order to function. This singular quality opens up opportunities that were previously unimaginable in terms of maintaining in operational condition and operating reliability. ChronoMEMS® is a 24-hour, year-round operational monitoring solution that enables logistical or operations decision-makers to remain precisely informed of the condition of, and any damage to, any operational material, equipment or structures.
Target markets include aerospace, shipping, land transport, the production and distribution of energy, industrial equipment, constructions, etc.
PowerMEMS® is a range of compact, simple, reversible, direct drive solutions, with very high-resolution positioning, that can advantageously replace conventional motors equipped with gear drives, which have become useless and cumbersome and consume energy. These breakthrough solutions have opened up a new scope of applications, in particular through their radically simplified architecture in comparison with the state-of-the-art solutions.
PowerMEMS® mainly targets the watch-making and mobile or connected objects markets, where the gains in terms of architectural simplification, compact dimensions, price and/or energy consumption are top priorities. Possible fields of application include space, optics, optronics, healthcare and scientific instrumentation.
SilMach has a strong command of silicon’s structuring capacity on a sub-micrometric scale and develops bespoke MEMS parts. Production volumes range from prototyping to tens of thousands of parts per customer. SilMach also commands the post-treatment of silicon and the hybridization of MyMEMS® components on all types of micromechanical supports.
MyMEMS® is intended for customers whose needs for hyper-precision cannot be met by traditional means of production. Its main markets include optics, acoustics and fluidics in the space, instrumentation and healthcare sectors.