Advanced assembly & packaging of microsystems: Research term (outbound mobility)

This project will allow for a five-month researcher exchange from Vestfold University College (HVE) to Berkeley Sensor & Actuator Center (BSAC), California, USA, in the field of microsystems packaging technology. Microsystems technology allows miniaturiz ation of sensors, actuators and electronics. Applications in different market segments (automotive, biomedical, telecom, consumer products and aerospace) are numerous. Examples are accelerometers for airbag deployment in cars, and pressure sensors for alt itude monitoring of airplanes. Packaging technology is the term for assembly and interconnection of different parts of microsystems, as well as encapsulation to protect the system from the environment. Packaging has major impact on the cost of a final pr oduct: As much as 80 % of the cost can often be caused by the packaging. Furthermore, packaging has major impact on the system's final size, performance and reliability. There is strong effort in packaging technology research worldwide, both in industrial companies and universities. HVE, together with 13 industry companies, is appointed Norwegian Centre of Expertise (NCE) in microsystems technology. Packaging technology is a central part of the R & D challenges to be met for NCE. So far, this field has b een poorly covered by academic institutions in Norway. HVE aims for a leading role nationally, and a substantial role internationally, in microsystems packaging technology. International collaboration with leading research institutions is essential to ach ieve this. BSAC is a world-class research institution in microsystems technology, with packaging technology as an integrated part of the projects. The candidate will take part in the research group directed by Prof. Pisano, and focus on packaging of sen sors for harsh environments. The experience from this research will be used in active and future projects at HVE/ NCE. Close relations with BSAC will be of major importance for the development of HVE/ NCE.