MEMS Design Services Backed by a Working U.S. Fab
The fastest way to a manufacturable MEMS device is a design team that lives inside a fab. Our MEMS design services pair experienced MEMS designers with the process engineers who run our U.S.-based production line, so every geometry, material choice, and process step is grounded in what real equipment can build. You get fewer redesign loops, shorter development cycles, and a device that performs in silicon the way it performed in the model.
From physics-based modeling and simulation through production-ready mask sets, we practice design for manufacturability (DFM) from the first sketch. And because our designers work steps away from our MEMS foundry, your design decisions are validated against wafer-level data, not assumptions about someone else’s process.
We also maintain strict intellectual property protection. You retain full ownership of all designs and data we develop together, whether you fabricate with us, at another foundry, or in your own facility.
Why Choose Rogue Valley Microdevices for MEMS Design Services
MEMS Design and Engineering Capabilities
Our team supports the full MEMS development lifecycle, from early concept evaluation through production-ready design packages. We help you translate a device concept into a manufacturable MEMS design, optimize geometry and materials for performance, and validate the result with modeling and experimental data. The team is led by engineers with decades of MEMS process and device experience across commercial and defense programs.
MEMS Device Design
- Physics-Based Modeling: Simulation and performance optimization tied to real fabrication constraints
- Mask Layout Development: Geometry tuning and material selection aligned with fab tolerances, developed in KLayout and L-Edit
- Data Preparation: Polygon repair, file conversion, and mask data formatting with Python-based automation
- Wafer-Level Optimization: Chip arraying, alignment marks, process monitors, and custom test structures
- Design of Experiments (DOE): Structures for efficient design-space exploration and compressed learning cycles
MEMS Process Flow Development
- Design for Manufacturability (DFM): Layouts checked against documented design rules before fabrication begins
- Custom Process Flow Design: Fabrication sequences tailored to device requirements across lithography, etch, and thin-film deposition
- Risk Reduction: Proven, production-tested process modules that minimize development uncertainty
- Production Transfer: Process transfer from R&D to pilot and volume production
DFM at Rogue Valley Microdevices is grounded in documented design rules, not general guidance. We check layouts against real constraints such as photoresist step coverage over metal features, spray coat requirements for wafers with significant topography, and DRIE behavior including notching on buried oxide and aspect-ratio limits. Problems surface in layout review instead of on your wafers.
Need films or substrates during development? Our in-house wafer services provide thermal oxide, LPCVD and PECVD films, and metallization on the same line that runs our foundry work.
Three Ways to Use Our MEMS Design Services
Every program arrives with a different manufacturing strategy, so we built three engagement models around yours. Start where you are; the design work carries forward no matter which path you choose.
Design Only
MEMS layout, mask design, and process guidance for teams fabricating in-house or with a chosen manufacturing partnerComplete MEMS device layout and mask design for teams that plan to fabricate in-house or with a manufacturing partner. You leverage our design expertise while keeping full control of fabrication.
- MEMS device layout and full mask set development
- Alignment marks, process monitors, and test structures
- Chip arraying and wafer layout optimization
- Polygon repair, file conversion, and mask data preparation
- Process guidance matched to your fabrication capabilities
Design & Technology Transfer
Transfer MEMS designs to your foundry of choice, with a managed engineering handoff to your selected foundryDesign plus a managed handoff to the foundry you select. We work directly with your fabrication partner so design intent survives the transfer and your first runs start strong. This approach reduces risk, improves yield learning, and accelerates device development.
- Foundry-compatible MEMS layouts and mask sets
- Transfer of design intent and process flow to your fabrication partner
- Design rule validation and layout verification
- DOE structures and process monitors built into the design
- Engineering support through initial fabrication runs
Design & Fabricate
Integrated MEMS design-to-fabrication workflow: the fastest path from concept to silicon, under one roofThe fastest path from concept to silicon: an integrated design-to-fabrication workflow built on our own fab capabilities. Design questions get answered by the engineers who will run your wafers.
- Direct transition from design into prototype wafer fabrication
- Design and process engineers collaborating in one facility
- Rapid, DOE-based iteration with immediate feedback from wafer results
- A clear scaling path from prototype lots to production volumes
Your Designs and Data Stay Yours
MEMS development runs on trust. We maintain strict intellectual property protection on every engagement: you retain full ownership of all designs, layouts, models, and data we create for you. If your manufacturing strategy changes later, everything you need moves with you.
From First Model to Production Silicon
Because our MEMS design services are backed by a working fab, the partnership that models your device can carry it through prototype runs and into volume production. See how customers have made that journey in our case studies.
Start Your MEMS Design Project
Tell us where your device stands, whether that is a concept sketch, a design that is underperforming, or a layout that needs a fab. Request a quote and a member of our engineering team will follow up to discuss your goals and requirements.