MEMS oscillators use IC processing techniques to craft mechanical resonators that can be tethered inside a silicon chip. Traditional quartz oscillators require cutting and beveling, but would be smaller in size, more immune to temperature drift, lower in price and in power consumption using photolithography techniques. Epson Toyocom (Kanagawa, Japan), which claims 23 percent of the global quartz oscillator market, reports it has perfected a semiconductor-like photolithography process called Quartz MEMS (QMEMS) that it claims will keep it ahead in the silicon MEMS oscillator market. Specifications for the QMEMS process were said to be comparable or superior to competitors' MEMS oscillators, including those made by SiTime Corp., Discera Inc., Silicon Clocks Inc. and Mobius Microsystems Inc.
Text: http://www.eetimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212101405
Audio: http://homepage.mac.com/guitarmedia/interviews/rcjEpson-08-11-21.mp3
