Menlo Micro

Menlo Micro (formally Menlo Microsystems Inc.) is an Irvine, California-based technology company that uses advances in material science to develop Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) switches. The company was spun off in 2016 from GE Ventures, the venture capital subsidiary of General Electric.

Menlo Micro
Private
IndustryMicroelectromechanical systems (MEMS)
Founded2016 (2016)[1]
FoundersChris Giovanniello, Chris Keimel[2]
HeadquartersIrvine, California
Key people
Russ Garcia, CEO
ProductsMEMS electronic switches
Websitewww.menlomicro.com

History

Menlo Micro was founded in December 2016 as a spinoff by General Electric's GE Ventures venture subsidiary.[1] The company had been part of GE's Global Research Center, based on MEMS switching technology GE engineers had been developing for more than a decade.[2][3] As part of the spinoff, the company announced a Series A round of $18.7M, with participants including Microsemi, Corning Inc., Paladin Capital Group, and GE Ventures.[4]

In November 2018, the company announced its MEMS technology had transitioned from a research environment to capable of being produced at a Semiconductor fabrication plant (fab).[5] It began working with Järfälla Municipality, Sweden-based Silex Microsystems, reportedly the world's largest MEMS fab.[6]

Products

Menlo Micro uses material science technology to develop advanced MEMS switches, which it calls Ideal Switches.[7] The switches are similar to mechanical transistors, and can be used to build power switches.[8] The switches are made from custom metal alloys plated onto glass wafers with through-glass via (TGVs), technology developed in conjunction with partner Corning.[9][2] The technology is an alternative to traditional mechanical relays, which tend to be larger, slower and more prone to failure from metal fatigue.[10]

Applications

MEMS switches can be used for communication equipment, battery management, electric vehicles and medical instrumentation.[2] The chip has been designed into GE's medical systems.[11] Their low loss and low resistance makes them useful for handling the high power required for RF tuning of 5G networks.[12] The switches' ability to remotely control circuit breakers without drawing a lot of power makes them also suitable for home automation and industrial Internet of things (IoT) applications.[2][11]

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gollark: Palaiology.
gollark: I will not be accepting feedback on my opinion at this time.
gollark: Implicitly giving all functions a dedicated B-tree is helpful.
gollark: B-trees are very versatile. Databases use them.

See also

References
  1. "GE Ventures Spins Out Menlo Micro With $18.7 Million Funding". Wall Street Journal. December 6, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  2. "Menlo Micro Brings Big Backers to Market". Orange County Business Journal. February 6, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  3. "Menlo Micro raises $18.7 million to commercialize MEMS switch". MEMS Journal. December 8, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  4. "GE Spins Out New Startup, Menlo Micro, In Irvine, With $18.7M In Funding". SoCal Tech. December 6, 2016. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  5. "Menlo Micro Digital-Micro-Switch Technology Hits the Market". Embedded Computing. November 13, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  6. "Menlo moves MEMS switch process to Silex foundry". eeNews Analog. November 19, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  7. "An Interview With Chris Giovanniello, SVP Of Marketing At Menlo Micro". Tech Company News. November 4, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  8. "Revolutionary MEMS switch handles 200V, 10A". eeNews Power Management. March 19, 2018. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  9. "For Menlo Micro, the Material is the Message". Microwaves & RF. September 13, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  10. "Reinventing the Electronic Switch". AZO Materials. November 20, 2018. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
  11. "Startup Tunes MEMS Switch for IoT". eeTimes. December 26, 2017. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
  12. "Tiny Switch Has Big Implications for 5G". Light Reading. December 8, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2019.
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