November 19, 2007 - The MEMS Industry Group, a trade association representing MEMS and microstructure industries, and the MicroElectronics Packaging and Test Engineering Council (MEPTEC) have formed a strategic alliance to support each other's goals and industry events, through a variety of marketing programs.

MEMS device manufacturing presents special challenges, including the ability to withstand electromechanical, thermomechanical and other stressors and still remain robust and reliable, noted MEPTEC president Bette Cooper, in a statement. "Bridging the gap between standard semiconductor packaging and MEMS packaging is one way to address these challenges, and it is this convergence that has been our focus," she said. "Our collaboration with MEMS Industry Group will help us to further explore this promising technology."

MIG, "the unifying voice" of the commercial MEMS industry, and MEPTEC, which is "committed to enhancing the competitiveness of the backend portion of the semiconductor business," will join forces "to address the packaging issues that can further enhance the adoption and commercialization of MEMS," added MIG managing director Karen Lightman.

Among the joint efforts, the two groups will support each other's upcoming events. MIG cosponsored MEPTEC's recent substrates symposium (Nov. 8, Santa Clara, CA). And MIG will conduct a packaging survey at its annual membership's technical event, METRIC (May 7-9, 2008), and reveal the results at MEPTEC's annual MEMS Symposium on May 22. Both firms also will cross-promote each other's events to their respective memberships.