AMFitzgerald was founded by Dr. Alissa M. Fitzgerald in 2003 to provide MEMS development services to a growing industry. AMFitzgerald was one of the first service companies to successfully leverage university fabs (Stanford and UCB) to build prototypes and validate designs prior to foundry volume manufacturing. Our business model enables us to provide highly sophisticated prototyping services to clients without the financial burden of owning a fab, which in turn, allows us to stay focused on high value MEMS development services. Our engineers build prototypes at UCB Marvell Nanolab and perform testing in our own Class 100 cleanroom. Successful prototypes are then transferred to commercial foundries around the world for volume manufacturing.
Some highlights of our work to date:
We have served over 200 clients to date, many international and many in the Fortune 500. And we have successfully transferred 20 MEMS designs to 8 foundries around the world.
Published a book, MEMS Product Development: From Concept to Commercialization, on our methods.
Multi-year development project on 3-axis micro-mirror technology with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, available for license from LLNL since 2017.
Partnered with Millar OEM in 2017 to provide ISO-13485 MEMS chip mounting and assembly services for medical device applications.
Created the RocketMEMS® service in 2012, in collaboration with Silex, to provide OEM customers with quick-turn, semi-custom MEMS pressure sensors on a production-qualified process.
Invented a method of reliability analysis and fracture prediction specific to MEMS devices; granted patent #7,979,237 in 2011.
AMFitzgerald is an active member of MSIG (MEMS & Sensors Industry Group), sponsoring and participating in many MSIG events and conferences around the world. We also joined Silicon Catalyst in 2016, an incubator of silicon-based startups, to provide services and support to the next generation of silicon entrepreneurs.
AMFitzgerald employees have been or are board members at the MEMS Industry Group, Transducers Research Foundation, Singh Nanotechnology Center at University of Pennsylvania and IEEE Spectrum.
Our Team
Alissa M. Fitzgerald, Ph.D., CEO (Managing Member)
Dr. Fitzgerald founded the company in 2003. She has over 25 years of engineering experience in MEMS design, fabrication and product development. Having developed more than a dozen distinct MEMS devices, such as piezoresistive pressure sensors, ultrasound transducers, and infrared imagers, she now advises clients on the entire cycle of microelectronic product development, from business and IP strategy to supply chain and manufacturing operations. Prior to founding AMFitzgerald, Dr. Fitzgerald worked in engineering and management positions at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Orbital Sciences Corporation, Sigpro, and Sensant Corporation, now part of Siemens. She received her bachelor's and master's degrees from MIT and her Ph.D. from Stanford University in Aeronautics and Astronautics. Dr. Fitzgerald is co-author of MEMS Product Development: From Concept to Commercialization, has numerous journal publications, holds ten patents, and is a frequent invited speaker at professional meetings. She is a member of the SEMI-MSIG Standards Committee and served as a board director on the MEMS Industry Group (MIG) Governing Council from 2008-2014. In 2013, she was inducted into the MIG Hall of Fame. She is currently a board director for Rigetti Computing (Nasdaq: RGTI), the Transducer Research Foundation, and the IEEE Spectrum Editorial Advisory Board.
David Cheng, Accounting
Mr. Cheng has over 10 years of accounting and finance experience and is responsible for managing the company’s books and accounting operations. He has a diverse background, having worked in high tech, e-commerce, financial services, manufacturing, and retail industries. He has a knack and special interest in automating and streamlining processes using software applications, as well as providing customized reporting solutions. Mr. Cheng has a B.S. in Managerial Economics from University of California, Davis.
Andrew O. Fung, Ph.D., Director of Business Development
Dr. Fung advances technology development agendas for MEMS-enabled microsystems. He has 20 years of multinational experience in industry teams and academic research, with broad awareness of integrated microsystems. His track record covers community building, technology innovation, collaborative research, fundraising, and mentorship. Prior to joining AMFitzgerald, Dr. Fung was Team Leader of MEMS, Nanofabrication, and Integration at CMC Microsystems. Dr. Fung received his B.A.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from University of Waterloo and Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering from University of California, Los Angeles.
Brandon P. Harrington, Ph.D., Director of MEMS Development
Dr. Harrington has an extensive background in design, fabrication, and test of piezoelectric and capacitive based sensors and transducers. Over 22 years in MEMS, spanning academic research, commercial research and development, he has delivered innovative technologies from feasibility study through prototyping and productization to pilot and volume production in consumer electronics. Prior to AMFitzgerald, Dr. Harrington worked in engineering management at Knowles, Cavendish Kinetics, and Qorvo. He received his B.S in Computer Engineering and M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Oklahoma State University.
Maurice J.A. Delafosse, M.Sc.A., MBA., Senior MEMS Developer
Mr. Delafosse has over 20 years of experience in MEMS product engineering and management. His experience in foundry engagement spans over 16 years during which he started as MEMS design support for manufacturability engineer; then evolved to the position of MEMS product design, yield and reliability engineering manager during 8 years. He also has experience in offering MEMS design and process prototyping services to fabless companies. Over the years, he managed several MEMS, IC and CCD product lines and owned several internal test structures (including alignment, test and PCM structures). Mr. Delafosse also has strong IT experience he uses for productivity enhancement, data analysis and management. He received his B.Ing in Computer Science and MSc.A in Electric, Electronic and Nanorobotics from Ecole Polytechnique de Montréal (QC) Canada. He also has a MBA from Universite Laval (QC) Canada.
Kimberly L. Harrison, Ph.D., Senior MEMS Developer
Dr. Harrison has 6 years of experience in process engineering and microdevice development. As an academic researcher and industry consultant, she has previously worked with universities, start-ups and large corporations to develop new device designs and fabrication processes in a wide variety of applications, including photovoltaics, resonators, integrated CMOS-MEMS circuits, inertial sensors and novel semiconductor materials. She has been involved in all stages of the device life cycle including need-finding, research, design, modeling, simulation, process planning, fabrication, characterization and testing. Dr. Harrison received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering at MIT and M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University.
Min He, M.S., Lead MEMS Developer
Ms. He has over 27 years of hands on experience in semiconductor and MEMS processing, and over 18 years of experience in fabricating optical MEMS devices. She was previously lead process engineer for Iris AO, Inc., responsible for the process development, fabrication and continual process improvement of five different deformable mirror products. She was a key player in the DiCon MEMS R&D group that successfully commercialized cutting edge optical MEMS products including VOA, 1x2, 1x4, 1x8 optical switches. She has extensive knowledge and experience with a broad range of MEMS surface and bulk micro-machining processes. She received her Master’s degree from University of Puerto Rico in Physics.
Rodion Kononchuk, Ph.D., MEMS Developer
Dr. Kononchuk has over 9 years of research experience developing microwave and photonic devices for a wide range of applications including electro and optomechanical sensors with enhanced sensitivity and noise resilience, photonic limiters for protection against high-power microwaves and circuits for thermal radiation management. Dr. Kononchuk received his B.S in Applied Physics from V. N. Karazin Kharkiv National University and M.S. and Ph.D. in Physics from The University of Texas at San Antonio.
Korene Mangelsen, Office Administration
Ms. Mangelsen has over 25 years of administrative experience and is responsible for overseeing the company's front office. She has a diverse background working in the private and nonprofit sector serving San Mateo County. Ms. Mangelsen has a B.A. in Sociology.
Carolyn D. White, Ph.D., COO
Dr. White has a background in mechanics of materials and specializes in the design and fabrication of MEMS devices for a wide range of applications, which have included electrostatic actuators, microfluidics, and piezoelectric devices. She has additional experience in foundry transfers and technology strategic analysis including of the evaluation of patent portfolios, feasibility studies, and cost/performance analysis. With over 20 years of experience in MEMS, Dr. White is an active member of the MEMS & Sensors Industry Group, previously serving on its Technical Advisory Committee and is co-author of the book MEMS Product Development: From Concept to Commercialization. Dr. White received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Brown University and M.S. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
James Yang, MEMS Developer
Mr. Yang has over 6 years of MEMS development experience. His background includes working on inertial sensors at TDK-Invensense and micro-mirrors at Mirrorcle Technologies. He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
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Contact Us
AMFitzgerald welcomes the opportunity to assist you with all MEMS needs. Please complete the brief sections below and one of our team members will follow up. For details on any of our services or to discuss your particular needs, fill out the form below or call us at 650-347-6367.
Our Office
A.M. Fitzgerald & Associates, LLC
700 Airport Blvd., Suite 270
Burlingame, CA 94010 USA
Via Public Transit
Take BART or Caltrain to Millbrae station. Taxis are available on the east side of the station. During commute hours, a free shuttle operates between Millbrae station and our building.