In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the transformative role semiconductors play in biomedical applications. Now, in Part 2, we examine the real-world challenges innovators face when developing custom biochips—and how SkyWater’s Technology as a Service (TaaS) model helps navigate these complexities.
Engineering Better Health: A SkyWater Blog Series – Part 2
By Brian O’Loughlin, SkyWater Solutions Engineer
Biomedical innovators, including engineering, procurement, and executive teams, often juggle competing priorities. But when it comes to choosing a development and production partner, there are some common challenges everyone agrees on:
- Need for Rapid Customization: Many fabs or foundries won’t allow developmental processes and materials in a production environment.
- IP Protection Concerns: Sending designs to offshore or non-secure manufacturers can raise serious concerns about protecting intellectual property and trade secrets, and customers worry that their ideas might end up as off-the-shelf products, or even competing offerings.
- Built-in Quality: Specialty fabs sometimes lack the production controls needed to ensure process stability and consistent quality throughout development and manufacturing.
- Regulatory Readiness: Not all suppliers have the systems or certifications (like ISO 13485) needed to support medical and regulatory requirements.
- Extreme Miniaturization Needs: Biochip designs often require ultra-small features far beyond what plastics or glass can achieve. Many MEMS-based applications push into the sub-200nm range, and SkyWater is doing this down to 50 nm in house on customer designs today.
SkyWater’s Approach: Technology as a Service (TaaS)
As a U.S.-based, pure-play semiconductor foundry, SkyWater offers a unique combination of technical expertise, manufacturing capabilities, and customer-focused innovation. Our TaaS model allows us to collaborate closely with biomedical leaders to develop customized process technologies, ensuring rapid development and scalable production.
Capabilities Tailored to the Biomedical Market:
- Integration of Specialty Materials: SkyWater’s expertise in materials such as noble metals enables the development of high-performance biosensors and actuators.
- Microfluidic Technologies: Our advanced fabrication processes support the integration of microfluidics for lab-on-a-chip applications, enabling precise fluid control and analysis.
- Advanced Packaging: Our capabilities in wafer-level packaging and heterogeneous integration are critical for the miniaturization and reliability of biomedical devices.
- ITAR and ISO 13485 Compliance: SkyWater’s facilities meet rigorous standards for quality and security, making us a trusted partner for medical device development.
Success Stories: Collaborations Driving Innovation
SkyWater has partnered with leading biomedical organizations to bring transformative solutions to market. Our collaborations highlight our commitment to enabling diagnostic and sequencing breakthroughs:
- NanoDx: SkyWater supported the custom development of NanoDx’s diagnostic platform, which leveraged microelectronics to provide rapid and accurate detection of biomarkers for neurological conditions, such as traumatic brain injury.
- Quantum-Si: In our work with Quantum-Si, SkyWater enabled innovative protein sequencing platforms that bring unprecedented precision and scalability to proteomics. These advancements hold immense promise for drug discovery and personalized medicine.
In addition to these publicly recognized collaborations, SkyWater partners with many other biomedical innovators, supporting a diverse range of other applications from wearable sensors to implantable therapeutic devices.
Next Time
By addressing IP protection, regulatory compliance, and the need for rapid customization, SkyWater is uniquely positioned to support biomedical innovation. But behind every successful biochip lies a set of enabling technologies. In Part 3, we’ll explore the architectural building blocks and advanced platforms that make it all possible.
Are you working on a biomedical project and want to talk, contact us today!
Did you miss last week’s post? Catch up on Part 1.