Aalto University ELEC-E8004 Project work course Year 2018

Business aspects

Project 22 Low temperature metal bonding process for MOEMS

Date: 7.3.2018

Nosa Mikael

Isometsä Joonas Hotchkiss Joseph

Information page Students Nosa Mikael Isometsä Joonas Hotchkiss Joseph Project manager Isometsä Joonas Official instructor Ross Glenn Other advisors Vuorinen Vesa Starting date 29.1.2018 Approval The instructor has accepted the final version of this document Date: 7.3.2018

Summary

The overall concept of this project it to design a process by which a reliable, low temperature Solid Liquid Interdiffusion (SLID) bond can be achieved, while at the same time maintaining complete RoHS compliance. Our motivation for this comes from the desire to enable the flexibility to bond a wider variety of materials reliably and to miniaturize Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), more specifically Micro-Optoelectronic Mechanical Systems (MOEMS) components. This process would make the miniaturization of discrete LIDAR sensor components possible and thus ideal for the automotive industry. Current Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology is large and not easily integrated into the current form factor of cars due to the large physical size. An example of this technology can be seen in Figure 1. The size of the current generation of LIDAR systems are cumbersome for automotive manufacturers as, customers do not typically want a box with dimensions of 215x283mm (DxH)or larger, mounted prominently on their vehicle’s hood.

Figure 1. Current LIDAR technology. [1]

The advantages of miniaturization are immediately evident, as the size of this device limits its placement and makes seamless integration impossible. A reliable low temperature bonding solution would enable the manufacturing of LIDAR components at a fraction of the size of existing technology (40mmx40mmx60mm or less), which would enable more discreet integration. This fact, coupled with a reduced cost, create a driving force to develop this

technology. This project is looking to be the first to achieve this type of bond, test it for strength and reliability, and work with leading automotive manufacturers to develop a high quality, low-cost MOEMS LIDAR that will cater to their exact needs.

1. O. Cameron, “An Introduction to LIDAR: The Key Self-Driving Car Sensor,” Voyage, 09-May-2017. [Online]. Available: https://news.voyage.auto/an-introduction-to-lidar-the-key-self-driving-car-sensor-a7e405590cff. [Accessed: 23-Feb-2018].

Business idea The broad business concept is to have improved sensors for autonomous cars in the form of small, easily integrated LIDAR system. Currently autonomous terrestrial vehicles are trending and several large companies have them in development. For any autonomous vehicle to be capable of safe travel, it is required to accurately sense its surroundings. This is especially true for human beings. Light Detection and Ranging or LIDAR is a concrete way of creating such situational awareness. In LIDAR, light of invisible wavelength is used to measure distances to objects by sending laser pulses at them and measuring the reflection times, thus creating the ability to render a 3D map of its surroundings in real-time. The product in question is a MOEMS component that houses a moving mirror and dome shaped lens for the LIDAR sensor. This MOEMS component can then be integrated into electronics that operate it and receive the distance information. These LIDAR packages are then integrated by a car manufacturer into the autonomous vehicle. Given the current market, manufactures of autonomous vehicles and their sub systems should be our primary customers for this type of product. If they use some contracted integrator to source sensors for their vehicle, then these integrators are also customers. In the case that damaged LIDAR sensors need to be replaced, automotive repair shops would also be customers. This latter case of course requires that the sensor is in an easily integratable form, so it doesn’t require special tools, fine mechanical skills or additional special training to get into place. The benefits of using LIDAR in autonomous vehicles is that it is accurate, able to get a 3D image of surroundings and very immune to interference. Also it doesn’t generate radio interference like a Radio Detection and Ranging (RADAR) system would. More conventional LIDAR systems can be large and expensive. However, by using our small, robust and modern LIDAR component, the customer can get the same performance in a smaller and cheaper package, which gives them an edge over their competitors. Our competitive advantage comes from developing this LIDAR component in a smaller total size and better intergatibility into the signal processing systems of various vehicles. As it is based on MOEMS technology instead of larger sized mechanics, it is cheaper to produce in large quantities and production yields of critical sub-components should be excellent once the production processes has been optimized. As part of this project is to develop one of these

critical sub-components, low temperature bonding of wafers, long-term reliability of the component should improve. This gives further competitive edge. Revenue logic in this case is typical of selling manufactured products. The focus should be put on negotiating contracts with automotive businesses for regular deliveries of these component to their production facilities, instead of keeping an inventory up for sale and trying to sell individual products to whoever is interested. Sales will be strictly business-to-business, not to end users directly. Additionally, once sufficient contracts have been established and these LIDAR components have found their place in some vehicles, sales deals can be made to those manufacturer’s authorized repair shops for delivery of replacement parts. Alternatively, the manufacturers can take care of this area themselves, buying directly from us and delivering to their partner repair shops. Revenue is generated from delivered component batches. Profit is formed from that income after deducting costs.

Product/service Current LIDAR devices are relatively large in size and as such are not really desirable for integration into passenger vehicles with autonomous driving features, in spite of the fact that the technology is ideal for the purpose. Our low temperature bonding process will enable for the miniaturization of these LIDAR devices through the use of our discrete MEMS sensor components. A temperature reduction in the bonding process will allow for greater material flexibility in the transparent cap material selection. The product provided will be a MOEMS LIDAR sensor module, which will contain the MOEMS component(which houses all of the mechanical parts including mirrors for directing and receiving the LASER signals). Said module will be sold as an electronics component that the automotive and sub systems manufacturers can integrate into their own designs, similar to many other types of devices on the market today. This will offer the customer almost unlimited flexibility in integration of this component, including the ability to use their own proprietary connectors etc. to fit seamlessly into their ecosystem. Additionally, we will provide our customers with a detailed datasheet and an extensive an extensive database of sample data, collected from real world testing across in multiple environments and various conditions. This will provide developers with an idea of what to expect from these devices, and also provide valuable information about how they behave under various conditions. Lastly, technical service and consultancy will be provided. Technical support is essential to the process and will be included with the purchase of these devices. In addition to being able to provide the customer with a seamless and positive user experience, this will also provide information to MOEMS team about what can be improved for future revisions and bring the customer back in the future. In addition to the technical service, a consulting service can be

provided for a fee. Our company will provide anything from tips on how to use, calibrate, or design a Printed Circuit Board(PCB) for the device up to and including actually providing custom designs for the customer, based on their specifications.

Market situation and competitors analysis

The LIDAR industry is growing rapidly. Currently there are only a few LIDAR products that are mass manufactured and available for purchase. These products, as of yet cost an upwards of $250,000, which has limited their adoption rate[2]. LIDAR technology is potentially useful in a variety of different fields, however currently the automotive industry is the primary driving force in LIDAR technology development. Our sensors could offer significant reductions in the total price of LiDAR systems as their cost will be only a fraction of current sensors offered by competitors. Multiple companies have announced their plans to release low cost LIDAR systems. But in order to decrease the size of the LIDAR sensors there are problems which need to be solved. Our solution relies on EU funded MiniFaros research for a MOEMS mirror and using a low temperature bonding process that should improve reliability and ultimately our standing in the market.

Our team consists of three people with technical knowhow ranging from material science to deep understanding of electronics and embedded system design. Our diverse background knowledge provides us with the ability to develop sensors, with desirable properties in terms of manufacturability, reliability, accuracy and ease of integration. Our small, yet very experienced team gives us versatility. Additionally, we are able cooperate tightly and adjust to the ever changing needs of our customers.

Our most significant competitors are Velodyne LIDAR, Innoviz and Leddartech, thus they are not direct competitors as our focus is on the hardware level and we do not offer a complete system solution. Velodyne LIDAR is the biggest player in the LIDAR field currently and in August 2016 Ford and Baidu invested $150M in them. As of August 2016 Velodyne LIDAR has worked on 25 self-driving car programs[3][4]. Google’s self driving cars are well known around the world and those cars primarily use Velodyne LIDAR sensors[5]. Velodyne LIDAR has the most collaborative experience in regards to LIDAR systems in the automotive industry and that is its advantage against competitors. Velodyne LIDAR has 220 employees as of 2017[6]. Their LIDAR products has been on the market since 2007 and they have currently seven different products on the market. Velodyne LIDAR has the capability to produce one million sensors in 2018 [7].

Innoviz, founded in 2016, is one of the most promising startup companies in the field and has more than 100 employees [8]. Innoviz received CES 2018 Innovation award and their expertise is centered around electro-optics, computer vision, MEMS design and signal processing [9]. They received $82 million of funding and have recently announced a new

product designed to be a cheaper solid state LIDAR system. Currently, Innoviz does not have any product on the market but their first product will be launched soon.

LeddarTech is a sensor company founded 2007 and it has 81-90 employees[10]. LeddarTech has received more than 120 Million USD as funding. Osram is the biggest funder of LeddarTech as it funded it with 130 Million Canadian dollars in 2017[10]. Their expertise is centered around LED sensing technologies and their products are used primarily in the automotive industry. Leddartech is probably our closest competitor, as they are planning on releasing a comparable product to ours that has a compact size and cheaper price point, while still providing reasonable performance when compared to our other competitors. Table 1 concludes our competitor analysis.

Table 1. Competitor analysis summary.

Company Funding (USD) Employees Disadvantages Advantages

Velodyne 150M 220-250 Expensive devices

A lot of LIDAR experience, proven performance

Innoviz 82M >100 Device performance is not yet proven

Promising product

LeddarTech 120M 81-90 Sensors do not perform as well as competitors

LED sensing expertise

Our unique low temperature bonding process provides the capability of shrinking our sensor into a smaller package than competitor’s sensors. This process will also decrease individual sensor price into a fraction of what competitors’ sensors cost. However, our products consist of high quality components which together with our innovative design, ensures high performance of our sensors. In addition to our product, we offer extensive support and consulting for system design and integration. Getting to know our product is easy with our comprehensive documentation. Our internal quality checks ensure that provided documents offer accurate information.

LIDAR development is driven by the automotive industry and the market potential depends heavily upon this. The automotive industry has grown since the 20th century and in 2017 a total of 79 million cars were produced[11]. There are no autonomous consumer vehicles currently on the market, which restricts market potential of LIDAR systems today. However the market potential will probably increase exponentially when autonomous vehicles become available to the public as LIDAR systems will likely be found in all of these vehicles. One of the main reasons why LIDAR is not yet found in these automobiles is the price of current systems. In terms of price performance ratio, our device is excellent and could potentially attain a large market share. Initially, LIDAR products will be seen in the high end car models and as

LIDAR system prices drop, they will begin to appear in budget friendly models. It is difficult to estimate current market sales for LIDARs because they are typically only found in prototype vehicles and information regarding those closed projects is scarce. The automotive industry is predicted to increase LIDAR industry from 500 million to 5 billion in 2016-2025[12]. If LIDAR popularity grows as forecasted it is possible that most of the high-end and high mid-end cars manufactured will have LIDAR systems included in 2025. This would account for 5-20% of cars manufactured annually. In order to have safe and reliable LIDAR system with limited blind spots at four LIDAR sensors would be required. With four sensors LIDAR blind spots can be kept reasonably small. Currently the automotive industry’s production rate is 80 million vehicles annually and if 10% of cars would equipped with four LIDAR sensors, this equates to a LIDAR market sale of,

arket sale P otential customers Devices sold to customer 80M , 32M .M = * = * 0 1 * 4 = Semiconductor manufacturing costs are very well scalable. If the batch size is increased and our yield rate is above 90%, price per sensor will drop dramatically. This means that with small batch sizes, prices must be high to keep business profitable. In our product the price is designed to be small and the production amount must be high enough to cover all the expenses. Production capability also plays a major role here. Our product can be produced in high volumes, but our production will most likely be less than Velodyne’s largest LIDAR factory, that is capable of producing one million devices per year [13]. Once we reach a batch size of 10 000 sensors and a batch processing time of one month, it will correspond to annual production rate of 120 000 sensors which could be reasonable estimation of our manufacturing capability at 2025. Our optimal situation is that all the sensors manufactured are sold and our market share would be,

0,375%.Our manufactured products/ Market sale M share = = If our device price is 40 € and we sell all 120 000 sensors our annual revenue will be

evenue 40 20 000 € Revenue f rom additional services. R = * 1 +

This accounts for at least 4,8 million euros. When our company has more experience and stable income, our goal is to reach higher market shares and increase our production capabilities to reach one million devices manufactured yearly. Million devices manufactured yearly accounts for 3% of total market sale.

2. LeVine, Steve, ja Steve LeVine. ”What It Really Costs to Turn a Car into a Self-Driving Vehicle”. Quartz (blog). Cited 22nd of February 2018. https://qz.com/924212/what-it-really-costs-to-turn-a-car-into-a-self-driving-vehicle/.

3. ”Ford Pushes Ahead with Self-Driving Car Development”. Cited 22nd of February 2018. 4. https://uw-media.usatoday.com/video/embed/88822002?sitelabel=reimagine&continuousplay=true&placement=uw-smallarticlea

ttophtml5&pagetype=story. 5. ”The Google Car: Driving Hands-Free”. Cosmos Magazine. Cited 22nd of February 2018.

https://cosmosmagazine.com/technology/google-car-driving-hands-free. 6. ”HDL-64E”. Cited 22nd of February 2018. http://velodynelidar.com/hdl-64e.html. 7. ”Velodyne LiDAR Expands Executive Bench to Rapidly Scale Production | Business Wire”. Cited 22nd of February 2018.

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170911005209/en/Velodyne-LiDAR-Expands-Executive-Bench-Rapidly-Scale. 8. ”CES - Innoviz Technologies’ mission to enable the mass commercialisation of AVs”, Cited 22nd of February 2018.

https://www.just-auto.com/interview/ces-innoviz-technologies-mission-to-enable-the-mass-commercialisation-of-avs_id180408.aspx.

9. Ltd, Innoviz Technologies. ”Innoviz Technologies Wins CES 2018 Innovation Award”. Cited 22nd of February 2018. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/innoviz-technologies-wins-ces-2018-innovation-award-300553041.html.

10. ”LeddarTech | Crunchbase”. Cited 22nd of February 2018. https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/leddartech. 11. tax, * All products require an annual contract Prices do not include sales. ”International Car Sales 1990-2017 | Forecast”. Statista.

Cited 22nd of February 2018. https://www.statista.com/statistics/200002/international-car-sales-since-1990/. 12. http://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/Global-LiDAR-Market-Forecast-to-2025-Rapid-Growth-in-Automotive-Industry

-Creating-Opportunity-for-the-Market-Research-and-Markets-1001855014,http://www.weny.com/story/37265276/global-lidar-market-2018-size-share-growth-trends-type-application-analysis-and-forecast-by-2025, Cited 17th of February 2018.

13. ”Velodyne LiDAR Opens Megafactory in San Jose for Large-Scale Production of 3D LiDAR Sensors”, Cited 17th of February 2018. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170117005644/en/Velodyne-LiDAR-Opens-Megafactory-San-Jose-Large-Scale.

Intellectual property At the present time we do not have nor do we plan on attaining any legal protection for our own intellectual property regarding our technology. We have decided to secure the details of our intellectual property by maintaining confidentiality within the company. Any person privy to information or details regarding our project will be required to conform to our strict non-disclosure agreement. Should our company enter into a contract to provide our technology to an automotive manufacturer and said manufacturer would require us to patent our technology, then the IP policy would be revised accordingly. In addition to our own IP considerations, the need to license some third party IPs may also be required. As the European and American markets will be our two main markets, EU (European), US (United States) and WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization) patents are the only ones that have been considered. After careful consideration, four patents garnered closer attention to determine if licensing would be required. The first of which is US 20150219764 A1 “Low Cost Small Size Lidar for Automotive”. We have determined at this time, since this patent is it covers exclusively the use of Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser (VCSEL) technology, that there is no reason to look into licensing this particular IP. This decision could of course change if, in the future we decide to use VCSEL technology in our LiDAR components.[14] The second patent that was considered is “Low Temperature Metal to Silicon Diffusion and Silicide Wafer Bonding” US 20100224994 A1. However, as we are not planning on bonding Nickel to Silicon, we would still not be required to license this IP, even if this application would be accepted. This could potentially change in the future, if our bonding process should change and Nickel be used. [15] Thirdly we have given careful consideration to patent “Eye-safe lidar system based on mems” patent application WO2017097971A1. Should this patent application be accepted, we would be required to license this IP from Windar Photonics A/S. [16]

Lastly US patent 7440084, “Micromechanical and related lidar apparatus and method, and fast light-routing components” was examined. This particular patent is very broad in scope and covers essentially all aspects of any MEMS based LiDAR system. Therefor it is essentially impossible to create our component without licensing or challenging of this IP. For a newly formed company, it makes more sense to license this IP from David M. Kane. [17]

14. A. Lipson, “United States Patent: 9831630 - Low cost small size LiDAR for automotive,” 9831630, 28-Nov-2017. 15. C. Yun, “United States Patent: 12398774 - Low Temperature Metal to Silicon Diffusion and Silicide Wafer Bonding,”

12398774, 5-Mar-2009. 16. P. J. Rodrigo, C. Pedersen, and Q. Hu, “Eye-Safe Lidar System Based on Mems,” WO/2017/097971, 16-Jun-2017. 17. D. M. Kane, “United States Patent: 7440084 - Micromechanical and related lidar apparatus and method, and fast light-routing

components,” 7440084, 21-Oct-2008.

Product development and technology

Currently, vehicle safety equipment is constantly being developed and improved and as such, significant funding is put towards projects that focus on such safety improvements. LIDAR offers safety improvement potential as it can reduce traffic incidents caused by human error or reaction times. The main goal of our project is to design high performance and compact (40x40x60 mm) Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical (MOEMS) LIDAR module that offers equivalent performance to larger, more mature technology. Our offered device consists of only the hardware and that gives application engineers a lot of freedom on the end system design. Our module is based on concept LIDAR module published by MiniFaros. However, we offer solutions to challenges that MiniFaros encountered during their research in which high processing temperatures induced considerable stress on the cap wafers, causing poor yield[18]. Our unique Low temperature bonding process requires less than 250ºC which is at least 150º less than what is required for traditional bonding techniques. This should provide better yields due to less heat induced stresses. Our current team will be able to produce prototypes of our final product, but to provide large quantity of modules, our manufacturing process must be improved. This requires the production process to be streamlined and employees to work on the production line. Aalto Nanofabrication centre provides sufficient cleanroom services for rent that enables us to start our production. However, once capacity must be increased, we will move our production to a capable manufacturing facility.

MiniFaros research group has published a 3D model of their concept which can be seen below from two different angles.

Figure 2. 3D model of the device [19].

Figure 3. Cross-Section of the device 3D model [19].

This model is based on the idea that receiver and transmitter are integrated closely together. This design decision enables efficient usage of the multi feature 360° lens system. The multi feature lens system brings many advantages compared to current technology, including cost savings and smaller size of the module. The design utilizes a high end receiver sensor that is capable of providing high quality picture. MEMS mirror is proven to be the most challenging component to manufacture with current manufacturing technologies. We believe that our new unique low temperature bonding technique solves all the issues regarded to MEMS mirror manufacturing.

18. HOFMANN, Ulrich, et al. Resonant biaxial 7-mm MEMS mirror for omnidirectional scanning. Journal of Micro/Nanolithography, MEMS, and MOEMS, 2013, 13.1: 011103

19. HOFMANN, Ulrich; AIKI, Mika. Omnidirectional Lens and 2D-MEMS Scanning Mirror for a Low Cost Automotive Laser Range Sensor. In: 19th ITS World CongressERTICO-ITS EuropeEuropean CommissionITS AmericaITS Asia-Pacific. 2012.

Conformance

Considering our product is an electronic component, the most notable conformance issues in European Economic Area are RoHS 2 directive (2011/65/EU), End of Life Vehicles directive (2000/53/EC) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment directive (2012/19/EU). Conformance in EEA is shown with CE marking and a written Declaration of Conformity, that also specifies which EU directives the product complies with. In case of RoHS 2, automotive industry is not within scope of the directive[20]. In case of WEEE directive, it does not apply to components, just complete Electrical and Electronic Equipment[21][22]. As our

business idea is selling a component to automotive, or other transport industries, we can avoid these two directives completely. End of Life Vehicles directive restricts our choice of materials regarding lead, mercury, cadmium and hexavalent chromium, thus we shall avoid using those materials irregardless of potential exceptions granted by the directive. Rest of the directive describes vehicle manufacturers ensuring their vehicles can be disassembled and/or shredded by professional recyclers. It also describes how EU member states shall set up systems for collecting and recycling of vehicles.[23]

Many car manufacturers do have their own standards, upon which designs and assemblies are evaluated. This is to ensure that anything they incorporate into their cars is of sufficient quality and does not cause any reliability or safety problems. Meeting these internal standards are often verified by type testing. A part or subassembly that has passed type testing for some applicable standard is then acceptable for use in that car manufacturer’s vehicles. Many such standards are not public as they are intended to be internal standards. When a car manufacturer is evaluating a supplier of some part, they specify the requirements they have in their standards. Our product shall go through the described type testing and evaluation procedures when negotiating contracts with car manufacturers. Typical and applicable standards would be related to EMC, reliability in driving conditions, electrical safety and functional safety. For the last one there exists and international standard ISO 26262 that governs functional safety of road vehicles[24]. In production of the component, relevant quality standards shall be followed. For electronics these are IPC-A-610 for the whole assembled component and IPC-A-600 for any printed circuit board base to be used in the component[25]. Automotive industry also uses its own quality standard IATF 16949 to ensure quality of design, workmanship and installation of anything related to cars. This IATF 16949 supplements ISO 9001 quality management system standards for automotive industry.[26]

20. Council Directive 2011/65/EU on on the restriction of the use of certain hazardous substances in electrical and electronic

equipment, 2015. OJ L 174/88. 21. Council Directive 2012/19/EU on waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), 2012. OJ L 197/38. 22. Frequently Asked Questions on Directive 2012/19/EU on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment(WEEE), 2014. Available:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/waste/weee/legis_en.htm. 23. Council Directive 2000/53/EC on end of life vehicles, 2000. OJ L 269/34. 24. ISO Road Vehicles - Functional Safety (ISO 26262), 2012. 25. IPC Standards Tree, 2017. Available: www.ipc.org/4.0_Knowledge/4.1_Standards/SpecTree.pdf 26. Automotive Quality management System IATF 16949:2016. Automotive Industry Action Group, 2016.

SWOT-analysis

Table 2 below presents the SWOT analysis, listing most important strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to our business. These key points have been considered carefully and our strategy has been developed based on them.

Table 2. Key points of SWOT analysis.

Strengths ● Functionality of LIDAR component

design already proven ● Smart MEMS mirror structure gives

edge over competitors ● Conventional higher temperature

bonding methods exist as backup plan

● Motivated project group with two veteran engineers

● Almost all necessary equipment available at Micronova

Weaknesses ● Some parts of technology very novel

and not yet mature ● Project group doesn’t have much

experience with microfabrication ● Unknowns in materials can lead to

reliability problems ● Limited time, budget and personnel

Opportunities ● Autonomous vehicle business is

trending up rapidly, forecast looks promising

● LIDAR has many other applications in different markets, like marine, geological surveys and space exploration

● Investors willing to take risks might recognise potential and invest in company

● Heavy legislation or EU directives don’t affect single components, but an autonomous vehicle as a whole

● No heavy standards or regulations on transmitting light compared to radio waves

Threats ● Competitors develop small,

affordable and easily integratable LIDAR before us

● Legislation is introduced that limits usage and power of lasers in public areas

● Developers of autonomous vehicles face huge challenges and cease or limit development, market shrinks

There exist two angles to consider this business venture. The first is as a whole, as a LIDAR component designed and manufactured for automotive market. The other is as just this development project, where a critical technology is being developed for the component to improve it. These both are tied to each other and neither should be neglected while pursuing the other. There are more recognised strengths and opportunities, than there are weaknesses and threats. And many of those threats can be mitigated by careful actions and making alternative plans. Therefore an aggressive strategy is preferable. One where development proceeds fast and with heightened risk, in order to achieve results in a favorable time before

competitors or legislative changes have a chance to threaten us. Getting the product ready gives more time to negotiate contracts with customers and conduct type testing they may require. The earlier deliveries start, the earlier we can begin getting returns from this project’s costs.

The most important critical success factor is gaining enough materials knowledge to develop a practical low temperature bonding technique. That is the core of this technology development project. Other factors related to this are:

● Capability of personnel to get results from material results early enough that they can be confirmed by experiments.

● Success of those experiments so that they provide useful information. ● Availability and functionality of the equipment to perform the experiments.

Considering the whole business of selling LIDAR components to car manufacturers, the critical success factors are:

● Having technology that meets their performance requirements. If this component does not provide additional value to them, they remain with their previous partner or choose some of our competitors.

● Fulfilling strict automotive reliability requirements. This is verified by type testing, which may vary between different manufacturers.

● Setting up a capable manufacturing chain to be able to deliver orders.

Weaknesses and threats outlined in the SWOT analysis are taken into account in our strategy as outlined in Table 3. In addition to those plans, situational awareness in general is kept and markets, trends and legislative developments in automotive industry are to be followed especially well. Any emerging threats are to be countered by making plans as early as feasible.

Table 3. Risk factors and their mitigation.

Risk Impact Mitigation

Novel technology causes unforeseen problems.

Delays research or experimentation. Unclear experiment results.

Do background research well and have results reviewed by other team members. Analyze the experimentation results well to learn from them.

Project group doesn’t have much information on microfabrication.

Problems in developing the process or conducting experiments.

Study the subject, learn the equipment and consult an external advisor.

Unknowns in materials lead to reliability problems.

Final product fails in use, doesn’t pass customer type tests or low production yields.

Do background research well. Perform reliability testing as part of experimentation and even more before product launch.

Limited time, budget and personnel.

Some project goals not met, budget exceeded. Delays in development.

Well planned schedule with milestones. Progress is being tracked.

Competitors develop small, affordable and easily integratable LIDAR before us.

More difficult to compete, loss of being-first advantage.

Be aggressive, develop required technology fast. Keep track of technology developments in LIDARs.

Legislation changes affecting lasers.

Limitations to types, intensity or direction of lasers. Tedious tests or verification introduced that slow market entry.

Develop and release before such changes come into effect. Try to get early warning of changes.

Threats to autonomous vehicle development as a whole.

Less potential customers. Customers have less funds available.

Keep track of autonomous vehicle trend develop and legislation affecting it. Find potential customers before they vanish, try to get contracts with promising manufacturers that seem to be able to succeed.

Supplement: Distribution of work and learning outcomes

The Summary, Business idea and Product/Service sections have a lot of overlap. It is really difficult to make all of the sections unique. Additionally as this project is a process and really just a small (however critical) aspect of a total product, some of the business aspects are difficult to determine within the project scope. The project is a process for bonding silicon wafers to transparent optical caps in MOEMS packages, as such we have had to determine a segment of the market where this would be useful. As it is not a product, but rather a process, it requires us to exit the scope of the actual project to make this document. For example, the IP section was particularly difficult as we are not seemingly infringing on anything in

creating our Low temperature bonding solution, but our business idea certainly overlaps with some IPs. It is really difficult to compare private companies as most of them provide only a minimal amount of financial data. However, there were some third party websites that offered their own estimates, but the quality of that data varied a lot between the websites. I think that I greatly improved my writing skills for documents in which the target group is mostly investors. We divided our work into sections and each member was responsible for a set of sections. The division of the tasks can be seen from Table 4. In addition, The team implemented an iterative review process by which the team members read and suggested changes or corrections for eachother. This proved to be an effective tool for both success of the document and the learning process for all involved.

Table 4. Workload sharing for this document.

Section Responsible person

Summary Joe

Business idea Mikael

Product/service Joe

Market situation and competitors analysis Joonas

Intellectual property Joe

Product development and technology Joonas

Conformance Mikael

SWOT analysis Mikael