Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

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Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems, or MEMS, are devices formed by integrating mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics onto a common silicon substrate using various processes of semiconductor wafer fabrication (for the electronic components) and micromachining (for the micromechanical components). This fusion of semiconductor and micromachining capabilities makes MEMS an enabling technology for a whole new set of exciting products, while revolutionizing those that already exist.

MEMS brings the concept of complete 'system-on-a-chip' (SOC) a step higher, by allowing a microelectronic device to: 1) 'feel' its surroundings in ways never before possible through the help of sensors with moving parts; and 2) physically affect objects around it through microscopic actuators, motors, hinges, linkages, pivots, gears, and the like. Indeed, MEMS almost promises to deliver science fiction-inspired microscopic robots of the future that can think, sense, and move inside the human body.

For now, however, MEMS applications are more widely deployed in systems that are commonly encountered in our daily lives, such as: 1) automobiles' airbag deployment systems, tire pressure sensors, and suspension control mechanisms; 2) motion input devices for gaming and training consoles; 3) blood pressure sensors; 4) inkjet printers' ink deposition systems; 5) optical switching systems for communications equipment; and 6) micromirror arrays for projection TV's.

Figure 1. Examples of MEMS Structures

Source of photos: www.memx.com

MEMS microfabrication techniques that are used to complement the wafer fabrication techniques come in various forms, including: 1) silicon surface micromachining; 2) silicon bulk micromachining; 3) electrical discharge machining (EDM); and 4) the LIGA (Lithographie, Galvanoformung, Abformung) technology, which stands for "lithography, plating, molding".

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