The MicroElectroMechanical Systems Industry
Peter Bishop, Ph.D.*
Cirrus
Logic, Inc.
This is an abstract
for a poster to be presented at the
Fifth
Foresight Conference on Molecular Nanotechnology.
There will be a link from here to the full article when it is
available on the web.
In the last few years, the field of microelectromechanical
systems (MEMS) has burst from the laboratory into production of
tiny mechanical devices built with variants of semiconductor
manufacturing technology and capable of building mechanical
devices with feature sizes similar to the feature sizes possible
with semiconductor manufacturing, which is currently at about 250
nanometers. The field is generating enormous excitement in the
area of transducers and actuators. Although much of the design
has a distinct two-dimensional flavor to it, some of the MEMS
manufacturing steps allow surprising degrees of three-dimensional
mechanical design. In particular, MEMS systems are capable of
constructing a three-dimensional structure and separating it from
the silicon substrate on which it was built. This technology
makes it possible to construct the smallest mechanical systems
currently known with high volume and low cost. Substantial
complexity of the systems is possible due to the complex masks
that are a routine element of semiconductor manufacturing. The
current array of products being produced by this industry is
described. Some of the leading companies in the industry are
identified. The ease of experimenting with MEMS designs and
products is also described.
*Corresponding Address:
705 W. Washington Ave. Sunnyvale, CA 94086 ph: 408-737-9562,
email: [email protected]
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