(MicroElectroMechanical Systems) Tiny mechanical devices that are built onto semiconductor chips and are measured in micrometers. In the research labs since the 1980s, MEMS devices began to materialize as commercial products in the mid-1990s. They are used to make pressure, temperature, chemical and vibration sensors, light reflectors and switches as well as accelerometers for airbags, vehicle control, pacemakers and games. The technology is also used to make inkjet print heads, microactuators for read/write heads and all-optical switches that reflect light beams to the appropriate output port. See accelerometer.
MEMS and MOEMS
When optical components are included in a MEMS device, it is called a micro-opto-electromechanical system (MOEMS). For example, adding a photonic sensor to a silicon chip constitutes a MOEMS device. See micromachine, MEMS mirror, DLP and optical switch.
MEMS Vs. Nanotechnology
Sometimes MEMS and nanotechnology are terms that are used interchangeably, because they both deal with microminiaturized objects. However, they are vastly different. MEMS deals with creating devices that are measured in micrometers, whereas nantotechnology deals with manipulating atoms at the nanometer level.
MEMS-based Optical Switch
In an all-optical switch, MEMS mirrors reflect the input signal to an output port without regard to line speed or protocol. This technology is expected to be the dominant method for building photonic switches.
Sample Micromachines
Microfabrica's EFAB system was the first MEMS foundry process to accept CAD files as input, turning customer designs into micromachines much faster than traditional methods. EFAB builds the devices one metal layer at a time. In this image, the square at the top is a microfluidics device with internal passageways used for a "lab on a chip." The multi-arm device (center) is a fuel injection nozzle. Bottom left is an accelerometer, and bottom right is an inductor used in RF circuits. (Image courtesy of Microfabrica Inc., www.microfabrica.com)
MEMS-Based Accelerometer
MEMSIC's dual-axis thermal accelerator is a MEMS-based semiconductor device that works conceptually like the air bubble in a construction level. The square in the middle of the chip is a resistor that heats up a gas bubble. The next larger squares contain thermal couples that sense the location of the heated bubble as the device is tilted or accelerated. (Image courtesy of MEMSIC, Inc.)
MEMS and MOEMS
When optical components are included in a MEMS device, it is called a micro-opto-electromechanical system (MOEMS). For example, adding a photonic sensor to a silicon chip constitutes a MOEMS device. See micromachine, MEMS mirror, DLP and optical switch.
MEMS Vs. Nanotechnology
Sometimes MEMS and nanotechnology are terms that are used interchangeably, because they both deal with microminiaturized objects. However, they are vastly different. MEMS deals with creating devices that are measured in micrometers, whereas nantotechnology deals with manipulating atoms at the nanometer level.
MEMS-based Optical Switch
In an all-optical switch, MEMS mirrors reflect the input signal to an output port without regard to line speed or protocol. This technology is expected to be the dominant method for building photonic switches.
Sample Micromachines
Microfabrica's EFAB system was the first MEMS foundry process to accept CAD files as input, turning customer designs into micromachines much faster than traditional methods. EFAB builds the devices one metal layer at a time. In this image, the square at the top is a microfluidics device with internal passageways used for a "lab on a chip." The multi-arm device (center) is a fuel injection nozzle. Bottom left is an accelerometer, and bottom right is an inductor used in RF circuits. (Image courtesy of Microfabrica Inc., www.microfabrica.com)
MEMS-Based Accelerometer
MEMSIC's dual-axis thermal accelerator is a MEMS-based semiconductor device that works conceptually like the air bubble in a construction level. The square in the middle of the chip is a resistor that heats up a gas bubble. The next larger squares contain thermal couples that sense the location of the heated bubble as the device is tilted or accelerated. (Image courtesy of MEMSIC, Inc.)
 | Reproduced with permission from Computer Desktop Encyclopedia. Copyright (c) 1981-2009 The Computer Language Company Inc. All rights reserved. |
Additional Resources
- LayoutEditor 20091118 (Mac)
- The LayoutEditor is a program to design and edit layouts for MEMS/IC fabrication. As well as it is suitably for Multi-Chip-Modules MCM, Chip-on-Board COB, Low temperature co-fired ceramics LTCC, Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits MMIC, printed circuit boards PCB, GDS Editor thick film technology, thin film technology, .... It has sophisticated...
- Software downloads 2009-11-15
- LayoutEditor 20090801 (Mac)
- The LayoutEditor is a program to design and edit layouts for MEMS/IC fabrication. As well as it is suitably for Multi-Chip-Modules MCM, Chip-on-Board COB, Low temperature co-fired ceramics LTCC, Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits MMIC, printed circuit boards PCB, GDS Editor thick film technology, thin film technology, .... It has sophisticated...
- Software downloads 2009-08-01
- One-third of mobile phones to use accelerometers by 2010
- iSuppli reports that accelerometers are expected to appear in one-third of mobile phones shipped next year, due to their inclusion in the popular iPhone and Palm Pre handsets. The iPhone's accelerometer detects when you rotate iPhone from portrait to landscape and changes the display accordingly. The...
- Blog posts 2009-07-10
- LayoutEditor build 20090512 (Windows)
- The LayoutEditor is a program to design and edit layouts for MEMS/IC fabrication. As well as it is suitably for Multi-Chip-Modules MCM, Chip-on-Board COB, Low temperature co-fired ceramics LTCC, Monolithic Microwave Integrated Circuits MMIC, printed circuit boards PCB, GDS Editor thick film technology, and thin film technology. It has sophisticated...
- Software downloads 2009-05-12
- OMSTPA - ONS 15454 Multiservice Transport Platform (MSTP) Advanced v8.5
- View Available Dates and LocationsIn this course, you will get an advanced overview of the features and functions of the Cisco ONS 15454 MSTP and you'll learn to perform many of the tasks required to successfully turn up an ONS 15454 MSTP network. You will learn how...
- Training 2008-08-01
- A robotic brain-computer interface
- California Institute of Technology Caltech engineers have developed a robotic device able to act as a brain-computer interface. This is the 'first robotic approach to establishing an interface between computers and the brain by positioning electrodes in neural tissue.' According to the researchers, their approach 'could enhance the performance and...
- Blog posts 2008-05-21
- 100 GB memory chip coming in 2009
- Bytes, not bits. Oh, and it's fast, too. Nanochip, a Silicon Valley-based fabless semiconductor firm, just received $14 million in funding to complete work on a 100 GB storage chip. Intel Capital, who should know something about chips, is an investor. The goal: ". . . allow Nanochip to...
- Blog posts 2008-01-22
- Too much glare when you look at your cameraphone photos? Could be a thing of the past
- Yesterday at CES, chip-maker Qualcomm's subsidiary Qualcomm MEMS Technologies, Inc. made a series of announcements that IMHO will do no less than revolutionize image quality factors on mobile devices. At first blush, the announcement of Qualcomm MEMS teaming up with communications device manufacturer Foxlink Group for a...
- Blog posts 2008-01-08
- Detecting individual cancer cells with silicon
- Take a silicon MEMS device as large as a business card. (For more on MEMS technology click here.) Coat it with tens of thousands of microposts, and coat the posts with antibodies which detect a molecule only found on cancer cells. Then run blood...
- Blog posts 2007-12-20
- Always-On or Always-In
- When I first started writing about the World of Always-On, almost five years ago, I envisioned sensors worn on clothing which would interact with wireless networks to monitor health in real-time. As the field evolved Always-On has become Always-In. A Body Computing Conference in October saw industry...
- Blog posts 2007-12-03
- Nano's new frontier, green tech
- At the AlwaysOn GoingGreen conference in Davis, Calif., panel moderator David Scott Lewis, SVP of Zytech Solar leads a discussion with executives on nano and MEMS technologies that are being developed in next-generation green practices. The panelists are Pankaj Dhingra, CEO at Nanostellar; Deepak Srivastava, CTO at Nanoexa; and Vincent...
- Videos 2007-09-19
- Autonomous insect cyborg sentinels
- In a very brief article, AZoNano reports that nanotechnology is turning insects into flying cyborgs. Researchers from Cornell University have implanted 'microfluidic devices in insects before they hatch into fully grown flying creatures.' Of course, when they grow, these insects still carry the sensors. And if this works, they'll be...
- Blog posts 2007-06-22
- Building MEMS-Based Storage Systems for Streaming Media
- The performance of streaming media servers has been limited by the dual requirements of high disk throughput to service more clients simultaneously and low memory use to decrease system cost. To achieve high disk throughput, disk drives must be accessed with large IOs to amortize disk access overhead. Large IOs...
- White papers 2007-06-01
- DARPA plans to turn moths into cyberspies
- In a project that seems like it was hatched from the brain of a science fiction writer, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency DARPA is growing computer chips around insects for use in surveillance, reports The Times.DARPA is implanting computer chips in moths while still in the pupa stage. The...
- Blog posts 2007-05-30
- A wireless power transmission plastic sheet
- Several companies have started to sell power pads that can charge your cellphone when you put it on the pads surface. But these silicon-based pads are expensive -- and relatively specialized. Now, Japanese researchers have built a plastic sheet which could power all the devices placed close to it. So...
- Blog posts 2007-04-30
- Information Processing and Data Management in Wireless Sensor Networks
- The rapid progress of wireless communication and embedded micro-sensing MEMS technologies has made wireless sensor networks possible. A wireless sensor network normally comes a large area with many inexpensive, tiny sensor nodes, each capable of collecting, processing, and storing environmental information, and communicating with neighboring nodes. In the past, sensors...
- White papers 2007-01-01
- Cornell researchers develop projector in your pocket
- Coming soon to a cellphone near you ... the latest Hollywood blockbuster on HDTV. MIT Technology Review reports that researchers at Cornell University have developed a laser technology that could lead to the ability to project high-definition television images from devices the size of cell phones. The new technology...
- Blog posts 2006-09-06
- Blue crab nanosensor to fight terrorism
- A substance found in crab shells called chitosan has very useful properties. For example, it has been used in bandages to stop bleeding. But now, researchers at the University of Maryland have used the chitosan from blue crabs living in Chesapeake Bay as a component of a nanoscale sensor system...
- Blog posts 2006-07-30
- Flying robots made from cellophane?
- Researchers have discovered that ordinary cellulose is a piezoelectric and smart material that can flap when exposed to an electric field. ScienceNOW reports that electricity can give life to cellophane. When you put a very thin layer of gold on each side of cellophane, and that you apply electric current...
- Blog posts 2006-07-02
- Image stabilization for cameraphones
- According to ExtremeTech, a startup company named InvenSense has developed a MEMS gyroscope for cameraphones. This gyroscope will be integrated in new cellphones before the end of the year. These small dual-axis angular rate sensors (3.5mm x 3.5mm today and smaller soon) can provide a better image stabilization than current...
- Blog posts 2006-05-27
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