What are MEMS?
MEMS means Micro-Electro-Mechanical devices. MEMS structures exist today as miniature mechanical and/or electromechanical structures designed to perform tasks that previously were done with much larger mechanical structures. MEMS benefits include smaller size, lower power consumption, accelerated time to market and significantly reduced costs.
A. MEMS stands for Microelectromechanical systems. They are miniature devices that enable the operation of complex systems. Smaller than a grain of sand, MEMS devices combine tiny mechanical, optical and fluidic elements with electronics and are integrated on a silicon chip. Typically MEMS devices act as sensors, actuators, pumps and valves. Because of their small size, MEMS are frequently more precise in their operation than their larger machined counterparts. Q. Where are MEMS used? A. MEMS are used in automotive, military, medical, telecommunications and aerospace industries. MEMS devices serve as impact sensors in the accelerometers of automobile airbags. They are also the micronozzles in commercial inkjet printers. Biomedical applications include acting as tiny blood pressure sensors. MEMS can be found in video projection chips and throughout Boeing 747 airliners from engine blades to the wheels. Q. How are MEMS manufactured? A. MEMS microstructures are manufactured in batch proce
MEMS stands for Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems, referring to functional machine systems with components measured in micrometers. MEMS is often viewed as a stepping stone between conventional macroscale machinery and futuristic nanomachinery. MEMS-precursors have been around for a while in the form of microelectronics, but these systems are purely electronic, incapable of processing or outputting anything but a series of electrical impulses. However, modern MEMS-fabrication techniques are largely based upon the same technology used to manufacture integrated circuits, that is, film-deposition techniques which employ photolithography. Largely considered an enabling technology rather than an end in itself, the fabrication of MEMS is seen by engineers and technologists as another welcome advance in our ability to synthesize a wider range of physical structures designed to perform useful tasks. Most often mentioned in conjunction with MEMS is the idea of a “lab-on-a-chip,” a device that pr
