MEMS Technology News

Roger Grace, president of technology marketing firm Roger Grace Associates, voices his hope that nanotechnology will learn from the pitfalls and shortcomings of MEMS technology. In order to better understand the progress and the state of MEMS, Grace interviewed 55 experts in the field to create a report card for the industry, and lessons for nanotech.

With industry collaboration, university scientists have overcome the clumsiness of robots, which had made them unfit for caring for an elderly population. By designing robots with hands that integrate rubber-coated MEMS components, these researchers have created robot nurses that can now hold fragile items safely and touch people more gently.

Ideal for low-cost consumer electronics applications, a new analog three-axis accelerometer has been integrated into several products, including a wireless motion sensing mote kit and a multi-sensing data recorder. Due to their tiny size, these new systems are paving the way for applications in the industrial, manufacturing, logistics, and consumer electronics industries.

A government laboratory web site discusses the importance of integrating reliable actuator components in MEMS devices. The site reviews commonly used thermal and electrostatic actuators including v-shaped thermal actuators, thermal ratcheting actuators, torsional ratcheting actuators (TRAs), parallel plate actuators, and comb drives. See the site for complete information and some very beautiful pictures of the components.

A group of university researchers are using MEMS scanners to enable in vivo 3D optical coherence tomography (OCT). The group's paper reviews the mechanisms of beam deflection and the miniaturization afforded by the integration of MEMS technology, as well as micro-mirror-based 3D swept-source OCT. They also discuss 2D and 3D results and present possible future developments.

The new active electronically scanned lens array (AESLA) relies on a low-loss, reliable phase shifter that employs radio frequency MEMS and gallium nitride (GaN) monolithic microwave integrated circuits (MMICs). The new array may be capable of achieving a dramatic increase in performance over existing radar systems with minimal cost.

A new 2008 research report offers market forecasts evaluating the impact of 3D TSV technologies on semiconductor business at the device, equipment, and material levels. The report explores the motivations for going to 3D, the roadmap per application, as well as the 3D wafer level packaging (WLP) encapsulation, 3D TSV stack, and 3D interposer module platforms.

A recently introduced chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) system designed for use in tribology science and research applications may also find use in MEMS fabrication. The new CMP system can be adapted for use in polysilicon surface micromachining as well as optoMEMS and bioMEMS packaging.

IEEE's 2009 International Conference on MEMS (MEMS 2009) will be held in beautiful Sorrento, Italy, on January 25-29, 2009. This key industry event focuses on major areas of activity and presents research results associated with every aspect of microsystems technology, including mechanical, thermal, and magnetic sensors, microdevices for data storage and biomedical engineering, nano-electro-mechanical devices and systems, and much more.

If you attended the 2008 Beijing Olympics, you may have noticed the multitude of replicas of the traditional flame-bearing torch. Integrating a MEMS component, an accelerometer, and lines of light-emitting diodes (LEDs), this torch is capable of displaying preprogrammed words or images in the air and can be produced along any CMOS chip manufacturing line for low cost.

Will MEMS Sensors Rock the Market?

A recently published market research study reports that a new government stability control mandate is creating new demand for MEMS sensors. What applications other than automotive will benefit from this new mandate? Who will play a significant role in reshaping the future supply chain?