MEMS/Micromachining
Viewpoints
2013
2012
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December/January:
2012: The Year in Review
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2011
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2011: The Year in Review
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2010
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December/January:
2010: The Year in Review
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November:
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October:
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September:
Pico Projector in Nikon's Compact Digital Camera
Qualcomm Investing $2 Billion in Mirasol Plant -
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July:
Competing Technology: Camera-Based Motion Sensor in Microsoft Kinect
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Archived Viewpoints
2009
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December/January:
2009: The Year in Review
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November:
Recent Developments: Qualcomm Ups the Ante with Mirasol-Based E-Book Readers
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2008
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2008: The Year in Review
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2007
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2007: The Year in Review
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2006
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December/January:
2006: The Year in Review
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Before December 2006, the MEMS/Micromachining technology area was Micromachining. The name changed in order to reflect better the focus of the Technology Map coverage.
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November:
Difficulties in Aerospace MEMS
Recent Developments: Printed Optoelectronics and Microfluidics -
October:
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June:
EAPs: From New Microactuators to Artificial Muscle
New Technology Area: Connected Homes -
May:
Developments in Micromachined RF Devices and Silicon Microphones
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April:
Areas to Monitor: MEMS Industry Structure: Recent Developments | U.K. Foundry Access
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2005
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December/January:
2005: The Year in Review
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August:
Recent Developments: RF MEMS: Sawtek Responds | Finally Commercial: MEMS-based Humidity Sensor
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ZigBee and Wireless Motes
Microreformers for Portable Fuel Cells -
March:
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February:
MEMS Relays in Defense Applications and Beyond
Recent Developments: Micromachined Interconnects
2004
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December/January:
2004: The Year in Review
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RF MEMS Business Models
Recent Developments: Accelerometers as Human-Computer Interfaces -
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2003
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December/January:
2003: The Year in Review
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November:
Commercializing Micromachined RF Components
Announcement: Next Generation Technologies -
October:
MEMS Flow-Control Update
Recent Developments: Discera and Dalsa -
September:
Japanese MEMS Players
Commercial Development Parameters: NEDO MEMS Update -
August:
SoC, Wireless MEMS, and the Role of Small Companies
Recent Developments: HSARPA -
July:
MEMS As a Tool for Parallel Production
Players: Redwood Microsystems -
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February:
Recent Developments: MEMS for Optical Storage at OPT 2002 | Foundry Alliances in RF MEMS
2002
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December/January:
2002: The Year in Review
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November:
Applications Review
Recent Developments: Motorola's Asset Light Strategy for Sensors -
October:
Unprofitability Drives Consolidation
Recent Developments: Analog Devices Increases the Value Add -
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March:
The End of FEDs?
Recent Developments: Expansions in MEMS Manufacturing -
February:
Ardesta
Recent Developments: Silicon Light Machines and Lightconnect
2001
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December/January:
2001: The Year in Review
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November:
Disk-Drive Actuators
Recent Developments: Moves in Accelerometer Technology -
October:
Minatec
The Technology in Brief: Micro EDM: A Mix-and-Match Technology -
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MEMS Developments at Intel and ST
Recent Developments: 3G Networks -
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2000
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December/January:
2000: The Year in Review
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Power Sources and MEMS
Recent Developments: IMM Microreactor for Combinatorial Chemistry -
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1999
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December/January:
1999: The Year in Review
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Before August 1999, the Explorer service was called TechMonitoring, and Viewpoints were TechLinks.
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1998
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December/January:
1998: The Year in Review
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November:
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October:
Recent Developments: Integrated Acceleration Sensors | Manufacturing Expansion at VTI
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August:
MEMStek's Demise
Recent Developments: Kodak's Ceramic Molding Process -
July:
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June:
MIT's Miniature Turbine
Recent Developments: MEMS-Based Active Fiber Alignment Systems -
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April:
Piezo-Based Inkjet Printing
Recent Developments: IBM's SU-8 Resist -
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February:
Motorola to Quit the Chemical Sensors Business
Recent Developments: RIE for Edge-Emitting Lasers
1997
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December/January:
1997: The Year in Review
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July:
Lithographic Microfiltration Membranes from Aquamarijn | The End of Inert Matter?: A Personal View
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March:
Micromachined Silicon Gyroscopes: First Applications and Timing
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1996
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December/January:
1996: The Year in Review
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November:
Micromachining: Changing Paradigms or Enforcing the Status Quo?
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October:
Bosch's Foundry Service | OBD to Aid Micromachined Exhaust Gas Sensors | Silicon HVAC Sensors
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December/January:
1995: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 1996
About This Technology
Industry continuously strives to make products that are smaller and lighter and are lower in cost, yet have increased functionality. Microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS, are a class of devices or microsystems produced using micromachining technology, which comprises techniques to make components and devices whose features measure in the tens to hundreds of microns. Initially, scientists borrowed lithography techniques for making two-dimensional integrated circuits from the electronics industry to micromachine simple three-dimensional cavities and freestanding membranes and cantilevers for sensor applications. Not only are microsensors smaller than conventional sensors—a characteristic that allows more functions in the same space, but they can also respond more quickly and more accurately because of the smaller distances in use. Moreover, producing them in large batches is inexpensive. The extension of lithography methods and development of new micromachining techniques have allowed the production of freely moving micromechanical parts.
The biggest market for micromachining is in sensing, from pressure sensors to accelerometers and gyroscopes, but though commercialization first centered on the automotive business, reduced cost has allowed sensors to reach mass consumer markets, creating new interfaces for mobile phones and gaming devices. Demands for mobile devices with small form factor and improved power consumption are also creating a need for new micromachined radio-frequency components and timing devices. Micromachining is in use to create the tiny nozzle arrays in ink-jet printer heads, slider components for hard-disk drives, and micromirror-based projection displays. Micromachining is producing fluidic channels for DNA chips, allowing massive parallelism for high-throughput screening techniques; is reducing some analytical instruments to handheld size; and is creating new types of drug-delivery systems.
Almost every industry is enjoying the benefits of micromachining—particularly the information-technology, telecommunications, automotive, and health-care industries. The relatively low cost of microsensors—$1 to $20 each—will also allow manufacturers to use sensors in many more products than is now possible, including consumer-electronics products, home appliances, toys, and products for home health care. These sensors and other micromechanical devices have begun to incorporate remote powering and wireless communications, allowing remote sensing, connection of home health-care devices to a physician's office, and smart-grid applications. At some time, in the decade leading to 2020, the micromachining industry will contend with nanotechnology. MEMS devices already incorporate nanometer-scale particles and structures as sensor elements, but micromachining processes may also incorporate additional concepts such as molecular manufacturing and self-assembly.

