Contents: Abstract ..........................................................................................................................ii Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... iii Introduction .................................................................................................................... 1 What is MEMS Technology? .....................................................................................

1 What are MEMS / Microsystems? ............................................................................. 2 MEMS DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................. 3 SILICON................................................................................................................... 3 POLYMERS .............................................................................................................. 3 METALS .................................................................................................................. 4 MEMS Design Process .................................................................................................. 4 Deposition Processes ................................................................................................. 4 Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)....................................................................... 5 Electrodeposition ................................................................................................... 6 Epitaxy ................................................................................................................... 6 Thermal oxidation .................................................................................................. 7 Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) ......................................................................... 8 Casting ................................................................................................................... 8 Lithography .................................................................................................................... 8 Pattern Transfer .......................................................................................................... 8 Alignment .................................................................................................................. 9 Exposure .................................................................................................................... 9 Etching Processes......................................................................................................... 10 Wet etching .............................................................................................................. 10 Dry etching............................................................................................................... 11 Fabrication Technologies ............................................................................................. 11 IC Fabrication .......................................................................................................... 12 Bulk Micromachining and Wafer Bonding.............................................................. 13 Surface Micromachining .......................................................................................... 14 Micro molding ......................................................................................................... 14 Current Challenges....................................................................................................... 14 Applications ................................................................................................................. 15 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... 23 References .................................................................................................................... 24

Abstract
Sensors have been used as detection elements for past decades. One simple and common example is the mercury thermometer used to measure the body temperature that relies on the Physical property called thermal expansion. In general, a sensor needs a transducer that transforms the measured magnitude in another one that is easier to interpret or visualize. Actuators on the other hand are the elements that perform an action when triggered by a signal. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are small integrated devices or systems that combine electrical and mechanical components. They range in size from the sub micrometer level to the millimeter level and there can be any number, from a few to millions, in a particular system. MEMS extend the fabrication techniques developed for the integrated circuit industry to add mechanical elements such as beams, gears, diaphragms, and springs to devices. Examples of MEMS device applications include inkjet-printer cartridges, accelerometer, miniature robots, microengines, locks inertial sensors microtransmissions, micromirrors, micro actuator (Mechanisms for activating process control equipment by use of pneumatic, hydraulic, or electronic signals) optical scanners, fluid pumps, transducer, pressure and flow sensors. New applications are emerging as the existing technology is applied to the miniaturization and integration of conventional devices.

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Abbreviations
CVD: Chemical Vapour Deposition DLC: Diamond like carbon DLP: Digital Light Processing DMD: Digital micromirror device DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid HMDS: Hexamethyldisilazane IC: Integrated Circuit IMOD: Interferometric modulator display LIGA: Lithographie, Galvanoformung, und Abformung LPCVD: Low Pressure Chemical Vapour Deposition MEMS:Micro Electro Mechanical Systems PECVD: Plasma Enhanced Vapour Deposition PVD: Physical Vapour Deposition RIE: Reactive Ion Etching SOI: Silicon on Insulator VPE: Vapor Phase Epitaxy

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Introduction
MEMS sense, control, and activate mechanical processes on the micro scale, and function individually or in arrays to generate effects on the macro scale. The micro fabrication technology enables fabrication of large arrays of devices, which individually perform simple tasks, but in combination can accomplish complicated functions. MEMS are a fabrication approach that conveys the advantages of miniaturization, multiple components, and microelectronics to the design and construction of integrated electromechanical systems. MEMS are not only about miniaturization of mechanical systems; they are also a new paradigm for designing mechanical devices and systems.

What is MEMS Technology?

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is the integration of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common silicon substrate through microfabrication technology. While the electronics are fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) process sequences, the micromechanical components are fabricated using compatible "micromachining" processes that selectively etch away parts of the silicon wafer or add new structural layers to form the mechanical and electromechanical devices.

Micromotor gear

Microelectronic integrated circuits can be thought of as the "brains" of a system and MEMS augments this decision-making capability with "eyes" and "arms", to allow microsystems to sense and control the environment. Sensors gather information from the environment through measuring mechanical, thermal, biological, chemical, optical, and magnetic phenomena. The electronics then process the information derived from the sensors and through some decision making capability direct the actuators to respond by moving, positioning, regulating, pumping, and filtering, thereby controlling the environment for some desired outcome or purpose. Because MEMS devices are manufactured using batch fabrication techniques similar to those used for integrated circuits, unprecedented levels of functionality, reliability, and sophistication can be placed on a small silicon chip at a relatively low cost.

What are MEMS / Microsystems?

MEMS is an abbreviation for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems. This rapidly emerging technology combines electrical, electronic, mechanical, optical, material, chemical, and fluids engineering disciplines. As the smallest commercially produced "machines", MEMS devices are similar to traditional sensors and actuators although much, much smaller.

Torsional actuator

MEMS devices are typically fabricated onto a substrate (chip) that may also contain the electronics required to interact with the MEMS device. Due to the small size and mass of the devices, MEMS components can be actuated electrostatically (piezoelectric and bimetallic effects can also be used). The position of MEMS components can also be sensed capacitively. Hence the MEMS electronics include electrostatic drive power supplies, capacitance charge comparators, and signal conditioning circuitry.

MEMS DESCRIPTION
MEMS technology can be implemented using a number of different materials and manufacturing techniques; the choice of which will depend on the device being created and the market sector in which it has to operate.

SILICON
The economies of scale, ready availability of cheap high-quality materials and ability to incorporate electronic functionality make silicon attractive for a wide variety of MEMS applications. Silicon also has significant advantages engendered through its material properties. The basic techniques for producing all silicon based MEMS devices are deposition of material layers, patterning of these layers by photolithography and then etching to produce the required shapes.

POLYMERS
Even though the electronics industry provides an economy of scale for the silicon industry, crystalline silicon is still a complex and relatively expensive material to produce. Polymers on the other hand can be produced in huge volumes, with a great variety of material characteristics. MEMS devices can be made from polymers by processes such as injection moulding, embossing or stereolithography and are especially well suited to microfluidic applications such as disposable blood testing cartridges.

METALS
Metals can also be used to create MEMS elements. While metals do not have some of the advantages displayed by silicon in terms of mechanical properties, when used within their limitations, metals can exhibit very high degrees of reliability. Metals can be deposited by electroplating, evaporation, and sputtering processes. Commonly used metals include gold, nickel, aluminum, chromium, titanium, tungsten, platinum, and silver

MEMS Design Process

There are three basic building blocks in MEMS technology, which are, Deposition Process-the ability to deposit thin films of material on a substrate, Lithography-to apply a patterned mask on top of the films by photolithograpic imaging, and Etching-to etch the films selectively to the mask. A MEMS process is usually a structured sequence of these operations to form actual devices.

Deposition Processes
One of the basic building blocks in MEMS processing is the ability to deposit thin films of material. We assume a thin film to have a thickness anywhere between a few nanometers to about 100 micrometer MEMS deposition technology can be classified in two groups: 1. Depositions that happen because of a chemical reaction:
o o o o

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) Electrodeposition Epitaxy Thermal oxidation

These processes exploit the creation of solid materials directly from chemical reactions in gas and/or liquid compositions or with the substrate material. The solid material is usually not the only product formed by the reaction. Byproducts can include gases, liquids and even other solids. 2. Depositions that happen because of a physical reaction:
o o

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) Casting

Common for all these processes are that the material deposited is physically moved on to the substrate. In other words, there is no chemical reaction which forms the material on the substrate. This is not completely correct for casting processes, though it is more convenient to think of them that way.

Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD)

In this process, the substrate is placed inside a reactor to which a number of gases are supplied. The fundamental principle of the process is that a chemical reaction takes place between the source gases. The two most important CVD technologies in MEMS are the Low Pressure CVD (LPCVD) and Plasma Enhanced CVD (PECVD). The LPCVD process produces layers with excellent uniformity of thickness and material characteristics. The main problems with the process are the high deposition temperature (higher than 600C) and the relatively slow deposition rate. The PECVD process can operate at lower temperatures (down to 300 C) thanks to the extra energy supplied to the gas molecules by the plasma in the reactor. However, the quality of the films tends to be inferior to processes running at higher temperatures. Secondly, most PECVD deposition systems can only deposit the material on one side of the wafers on 1 to 4 wafers at a time. LPCVD systems deposit films on both sides of at least 25 wafers at a time.

Electrodeposition
This process is also known as "electroplating" and is typically restricted to electrically conductive materials. The electrodeposition process is well suited to make films of metals such as copper, gold and nickel. There are basically two technologies for plating: Electroplating and Electroless plating. In the electroplating process the substrate is placed in a liquid solution (electrolyte). When an electrical potential is applied between a conducting area on the substrate and a counter electrode (usually platinum) in the liquid, a chemical redox process takes place resulting in the formation of a layer of material on the substrate and usually some gas generation at the counter electrode. A schematic diagram of a typical setup for electroplating is shown in the figure below.

Epitaxy
This technology is quite similar to what happens in CVD processes, however, if the substrate is an ordered semiconductor crystal (i.e. silicon, gallium arsenide); it is possible with this process to continue building on the substrate with the same crystallographic orientation with the substrate acting as a seed for the deposition. There are several technologies for creating the conditions inside a reactor needed to support epitaxial growth, of which the most important is Vapor Phase Epitaxy (VPE). In this process, a number of gases are introduced in an

induction heated reactor where only the substrate is heated. The temperature of the substrate typically must be at least 50% of the melting point of the material to be deposited. Epitaxy is a widely used technology for producing silicon on insulator (SOI) substrates. A schematic diagram of a typical vapor phase epitaxial reactor is shown in the figure below.

Typical cold-wall vapor phase epitaxial reactor.

Thermal oxidation
This is one of the most basic deposition technologies. It is simply oxidation of the substrate surface in an oxygen rich atmosphere. The temperature is raised to 800C - 1100C to speed up the process. This is also the only deposition technology which actually consumes some of the substrate as it proceeds. The growth of the film is spurned by diffusion of oxygen into the substrate, which means the film growth is actually downwards into the substrate. This process is naturally limited to materials that can be oxidized, and it can only form films that are oxides of that material. This is the classical process used to form silicon dioxide on a silicon substrate. A schematic diagram of a typical wafer oxidation furnace is shown in the figure below.

Typical wafer oxidation furnace

Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD)

PVD covers a number of deposition technologies in which material is released from a source and transferred to the substrate.PVD is far more common than CVD for metals since it can be performed at lower process risk and cheaper in regards to materials cost. However PVDs quality of film is inferior to CVD. The two most important technologies are evaporation and sputtering.

Casting
In this process the material to be deposited is dissolved in liquid form in a solvent. The material can be applied to the substrate by spraying or spinning. Once the solvent is evaporated, a thin film of the material remains on the substrate. This is particularly useful for polymer materials, which may be easily dissolved in organic solvents, and it is the common method used to apply photoresist to substrates (in photolithography). In recent years, the casting technology has also been applied to form films of glass materials on substrates.

Lithography
Pattern Transfer
Lithography in the MEMS context is typically the transfer of a pattern to a photosensitive material by selective exposure to a radiation source such as light. A photosensitive material is a material that experiences a change in its physical properties when exposed to a radiation source. If we selectively expose a photosensitive material to radiation (e.g. by masking some of the radiation) the pattern of the radiation on the material is transferred to the material exposed, as the properties of the exposed and unexposed regions differs (shown below).

Transfer of a pattern to a photosensitive material

Alignment
In order to make useful devices the patterns for different lithography steps that belong to a single structure must be aligned to one another. The first pattern transferred to a wafer usually includes a set of alignment marks, which are high precision features that are used as the reference when positioning subsequent patterns, to the first.

Exposure
The exposure parameters required in order to achieve accurate pattern transfer from the mask to the photosensitive layer depend primarily on the wavelength of the radiation source and the dose required to achieve the desired properties change of the photoresist. Different photoresists exhibit different sensitivities to different wavelengths. The dose required per unit volume of photoresist for good pattern transfer is somewhat constant; however, the physics of the exposure process may affect the dose actually received. For example a highly reflective layer under the photoresist may result in the material experiencing a higher dose than if the underlying layer is absorptive, as the photoresist is exposed both by the incident radiation as well as the reflected radiation. The dose will also vary with resist thickness.

Etching Processes
In order to form a functional MEMS structure on a substrate, it is necessary to etch the thin films previously deposited and/or the substrate itself. In general, there are two classes of etching processes: 1. Wet etching where the material is dissolved when immersed in a chemical solution 2. Dry etching where the material is sputtered or dissolved using reactive ions or a vapor phase etchant

Wet etching
This is the simplest etching technology. All it requires is a container with a liquid solution that will dissolve the material in question. Unfortunately, there are complications since usually a mask is desired to selectively etch the material. One must find a mask that will not dissolve or at least etches much slower than the material to be patterned. Secondly, some single crystal materials, such as silicon, exhibit anisotropic etching in certain chemicals. Anisotropic etching in contrast to isotropic etching means different etches rates in different directions in the material. The principle of anisotropic and isotropic wet etching is illustrated in the figure below.

Difference between anisotropic and isotropic wet etching.

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Dry etching
The dry etching technology can split in three separate classes called reactive ion etching (RIE), sputter etching, and vapor phase etching. In RIE, the substrate is placed inside a reactor in which several gases are introduced. Plasma is struck in the gas mixture using an RF power source, breaking the gas molecules into ions. The ion is accelerated towards, and reacts at, the surface of the material being etched, forming another gaseous material. This is known as the chemical part of reactive ion etching. Vapour phase etching is another dry etching method, which can be done with simpler equipment than what RIE requires. In this process the wafer to be etched is placed inside a chamber, in which one or more gases are introduced. The material to be etched is dissolved at the surface in a chemical reaction with the gas molecules. The two most common vapor phase etching technologies are silicon dioxide etching using hydrogen fluoride (HF) and silicon etching using xenon diflouride (XeF2), both of which are isotropic in nature. Usually, care must be taken in the design of a vapor phase process to not have bi-products form in the chemical reaction that condense on the surface and interfere with the etching process. Dry etching is an expensive technology compared to wet etching, though it has a higher resolution than the later.

Fabrication Technologies
The three characteristic features of MEMS fabrication technologies are miniaturization, multiplicity, and microelectronics. Miniaturization enables the production of compact, quick-response devices. Multiplicity refers to the batch fabrication inherent in semiconductor processing, which allows thousands or millions of components to be easily and concurrently fabricated. Microelectronics provides the intelligence to MEMS and allows the monolithic merger of sensors, actuators, and logic to build closed-loop feedback components and systems. The successful miniaturization and multiplicity of traditional electronics systems would not have

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been possible without IC fabrication technology. Therefore, IC fabrication technology, or microfabrication, has so far been the primary enabling technology for the development of MEMS. Microfabrication provides a powerful tool for batch processing and miniaturization of mechanical systems into a dimensional domain not accessible by conventional techniques. Furthermore, microfabrication provides an opportunity for integration of mechanical systems with electronics to develop highperformance closed-loop-controlled MEMS.

IC Fabrication
Any discussion of MEMS requires a basic understanding of IC fabrication technology, or microfabrication, the primary enabling technology for the development of MEMS. The major steps in IC fabrication technology are: Film growth: Usually, a polished Si wafer is used as the substrate, on which a thin film is grown. The film, which may be epitaxial Si, SiO2, silicon nitride (Si3N4), polycrystalline Si, or metal, is used to build both active or passive components and interconnections between circuits. Doping: To modulate the properties of the device layer, a low and controllable level of an atomic impurity may be introduced into the layer by thermal diffusion or ion implantation. Lithography: A pattern on a mask is then transferred to the film by means of a photosensitive (i.e., light sensitive) chemical known as a photoresist. The process of pattern generation and transfer is called photolithography. A typical mask consists of a glass plate coated with a patterned chromium (Cr) film. Etching: Next is the selective removal of unwanted regions of a film or substrate for pattern delineation. Wet chemical etching or dry etching may be used. Etch-mask materials are used at various stages in the removal process to selectively prevent those portions of the material from being etched. These materials include SiO2, Si3N4, and hard-baked photoresist. Dicing: The finished wafer is sawed or machined into small squares, or dice, from which electronic components can be made.

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 Packaging: The individual sections are then packaged, a process that involves physically locating, connecting, and protecting a device or component. MEMS design is strongly coupled to the packaging requirements, which in turn are dictated by the application environment.

Bulk Micromachining and Wafer Bonding

Bulk micromachining is an extension of IC technology for the fabrication of 3D structures. Bulk micromachining of Si uses wet- and dry-etching techniques in conjunction with etch masks and etch stops to sculpt micromechanical devices from the Si substrate. The two key capabilities that make bulk micromachining a viable technology are: Anisotropic etchants of Si, such as ethylene-diamine and pyrocatechol (EDP), potassium hydroxide (KOH), and hydrazine (N2H4). These preferentially etch single crystal Si along given crystal planes. Etch masks and etch-stop techniques that can be used with Si anisotropic etchants to selectively prevent regions of Si from being etched. Good etch masks are provided by SiO2 and Si3N4, and some metallic thin films such as Cr and Au (gold).

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Surface Micromachining
Surface micromachining enables the fabrication of complex

multicomponent integrated micromechanical structures that would not be possible with traditional bulk micromachining. This technique encases specific structural parts of a device in layers of a sacrificial material during the fabrication process. The substrate wafer is used primarily as a mechanical support on which multiple alternating layers of structural and sacrificial material are deposited and patterned to realize micromechanical structures. The sacrificial material is then dissolved in a chemical etchant that does not attack the structural parts. The most widely used surface micromachining technique, polysilicon surface micromachining, uses SiO2 as the sacrificial material and polysilicon as the structural material.

Micro molding
In the micromolding process, microstructures are fabricated using molds to define the deposition of the structural layer. The structural material is deposited only in those areas constituting the microdevice structure, in contrast to bulk and surface micromachining, which feature blanket deposition of the structural material followed by etching to realize the final device geometry. After the structural layer deposition, the mold is dissolved in a chemical etchant that does not attack the structural material. One of the most prominent micromolding processes is the LIGA process. LIGA is a German acronym standing for lithographie, galvanoformung, und abformung (lithography, electroplating, and molding).

Current Challenges
MEMS and Nanotechnology is currently used in low- or mediumvolume applications. Some of the obstacles preventing its wider adoption are: Limited Options Packaging Fabrication Knowledge Required

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Applications
PRESSURE SENSORS
MEMS pressure microsensors typically have a flexible diaphragm that deforms in the presence of a pressure difference. The deformation is converted to an electrical signal appearing at the sensor output. The deflection of a circular diaphragm can be expressed in polar coordinates by the equations:

P: pressure difference a , h : radius and thickness of the diaphragm v: Poissons Ratio r: radial coordinate E: Youngs modulus of the structural material

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Normalized deflection of a circular diaphragm as a function of dimensionless stress.

The performance criteria of primary interest in pressure sensors are sensitivity, dynamic range, full-scale output, linearity, and the temperature coefficients of sensitivity and offset. Sensitivity is defined as a normalized signal change per unit pressure change to reference signal:

where is output signal and is the change in this pressure due to the applied pressure P The temperature sensitivity of a pressure sensor is an important performance metric. The definition of temperature coefficient of sensitivity (TCS) is:

where S is sensitivity

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INERTIAL SENSORS & ACCELEROMETERS

Accelerometers are acceleration sensors. An inertial mass suspended by springs is acted upon by acceleration forces that cause the mass to be deflected from its initial position. This deflection is converted to an electrical signal, which appears at the sensor output. The application of MEMS technology to accelerometers is a relatively new development. Accelerometers in consumer electronics devices such as game controllers ,personal media playersetc. In the below figure an acceleration will cause a displacement of the inertial mass and the displacement is sensed either using piezoelectric or capacitive effect.

The simple force equation for a static load

The force obtained from an applied acceleration

K is the elastic spring constant tensor (N/m) and x is the spatial displacement of the mass with respect to the reference frame generated by the inertial load.

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Deflection of an anchored cantilever beam under a point force is given by:

E is the modulus of elasticity (Pa) for the spring material and h,w, and l are the thickness, width, and length (m), respectively, of the beam. A dashpot configuration is needed to help in the damping action to bring the spring to neutral position in minimal timing. Consider the following equation of motion for a forced harmonic oscillator:

where m is mass, c is damping coefficient, and k is spring constant. Introducing a nondimensional damping , such that

Where be written as:

is the systems natural frequency, hence the above equation can

And hence the steady state solution becomes

Where is the amplitude of the response and Below is a frequency response og the spring .

is the phase difference.

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MICRO ENGINES
Microengines uses an electrostatic comb-drive (capacitive actuators1) connected to a pinion gear by a slider-crank mechanism with a second comb-drive to move the pinion past the top and bottom dead center. Two comb-drives are necessary because the torque on a pinion produced by a single actuator has a dependence on angle and is given by the following equation:

where F0: force of the comb-drive : angle between hub of the output gear and the linkage r: distance between the hub and the linkage

Electrostatic comb-drive actuator

Linkages that connect the comb-drives to the gear.

The force of the comb drive is found through the following equation:

Where r and o represents the deielectric constants , A is the area , V as the voltage and y is the distance between the 2 comb electrodes.

Capacitive Actuators are actuators utilizing electrostatic forces that act between two electrically conductive combs

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A DLC BASED 8-CHANNEL MICROPROBE

Bio-MEMS applications in medical and health related technologies range from LabOn-Chip to MicroTotalAnalysis (biosensor, chemosensor).Biomedical applications that
have been proposed or developed include implantable devices for measuring ocular, cranial, or bowel pressure). The DLC based 8-channel microprobe is used for recording the electrical activity of neural cells and tissues.

This integrated microprobe for monitoring tissues electrical activity can be used labs, research centers and in hospitals in treatment for people suffering from neurological diseases. Two sorts of neural activity could be recorded, local field potential and

spiking activity which reflects the neuronal output.

The DLC based 8-channel microprobe

The tip width is: - 30 mm for 4 channels microprobe - 60 mm for 8 channels microprobe

The signals collected from the microprobe need to be amplified and processed in order to obtain useful information.The impedence measurements reveal different tissue and organs.

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SOME OTHER COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS INCLUDE:

Inkjet printers, which use piezoelectrics or thermal bubble ejection to deposit ink on paper.

Accelerometers in modern cars for a large number of purposes including airbag deployment in collisions.

MEMS are also used in uncooled infrared imaging devices which involve large arrays of microfabricated elements

Silicon pressure sensors e.g. car tire pressure sensors, and disposable blood pressure sensors.

Displays e.g. the DMD chip in a projector based on DLP technology has on its surface several hundred thousand micromirrors.

Optical switching technology which is used for switching technology and alignment for data communications.

Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) applications in consumer electronics. Used to create interferometric modulation - reflective display technology as found in mirasol displays. MEMS IC fabrication technologies have also allowed the manufacture of advanced memory devices (nanochips/microchips).

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ADVANTAGES OF MEMS
Minimize energy and materials use in manufacturing High performance Improved reproducibility Improved accuracy and reliability Increased selectivity and sensitivity

DISADVANTAGES OF MEMS
Farm establishment requires huge investments Micro-components are Costly compare to macro-components Prior knowledge is needed to integrate MEMS devices

Conclusion
The automotive industry, motivated by the need for more efficient safety systems and the desire for enhanced performance, is the largest consumer of MEMSbased technology. In addition to accelerometers and gyroscopes, micro-sized tire pressure systems are now standard issues in new vehicles, putting MEMS pressure sensors in high demand. Such micro-sized pressure sensors can be used by physicians and surgeons in a telemetry system to measure blood pressure at a test, allowing early detection of hypertension and restenosis. Alternatively, the detection of bio molecules can benefit most from MEMS-based biosensors. Medical applications include the detection of DNA sequences and metabolites. MEMS biosensors can also monitor several chemicals simultaneously, making them perfect for detecting toxins in the environment.

Lastly, the dynamic range of MEMS based silicon ultrasonic sensors have many advantages over existing piezoelectric sensors in non-destructive evaluation, proximity sensing and gas flow measurement. Silicon ultrasonic sensors are also very effective immersion sensors and provide improved performance in the areas of medical imaging and liquid level detection.

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 The medical, wireless technology, biotechnology, computer, automotive and aerospace industries are only a few that will benefit greatly from MEMS. This enabling technology allowing the development of smart products, augmenting the computational ability of microelectronics with the perception and control capabilities of microsensors and microactuators and expanding the space of possible designs and applications. MEMS devices are manufactured for unprecedented levels of functionality, reliability, and sophistication can be placed on a small silicon chip at a relatively low cost. MEMS provided the discovery of the noise increase phenomenon when miniaturize mechanics is introduced.

References
[1] Sensors and Actuators A: Physical Future of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) Minhang Baoa and Weiyuan Wang. [2] MEMS Applications El-Hak M.G. 2006 [3] http://www.memsnet.org/mems [4] http://www.memx.com [5] Senturia, S.D (2001). Microsystem Design. Springer Science Publications. [6] http://www.kaajakari.net/~ville/research/tutorials/tutorials.shtml [7] MicroElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) S. A. Vittorio Oct 2001

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