Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems
Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) is the integration of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators and electronics on a common silicon substrate using microfabrication techniques. MEMS are a hot area of research because they integrate sensing, analyzing and responding on the same silicon substrate hence promising realization of complete systems-on-a-chip. As MEMS are manufactured using batch fabrication techniques similar to IC technology, MEMS are expected to deliver high functionality at low prices.
Current systems are limited by the capability of sensors and actuators, as these are bulkier and less reliable than the microelectronic circuit. In a MEM system the sensors act as the ‘eyes’ and gather data about the environment. The microelectronic circuit, which is the ‘brain’, processes the data and accordingly controls the mechanical systems, the ‘arms’ of the MEMS, to modify the environment suitably. The electronics on the MEMS are manufactured using IC techniques while micro machining techniques are used to produce the mechanical and electromechanical parts.
MEMS Fabrication:
There are number of methods to fabricate MEMS like silicon surface micromachining, silicon bulk machining, electro discharge machining, LIGA (in German, Lithographie, Galvanoformung(Electro Plating), Abformung(Injection Moulding)) .Only silicon surface micromachining is discussed here.
Silicon Surface Micromachining
Silicon surface micromachining uses the same equipment and processes as the electronics semiconductor industry. There are three basic building blocks in this technology, which are the ability to deposit thin films of material on a substrate, to apply a patterned mask on top of the films by photolithographic imaging, and to etch the films selectively to the mask. A MEMS process is usually a structured sequence of these operations to form actual devices.
1. Deposition Processes: One of the basic building blocks in MEMS processing is the ability to deposit thin films of material. This is achieved either through the processes like PVD or CVD.
2. Lithography: 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. In lithography for micromachining, the photosensitive material used is typically a photoresist. When resist is exposed to a radiation source of a specific a wavelength, the chemical resistance of the resist to developer solution changes.
3. Etching: If the resist is placed in a developer solution after selective exposure to a light source, it will etch away one of the two regions (exposed or unexposed). Then another layer of material is deposited and the first layer selectively etched away as shown in the figure resulting in the required MEMS.
Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) are systems that are designed on a micro metre scale and have become more popular as the demand for devices to get smaller has increased. The main uses of these systems are for sensors, such as accelerometers and gyroscopes and other such devices like microscopy and inkjet nozzles for example. There are many materials that can be used for MEMS as the cost of the material is almost eradicated due to the micro size of the systems being produced. This brings materials such as gold, platinum and diamond can be used, as these materials have some properties which are very desirable for a MEM systems. The most common material that is currently used in MEMS is silicon and silicon based compounds as they possess many good properties for MEMS production. Most of the materials chosen for MEMS are semiconductor materials Figure 1 shows the properties of commonly used materials.
A change in resistance is observed by changing the current (or voltage), keeping the voltage (or current) constant. Each taxel contains a pressure sensitive crystal in the form of conductive rubber, elastomer or conductive ink. Measuring change in resistance requires a simple circuitry and hence, these are simpler to manufacture. Applied for touch sensing in anthropomorphic hands (Weiss & Worn 2004), piezoresistive tactile sensing, has become popular among the MEMS and silicon type tactile sensors (Woffenbuttel & Regtien 1991; Beebe, Hsieh et al.
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Describe the design on the machine and how their component parts work to produce an image.
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Dockery, Gabriel. “How Are Microprocessors Made.” eHow. eHow Inc., n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2011. .
As a graduate student, I will undertake research and coursework in Electrical Engineering to enhance my competencies in this field. I intend to complete my master's degree in order to pursue my doctorate. The research that I am most interested in pursuing at Northeastern University surrounds the optical properties of MEMS devices, and the development of substrate-based fast electro-optical interfaces. My interest in this area stems from my undergraduate study in MEMs development for tri-axial accelerometers.
...patches which gave better results. All of the fabrication was done by me using the method of chemical etching. The results of the fabricated model were compared experimentally by using vector network analyzer to those obtained from simulations using the simulation software.