Microsystems Technology (MST) and MEMS Applications: An Overview
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Microsystems
Technology (MST) and MEMS Applications: An Overview
Job Elders, Vincent Spiering, and Steve Walsh
leases the mechanical structure from the substrate and the intervening layers by eating away the sacrificial silicon oxide layer. By lifting and assembling elements from the surface, shapes of significant complexity can be formed, including threedimensional and movable structures. The movable components can be actuated by the application of electrostatic forces. The electrostatic forces of attraction are applied through capacitive coupling, which results in very low power requirements because small net current is generally drawn during actuation.8,9 Initial MST applications (or “old MST”* products) included accelerometers for use in motor vehicles and pressure sensors for automotive as well as medical applications. In this article, we discuss some new applications, especially within the telecommunications, biomedical, and process control areas.5,7,10
MST: A Disruptive Technology Introduction Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), microsystems technology (MST), and micromachines are roughly synonymous terms applied in the United States, Europe, and Japan, respectively, for manufacturing technologies that are enabling miniaturization and the development of useful products.1–3 MST is the second micromanufacturing revolution, semiconductor manufacturing being the first. It is a relatively new and emerging technology, based upon sophisticated manipulations of silicon and other substrates that utilize highaspect-ratio micromachining (HARM)based MEMS processes.4 This same silicon is used in electronic devices such as randomaccess memory (RAM) chips, computer processor chips, and other products. MST is enabling the development and production of many new industrial and consumer products5 and provides the basis for the manufacture of products that cannot be produced by other methods.6,7 The techniques can be used to improve manufacturing efficiencies and reduce costs, increase the critical performance aspects of current products, and improve product quality by reducing component size and number. In this article, the added value of MST as a “disruptive” technology is outlined, the technologies are highlighted briefly, and some applications are reviewed. The articles that follow give further examples of applications that are incorporating MST.
Micromachining Technologies While it is called by various names around the world, MST refers to the nature
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of the value added to microdevices as a result of the better accuracies and tolerances achieved through improved micromachining technologies. In this article, MST will be used to refer to the broad range of these technologies that are enabling miniaturization. Micromachining technologies can be characterized by the thickness of the layer in which the functional component is manufactured. Bulk micromachining implies that the bulk of the silicon wafer is processed and functionally used, typically with thicknesses of over 500 m. In fact, micromachining started with
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