Introduction to MEMS Applications in Electronics and Engineering

Abstract

The advent of microelectromechanical systems, commonly abbreviated as MEMS, has brought in the advantages of interfacing mechanical components with electronic circuits to realize a complete overall system(1)(2). The three-dimensional (3-D) nature of such mechanical components allows efficient implementation of MEMS devices towards sensing and communication by tapping on to the ability of MEMS devices being displaced under external stimuli(3)(4). Such a motion of MEMS devices can be detected both electrically and optically. Moreover, the virtue of MEMS fabrication being compatible with complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) fabrication technology allows multiple MEMS sensors(5), actuators, and resonators(6)(7) to be batch fabricated, enabling mass production of MEMS devices with high yield(8). In some cases, multiple MEMS devices with different target applications are monolithically fabricated on a single chip to reduce parasitic from external electrical connections and at the same time realizing a complete system with small form factor(9)(10). The way to scale down MEMS devices towards a reduced form factor with better packing density of devices has also been sought through the implementation of nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) devices(11)(12). Transduction principals among MEMS devices can be broadly classified into electrostatic, piezoelectric, piezoresistive, electromagnetic and optical. Scaling has certain trade-offs with the transduction efficiency among MEMS devices by varying the key mechanical and electrical parameters, such as stiffness, damping factor, mass, capacitance, inductance etc(13)(14). Recent technologies such as 3D printing, plasma processing and laser micromachining have provided significant advantages in scaling down from MEMS to NEMS devices.