mems

STMicroelectronics, a global semiconductor provider, and Politecnico di Milano, a scientific-technological university that trains engineers, architects, and industrial designers, have committed to a five-year collaboration agreement. The announcement was made in the presence of Italy’s Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti. At the heart of the agreement is the establishment of a joint research center…

Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems or MEMS is a precision device technology that integrates mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common silicon substrate through micro fabrication technology. MEMS is also referred to as MST (Microsystems Technology in Europe) and MM (Micromachines in Japan). MEMS with optics is called MOEMS- Micro-Opto-Electro-Mechanical-Systems).  ICs can be thought of as the “brains” of a system and MEMS augments it with the “Senses” and “Limbs”.  While the electronics are fabricated using integrated circuit (IC) batch processing techniques, MEMS uses compatible “micromachining” processes, in addition to IC fabrication processes, that selectively etch away parts of the silicon wafer or add new structural layers to form the mechanical and electromechanical devices. These systems can sense, control and actuate on microscale, and function individually or in arrays to generate effects on macroscale.