MEMS/Micromachining
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Archived Viewpoints
2019
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September:
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August:
Continued Progress for Predictive Maintenance
Next-Generation Satellite-Internet Services -
July:
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June:
Flexible Hybrid Electronics and MEMS
Advancing Manufacturing with Smaller MEMS -
May:
Scanning-Micromirror Displays in the HoloLens 2
MEMS for Intelligent Drones -
April:
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March:
NMR Gyroscopes and Magnetometers
MEMS-Based-Ultrasonic-Sensors Update -
February:
2018
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December/January:
2018: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2019 -
November:
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October:
Simplification of Chip-Scale Atomic Clocks
Plasmonic Nanotweezers -
September:
On-Chip Microscopic 3D Printing
Developments in Near-Zero-Power Sensing -
August:
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July:
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June:
3D Printing Metal Microreactors
Synthetic Diamond for Advanced Sensing -
May:
Piezoelectric Thin Films
Durable MEMS for Automotive Applications -
April:
Silicon Photonics Ready for Production
Advancing Micromachining Techniques -
March:
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February:
Increasing Popularity of Smart Speakers and Virtual Assistants
MEMS-Based Ultrasonic Sensors
2017
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July:
Progress toward a High-Performance Micromirror Array
Energy-Harvesting MEMS -
June:
Advances in Activity Spotting
Ultra-Fast-Laser Micromachining -
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February:
NEMS Switches for Mechanical Computation
Inkjet-Printed Electronics
2016
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December/January:
2016: The Year in Review
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November:
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October:
Navigation-Grade MEMS (Part 2)
MEMS Speakers Prepare for Production -
September:
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August:
MEMS for Miniature Spacecraft
Microfluidics in the Oil-and-Gas Industry -
July:
Transient Electronics: Biodegradable Implants
Market Transition for Spinning-Optical Storage -
June:
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May:
Speech Interfaces: The Future for MEMS Microphones?
Predictive Maintenance -
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2015
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December/January:
2015: The Year in Review
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November:
DARPA Integrating MEMS, Electronics, and Photonics
The Slow Move to 300 mm Wafers -
October:
MEMS Manufacturers Moving Up the Value Chain
RF MEMS Antenna Tuners: Flagship Smartphone Design Wins -
September:
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August:
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July:
MEMS Sensors for Virtual and Augmented Reality
MEMS Inertial-Sensor Aggregation -
June:
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May:
An Update on Optical Image Stabilization in Smartphone Cameras
Exotic MEMS Energy Scavenging -
April:
Dark Silicon and Microfluidic Cooling
MEMS for Particle Detection -
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2014
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December/January:
2014: The Year in Review
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November:
Disruption in MEMS Microphones
Pico Projectors in Peculiar Places -
October:
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September:
Wireless Protocols for the Internet of Things
Recent Developments in Implantable Drug-Delivery Devices -
August:
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July:
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June:
Always-On Inertial Sensors in Smartphones
Magnetically Actuated Microrobots -
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2013
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December/January:
2013: The Year in Review
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March:
3D Printing: Opportunities and Challenges for Micromachining
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February:
2012
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December/January:
2012: The Year in Review
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2011
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December/January:
2011: The Year in Review
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2010
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December/January:
2010: The Year in Review
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September:
Pico Projector in Nikon's Compact Digital Camera
Qualcomm Investing $2 Billion in Mirasol Plant -
August:
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July:
Competing Technology: Camera-Based Motion Sensor in Microsoft Kinect
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2009
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December/January:
2009: The Year in Review
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November:
Recent Developments: Qualcomm Ups the Ante with Mirasol-Based E-Book Readers
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2008
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December/January:
2008: The Year in Review
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2007
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2007: The Year in Review
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2006
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December/January:
2006: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2007 -
Before December 2006, the MEMS/Micromachining technology area was Micromachining. The name changed in order to reflect better the focus of the Technology Map coverage.
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November:
Difficulties in Aerospace MEMS
Recent Developments: Printed Optoelectronics and Microfluidics -
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Developments in Micromachined RF Devices and Silicon Microphones
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April:
Areas to Monitor: MEMS Industry Structure: Recent Developments | U.K. Foundry Access
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2005
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December/January:
2005: The Year in Review
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August:
Recent Developments: RF MEMS: Sawtek Responds | Finally Commercial: MEMS-based Humidity Sensor
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April:
ZigBee and Wireless Motes
Microreformers for Portable Fuel Cells -
March:
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February:
MEMS Relays in Defense Applications and Beyond
Recent Developments: Micromachined Interconnects
2004
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December/January:
2004: The Year in Review
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RF MEMS Business Models
Recent Developments: Accelerometers as Human-Computer Interfaces -
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2003
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December/January:
2003: The Year in Review
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November:
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October:
MEMS Flow-Control Update
Recent Developments: Discera and Dalsa -
September:
Japanese MEMS Players
Commercial Development Parameters: NEDO MEMS Update -
August:
SoC, Wireless MEMS, and the Role of Small Companies
Recent Developments: HSARPA -
July:
MEMS As a Tool for Parallel Production
Players: Redwood Microsystems -
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Recent Developments: MEMS for Optical Storage at OPT 2002 | Foundry Alliances in RF MEMS
2002
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December/January:
2002: The Year in Review
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November:
Applications Review
Recent Developments: Motorola's Asset Light Strategy for Sensors -
October:
Unprofitability Drives Consolidation
Recent Developments: Analog Devices Increases the Value Add -
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The End of FEDs?
Recent Developments: Expansions in MEMS Manufacturing -
February:
Ardesta
Recent Developments: Silicon Light Machines and Lightconnect
2001
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December/January:
2001: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 2002 -
November:
Disk-Drive Actuators
Recent Developments: Moves in Accelerometer Technology -
October:
Minatec
The Technology in Brief: Micro EDM: A Mix-and-Match Technology -
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MEMS Developments at Intel and ST
Recent Developments: 3G Networks -
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2000
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December/January:
2000: The Year in Review
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Power Sources and MEMS
Recent Developments: IMM Microreactor for Combinatorial Chemistry -
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1999
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December/January:
1999: The Year in Review
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Before August 1999, the Explorer service was called TechMonitoring, and Viewpoints were TechLinks.
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1998
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December/January:
1998: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 1999 -
November:
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Recent Developments: Integrated Acceleration Sensors | Manufacturing Expansion at VTI
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MEMStek's Demise
Recent Developments: Kodak's Ceramic Molding Process -
July:
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MIT's Miniature Turbine
Recent Developments: MEMS-Based Active Fiber Alignment Systems -
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Piezo-Based Inkjet Printing
Recent Developments: IBM's SU-8 Resist -
March:
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Motorola to Quit the Chemical Sensors Business
Recent Developments: RIE for Edge-Emitting Lasers
1997
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December/January:
1997: The Year in Review
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November:
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October:
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September:
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August:
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July:
Lithographic Microfiltration Membranes from Aquamarijn | The End of Inert Matter?: A Personal View
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Micromachined Silicon Gyroscopes: First Applications and Timing
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1996
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December/January:
1996: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 1997 -
November:
Micromachining: Changing Paradigms or Enforcing the Status Quo?
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October:
Bosch's Foundry Service | OBD to Aid Micromachined Exhaust Gas Sensors | Silicon HVAC Sensors
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1995: The Year in Review
Look for These Developments in 1996
About MEMS/Micromachining
May 2018
Industry continuously strives to make smaller and lighter products that are lower in cost yet have increased functionality. Microelectromechanical systems is a class of device or microsystem that researchers produce using micromachining technology, which comprises techniques to make components and devices whose features measure in the tens to hundreds of microns. Initially, researchers borrowed lithography techniques for making two-dimensional integrated circuits from the electronics industry to micromachine simple three-dimensional cavities and freestanding membranes and cantilevers for sensor applications. Not only are microsensors smaller than conventional sensors—a characteristic that allows more functions in the same space—but also they can respond more quickly and more accurately because of the smaller distances in use. Moreover, producing them in large batches is inexpensive. The extension of lithography methods and the development of new micromachining techniques have allowed the production of freely moving micromechanical parts.
The biggest market for micromachining is in sensing, from pressure sensors to accelerometers and gyroscopes, but though commercialization first centered on the automotive business, reduced cost has allowed sensors to reach mass consumer markets, enabling new features for mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and wearables. Demands for mobile devices with small form factors, rich features, and improved power consumption are also creating a need for new micromachined radio-frequency components (RF MEMS) and timing devices. Micromachining is in use to create the tiny nozzle arrays in inkjet- and 3D-printer heads, slider components for hard-disk drives, and micromirror-based projection displays. Micromachining is enabling the development of microfluidic channels for DNA chips, allowing massive parallelism for high-throughput screening techniques; is reducing some analytical instruments to handheld size; and is creating new types of drug-delivery systems.
Almost every industry is enjoying the benefits of micromachining—particularly the mobile-device, automotive, telecommunications, and health-care industries. The relatively low cost of microsensors—some only a few cents each—will also allow manufacturers to use sensors in many more products—including fitness trackers, drones, home appliances, toys, and products for home health care—than is now possible. These sensors and other micromechanical devices have begun to incorporate remote powering and wireless communications, enabling a wide range of useful applications and helping stakeholders realize longstanding visions of an Internet of Things.
At some time, the micromachining industry will contend with nanotechnology. MEMS devices already incorporate nanometer-scale particles and structures as sensor elements, but micromachining processes may also incorporate additional concepts such as molecular manufacturing and self-assembly.