Biomedical Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
FIGURE 7.2
MEMS structure. (Courtesy of the MEMS and Nanotechnology Exchange.)
MEMS and nano devices are extremely small, for example, MEMS and
nanotechnology have made possible electrically driven motors smaller
than the diameter of a human hair (see Figure 7.2), but MEMS and nano-
technology are not primarily about size. MEMS and nanotechnology are
also not about making things out of silicon, even though silicon possesses
excellent materials properties, which make it an attractive choice for many
high-performance mechanical applications; for example, the strength-
to-weight ratio for silicon is higher than many other engineering materi-
als, which allows very high bandwidth mechanical devices to be realized.
Instead, the key importance of MEMS and nano is as a new manufacturing
technology—a way of making complex electromechanical systems using
batch fabrication techniques similar to those used for ICs and uniting these
electromechanical elements together with electronics.
7.2.5 Advantages of MEMS and Nano Manufacturing
First, MEMS and nanotechnology are extremely diverse technologies that
could significantly affect every category of commercial and military prod-
uct. MEMS and nanotechnology are already used for tasks ranging from
in-dwelling blood pressure monitoring to active suspension systems for
automobiles. The nature of MEMS and nanotechnology and its diversity of
useful applications make it potentially a far more pervasive technology than
even IC microchips.
Second, MEMS and nanotechnology blur the distinction between complex
mechanical systems and IC electronics. Historically, sensors and actuators
are the most costly and unreliable part of a macroscale sensor-actuator-
electronics system. MEMS and nanotechnology allow these complex electro-
mechanical systems to be manufactured using batch fabrication techniques,
decreasing the cost, and increasing the reliability of the sensors and actuators
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