Microelectromechanical system components

The miniaturization of the devices represents a goal of biosensor technology as it cuts production costs and decreases sample amount. Nanotechnology is applied to the development of microelectromechanical systems and nanobiosensing devices as well. These new analytical systems will be provided with miniature components, such as pumps, detectors, valves, reactors, and thermostats. 

Microfabrication using sacrificial layers is well developed in the field of microelectromechanical systems. Reports include the fabrication of micro- and nanomechanical components, electroos-motic micropumps in silicon and glass substrates, and nano- ormicrochannels with potential applications in biology. Unlike bonding protocols, in which a cover plate is affixed to a patterned substrate to seal microchanneis, sacrificial layer methods can obviate the bonding step, making this approach very attractive. ... 

Polymer adhesives have found their place in numerous electronics applications. Major uses include eommercial/consumer products computers and military, space, automotive, medical, and wireless communications. Some adhesives may be used aeross several applications while others have been formulated to meet applieation-specific requirements. For example, reworkability is not a consideration for high-production, low-cost consumer products such as cell phones or calculators, but is important for high-value, high-density printed-wiring boards (PWBs) used in military and spaee electronics. Further, thermal stability at high temperatures is required for near-engine electronics in automobiles, aircraft, and for deep-well sensors, but not for office computers. The major applications for polymer adhesives are to attach and electrically insulate or to electrically connect components, devices, connectors, cables, and heat sinks to printed-circuit boards or to thin- or thick-film hybrid microcircuits. In addition, over the last several decades, new uses for adhesives have emerged for optoelectronic (OE) assemblies, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and flat-panel displays. 

Microactuators operate by converting one form of energy (e.g., electrical, thermal, electromagnetic) into kinetic energy of movable components. They are sometimes referred to as microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuators, but the later term is more... 

In IC packaging, the carrier case also provides a moisture barrier. Often, failure in a microdevice is the contact between the metal wires and the metal contacts on the substrate due to moisture-induced corrosion. For microelectromechanical system (MEMS) devices, moisture presents more of a threat than for conventional IC devices [1]. Many micromechanical MEMS components (such as a microcantilever beam) are positioned a few micrometers from the substrate. Moisture condensing on the surface of the substrate will pull down the MEMS devices due to surface tension. The micromechanical component will no longer be functional. 

Yeh, R., E.J.J. Kruglick, and K.S.J. Pister. 1996. Surface-micromachined components for articulated microrobots. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems 5(1) 10-17. 

Yan, J., R.J. Wood, S. Avadhanula, D. Campolo, M. Sitti, and R.S. Fearing. 2001. Towards flt ping wing control for a micromechanical flying insect. Pp. 3901—3908 in Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation. Piscataway, N.J. IEEE. Yeh, R., E.J.J. Kruglick, and K.S.J. Pister. 1996. Surface-micromachined components for articulated microrobots. Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems 5(1) 10-17. 

MEMS (microelectromechanical systems) are devices made by the integration of mechanical elements, sensors, actuators, and electronics on a common Si substrate through microfabrication technology [1]. MEMS find applications in areas such as sensors, actuators, power-producing devices, telecommunications, chemical reactors, biomedical devices, etc. [2,3]. In MEMS components, the electrostatic and other surface forces become predominant when compared with inertial and gravitational forces because of the large ratios of surface area to volume, and hence the performance of MEMS components is limited by the nature of the surface. Therefore, contact-related... 

Recent developments in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have enabled the integration and fabrication of numerous micro components such as pumps, valves and nozzles into complex high-speed microfluidic machines. These systems posses geometrical dimensions in the range 1 -1000 p,m, which are 10 -10" times less than conventional machines, and operate at liquid flow speeds up to 300 m/s. It has been confirmed that microfluidic systems, like their large-scale counterparts, are susceptible to the deleterious effects of cavitation when appropriate hydro-... 

Current microsystem architectures are dominated by the basic principle of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) (Au et al. 2011), which means that they are nothing more than complex computer-controlled systems. A computer must control each component or compartment. Increasing the fhnctionality by increasing the address space requires an adequate scaling of flie computer software, the electromechanical transducers, and flie control electrodes, which leads to a fast reaching of the efficiency limit (Unger et al. 2000). 

---