Materials and processes for microsystems

Microsystems, often called microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), are essentially chips with moving parts. Commercial production of MEMS is predicted to cross the $10B per year mark around the year 2000. Materials, and the processes required to deposit, modify and pattern them, pace the development, production and performance of microsystems. Three eras in the employment of materials and processes for MEMS manufacture are defined and discussed. The development and use of emerging materials will lead to improved MEMS. Exploitation of available and new processes, such as ion beam technologies, is a promising avenue for research. Whether or not future advances in MEMS performance and applications will be comparable to the past growth of integrated circuits remains to be determined. However, it is highly likely that MEMS will have a widespread and major impact on both large systems and consumer goods. Published by Elsevier Science S.A.