Materials science of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices III

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is a rapidly growing field with numerous current and potential commercial applications, including pressure and inertial sensing, optical and electrical switching, power conversion, fluidic flow control, and chemical analysis. MEMS combine mechanical and electrical (and sometimes optical, chemical, or biological) function at small scales, typically microns to millimeters, using many of the batch fabrication techniques developed for the micro electronics industry. Much of the recent progress in MEMS has been enabled by materials science developments, and this will invariably continue in the future. New materials have been developed or adapted for MEMS applications for use as structures, actuators, and sensors. New processing techniques also have been established for integrating these materials with existing MEMS, as well as expanding the range of possible structures that can be fabricated from current materials. In addition, MEMS technology has proven ideal for allowing the mechanical and tribological characterization of materials at small scales. The 52 papers included in this volume address these issues. A variety of MEMS materials are discussed, including Si, porous Si, SiC, SiGe, diamond, electroplated Ni and Cu, as well as piezoelectric, ferroelectric, and shape memory materials, and self assembled organic monolayers. Fabrication processes include plasma and chemical etching, Si bonding, high-aspect-ratio lithography, and micromolding, as well as several packaging techniques. In addition, the stress, fracture strength, fatigue, and friction of MEMS materials and structures are also discussed