MEMS flex their tiny muscles

摘要

Micromachining and mems (microelectromechanical systems) are far from new. The concepts have been around in various forms since the early days of IC fabrication. In some areas, mi-cromachined devices have already achieved widespread use; the best-known application is probably the accelerometer, which is most famous for its use in autoairbag sensors. Still, the number of silicon devices deployed in airbag systems has yet to surpass the number of purely mechanical switches out there. Sensors of various types represent the MEMS that have penetrated markets to the greatest extent, and pressure sensors lead the pack. Microma-chining processes, with their ability to craft silicon diaphragms with precisely defined properties, have found a ready application in that area.