OtherMembers’ Profiles

Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd.
1. Introduction
The Mechanical Engineering Research Laboratory(MERL) is one of six research laboratories belonging toHitachi, Ltd. With about 380 researchers, MERL utilizes its
basic mechanical systems technology to support a widearray of products, from large-scale infrastructure
installations, such as high-speed rail cars and large-capacity
high-speed elevators, to compact information equipment,such as magnetic and optical disks.
Hitachi’s first involvement with micromachines camewhen its Central Research Laboratory and Hitachi ResearchLaboratory began developing semiconductor sensors in the1970s. MERL began working with micromachines in earnest
in 1991 when it participated in the Micromachine Project
headed by the Micromachine Center. During this project,
MERL worked on developing micro-sized pumps and othermechanisms, challenging the limits of conventional
micromachining that simply reduced the size of traditional
mechanical structures. Today, we are committed to R&D on
3D micromachining aimed at producing mechanicalelements through semiconductor micromachining
technology. We are also designing unique micromachined
structures capable of emulating the functions ofconventional machinery. Thus, machining technology anddesign technology are essential to our R&D activities. The
next section will outline our efforts in research anddevelopment.

2. R&D Activities
As we approach the twentieth year of our R&D activities
on micromachines at MERL, the direction of our research
has shifted. The general focus of research in themicromachine field is said to have changed fromdetermining how to make them, to determining what tomake. Similarly, MERL’s focus in R&D has changed fromdeveloping micromachine technology to developing
applications for this technology. However, in order to verify
the applications, it is vital to have our base machining
technologies in place to be able to develop key
micromachined parts quickly. Our micromachine room isapproximately 585 m2 and equipped with various production
facilities that we work hard at maintaining and expanding.
One feature of these facilities is that they allow us toimplement 3D micromachining on a variety of materials,
including silicon, glass, metal, and resin. We have thiscapacity because different materials are needed for thedifferent business areas that the Hitachi Group handles,

such as silicon and semiconductor thin films used in thefields of sensors and actuators, glass and resin used inbiotechnology and medicine, and metal and glass used inchemosynthesis.
MERL is also conducting R&D on wafer-level bonding
technologies for assembling micromachines formed on
various substrates and possesses the facilities to support
such technologies as diffusion bonding, eutectic bonding,fusion bonding, and anodic bonding. Our packaging
equipment can replicate actual environments of use byforming wiring to 3D structures and connections tointerposers as a means of interfacing between prototype
micromachines and the physical world.
MERL evaluates the functions of packaged
micromachines in fluidic devices using a microfluidic system
to perform actual analysis and chemosynthesis. For sensors
and actuators, we evaluate their dynamic characteristics
using our various test facilities. We are also capable ofconducting reliability tests on micromachines using ourexpertise cultivated in electronic devices.
Thus, MERL has prepared an R&D environment thatallows us to carry out the entire process of prototyping,packaging, and evaluation necessary for proceedingsmoothly in the development of applications.
Lastly, I will give a brief description of MERL’s designtechnology. In micromachines, the design must be
sufficiently reliable to avoid numerous repetitions of trial
production and evaluation. To achieve such reliability, it isimportant from the design stage to carry out developmentthat considers not only links between known micromachine
structures and manufacturing processes, but also how suchmicromachine structures can be used. To this end, MERL isdeveloping techniques for linking structural designs andpackage designs for micromachines. As always, it is easier
said than done, but we will continue working toward thisgoal while drawing on our twenty years of accumulated
experience.

3. Conclusion
At MERL we have worked on the development ofvarious micromachine-related technologies and are now
conducting a support service to provide consulting outsideof the company on well-established micromachinetechnologies. For more information on Hitachi’s integrated
support service, please visit the i-engineering Web site
below.
http://www.hitachi.co.jp/rd/i-engineering/contents4.html

MICRONANO No. 71
MICRONANO is published quarterly by Micromachine Center (MMC), BEANS Technical Research Association(BEANS . TRA) to promote the international exchange of information related to micromachines, R&D and othertechnical topics, and is circulated free of change. Please send your comments about MICRONANO to the publisher :Keiichi Aoyagi, Executive Director, Micromachine Center (MMC)
MBR99 Bldg., 6F., 67 Kanda Sakumagashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0026, Japan
Tel : +81-3-5835-1870, Fax : +81-3-5835-1873
Internet Home Page h t t p : / / w w w . m m c . o r . j p /Date of Issue : Jun 18, 2010