The 10th International Micromachine/Nanotech SymposiumSpecial Guest Speech: New Progress of Integration and Fusion in MEMS
– Expectations for New Industry Creation –Susumu Sugiyama
Professor, Ritsumeikan University
I would like to talk about some of the MEMS research wehave been doing and consider together the future outlook forMEMS. MEMS are integrated devices much like integrated
circuits, but while the in/out signals for LSI chips are electric
signals, MEMS can support numerous types of quantities,
including such physical quantities as electrical, mechanical,optical, and magnetic quantities; chemical quantities; andbiological quantities. The characteristics of MEMS can befurther exploited in the form of living (or motional) devices inwhich moving mechanisms have been introduced. At theInternational Conference on Solid-State Sensors and Actuatorsin 1987, a U.S. presentation introduced living devices in whichgears and linkage were formed on silicon using the same
method for fabricating LSIs. This triggered a boom in theresearch and development of MEMS throughout the world.
Now in the 21 s t century, we have entered an age ofindustrialization that no longer asks “how” to make something,but “what” to make. There is much anticipation for a
fundamental device to succeed the integrated circuit and be
useful in our everyday lives. With advanced integration and theintroduction of nanotechnology in systems, micro and nanosystems have become the standard. Microtechnology employing
a top-down approach to investigate the limits of fine processing
and nanotechnology employing a bottom-up approach todevelop new functions by designing materials from the atomicand molecular level come together on a MEMS substrate.
Hence, MEMS provides the bridge for putting nanotechnology
to use for us.
MEMS devices are expected to be vital in such industrial
fields as information and communications, automobiles,precision machines and biotechnology. While the market for
MEMS in 2002 was about 430 billion yen, it is estimated that
this value will rise to 1.3 trillion yen by 2010. The NEDO project
was initiated to respond to this market demand. The MEMS
project (2003–2005) has included R&D on optical MEMS withsuch themes as mirror flatness, angular control, and rotational
life; RF-MEMS with such topics as low loss at 10 GHz, highprocessing precision, and the life of RF-switch contacts; andsensor MEMS with the goal of achieving chip size packaging at alow cost. In the MEMS-ONE project (2004-2006), we haveconducted research on MEMS designing tools, with which wehope to facilitate manufacturing that combines creatingtechnologies with design technologies.
Next, I will talk about the integration of MEMS and thefusion of MEMS with other technologies based on our research.
(1) Multicellular integration: many cellular elements areassembled to produce various functions, such as 1
thermopile generators capable of generating several volts
with a low temperature difference by arranging hundreds orthousands of thermocouples in series, 2 painless micro
needles in a drug delivery system that includes 1,000
needles arranged in 1cm 2 , and 3 pneumatic balloon
actuator that uses the air pressure in an array of balloons toproduce cell-like movement similar to cilia.

(2) Multiaxis integration: integrating one axis to three axes ofrotation in multiple dimensions to produce 1 6-DOF (sixDegree of Freedom) force-moment sensor 2 6-DOF
accelerometer for precisely measuring the movement ofhumans and other moving objects.
(3) Mechanical integration: combining mechanical elements in asingle system to produce 1 micro reciprocating engine forpower generation in which a cylinder and piston are
integrally processed by dry-etching silicon, 2 electrostatic
controlled linear inchworm actuator (ECLIA) capable ofhigh-precision work that includes an array of piezoelectric
actuators and electrostatic actuators, 3 micro/nanomaterials testing system employing 1,000 electrostatic
actuators to create a motor, load mechanism, and measuring
mechanism capable of performing tensile tests in nano-level
fields such as nanotubes and nanowires, and 4 micro
conveyer systems that employs electrostatic actuators for
capturing, transporting, measuring, and selecting
nanoparticles and cells under a microscope.
(4) Fusion with information technology: the fusion of MEMS
with information technology is important. By incorporating acommunication function in MEMS, leads would become
unnecessary. The objective is to create MEMS as small as 0.5
x 0.5 mm that cost just a few pennies. These particle-likeMEMS called “smart MEMS” would be used for sensing andmeasurements. By incorporating the Internet, points of datadetected by this smart dust are expanded to linear data by acommunication device and further expanded to planar datawhen transferred to the Internet. These sensors are widely
anticipated for use in simultaneous measurements inagriculture, transportation, distribution, and health care.
Finally, MEMS devices are important for industry, since
manufacturing technology and equipment are essential forinnovation. MEMS is a platform for making nanotechnology
useful in our daily lives. Thus a union with nanotechnology for
producing new functions can be considered an important rolefor MEMS. To achieve this, an R&D center for incorporating
nanotechnology in MEMS must be linked with businesses anduniversities in order to produce a high benefit-cost ratio.
However, rather than distributing research activities among
many locations, a certain degree of concentration may benecessary since distribution requires a large investment.
Furthermore, improvements in the infrastructure will benecessary to provide a foundation for international
competitiveness.

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