New Year's Greeting
Creative Designs for MicrofabricatedInformation-Proceeding and Metal
Equipment
The 7th International Micromachine
Symposium
Micromachines and Business Models

Members' Profiles : Fuji Electric Co., Ltd./
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.
Introductory Course : Medical Applicationsfor Micromachines, Part 4
The 12th Micromachine Exhibition"Micromachine 2001"

EssayNew Year's Greeting
Iwao Okamoto
Director-General,
Manufacturing Industries Bureau, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
concentrating management resources, not just in individual
firms, but also as far as industrial restructuring. While it was
encouraging to see great progress made in the steel andchemical industries last year, we hope to search for morepotential in a wider range of fields. It goes without saying thatfirms interested in integrating and merging businesses should
be entrusted to make their own management decisions.
However, I believe that it is becoming increasingly urgent todecrease costs while investing bundled resources into strategic
business areas, including R&D. As a branch of the government,
we intend to push a series of reforms on corporate legislationand taxation and the constitution the industrial revitalization
law to create a better environment for enabling related firms toreconstruct their businesses. We also intend to support theefforts of everyone in performing the correct operations.
Secondly, is it not time to shift toward “grow” in the “shrink
to grow” philosophy? Everyone in the industrial world has
strived these past few years to incorporate restructuring during
our lingering recession even with the stiff international
competition. Under the philosophy “shrink to grow,” we wereto endure many hardships of restructuring in order to establish
a foundation from which we could build on for tomorrow.
Creating demand through innovation is even more necessary
now that demand is low throughout Japan’s entire economy. In
order to combat the hollowing of industry, I believe that wemust develop products and processes a step or two ahead ofChina and other countries and put these results in operation
domestically as a standard approach. I am confident that our
manufacturing industries possess the potential to become acentral leader in innovation. Is this not the time to movetoward growth by accelerating R&D investments in order toboldly implement existing seeds and search for future seeds?
To achieve this, I think we must seriously investigate theexpansion of government support for R&D investments,
restoring financial intermediation functions of banks and thelike, and maintaining the capital market. Do we need toreevaluate this viewpoint of marketing workers given only toshrink, i.e. reducing the number of employees to such and sucha number and the balance of interest-bearing debt to such andsuch dollars? What about the views of managers reluctant toshift to a strategy of growth in accordance with this viewpoint?
While realizing that it is not easy to shift toward growth when
considering the current business situation of progressing
deflation and the problem of bad debts, could we ever expect toemerge from this deflationary depression, during this type of
period, if all economic players moved in a direction towarddiminishing equilibrium? It is my fervent hope that this year we
will find bright spots in these dark times and have as many
chances as possible to discuss the way to act on them positively
and aggressively.
In conclusion, I would like to wish you happiness in all of
your endeavors in 2002. Happy New Year!

I am very pleased to welcome you all to the New Year, 2002.
Looking back over the past year, the opening year of the
21st Century can only be described as a turbulent one. Despiteof all the somber news, such as the simultaneous terrorist
attacks on America and the outbreak of Mad Cow Disease inJapan, there was also much encouraging and cheerful news,
including the birth of Princess Aiko, the success of baseballplayer Ichiro in America, and the awarding of the Nobel Prize in
Chemistry to Dr. Ryoji Noyori, who became the second
successive Japanese winner after Dr. Hideki Shirakawa.
With the effects of the IT recession in America and theterrorist attacks added to the problem of Japan’s slumping
economy, Japan is now facing fears of deflation, a deteriorating
employment situation, and the problem of disposing massive
amounts of bad loans. In light of this situation, theadministration has come together to incorporate a series ofstructural reforms however, manufacturing industries areprimarily concerned about the rapid shifting of production
bases overseas, or what could be called the “second hollowing
of industry.” Manufacturing industries account for one-fourthof Japan’s GDP, while foreign acquisition from their exports
forms the heart of a processing trade country. Moreover,
manufacturing industries comprise more than 90% of private
R&D resources and industrial technologies cannot be developed
when isolated from the manufacturer’s worksite. Therefore,
manufacturing industries literally make up the foundation of acountry that creates science and technology. One after another,
these industries have been shifting production bases to China,
which has held a great attraction recently due to its low
business costs and rapid market growth. Moreover, recent
events have taken on a new aspect in the hollowing of industrial
roots, wherein factories shifted overseas include not only those
producing the finished product, but also those involved in partsand raw materials.
Last November Minister Hiranuma organized a conference
to discuss strategies of industrial competitiveness. The
principle themes evolving from this conference that we areconsidering for future studies are to review the exchange ratewith the Chinese yuan, improve productivity through further
selection and concentration of management resources, improvebusiness efficiency through applications of IT, promote thedevelopment of industrial technology and improve strategies
for intelligent properties, correct high-cost structures, andfurther diversify foreign trade strategies that include the WTO
and FTA.
The Manufacturing Industries Bureau intends to participate
actively in a series of discussions, while coming into directcontact with people in the industrial world to get theirunreserved opinions. To mark the beginning of the new year, I
would like to emphasize the following two points from thisstandpoint.
The first point is to further intensify efforts at selecting and2

Worldwide R&D

Creative Designs for Microfabricated InformationProcessing and Medical Equipment
Masayuki Nakao
Professor,
Engineering Research Institute, Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo
Forming teams with professional designers and researchersof different fields in our laboratory, we ascertain functions
required in new devices and design microfabrication methods
for achieving those functions. Primarily, we are targeting fields
of information-processing and medical equipment by applying
many microfabrication techniques aimed at concocting new andcreative prototypes through repeated attempts and failures. In
these attempts, we develop an upper level concept based on adesigner's thinking process diagram and accumulate the results
as explicit knowledge, as defined in knowledge management.
When failures occur, we take up the situation at the occurrenceof the failure in order to get further use from the design attempt
as a case study on design failure. In short, by conducting
creative designing alone without imitating others, we can obtainthe most thorough research data without regard for success andfailure of the research.
In our research laboratory, we use so-called micromachine
manufacturing technologies without thinking of them as newtechniques, but rather as potential manufacturing methods as
obvious as cutting, casting, and other age-old technologies.
Micromachine technology has been present in Japan for morethan a decade and now enjoys widespread use. However, in the
future I believe we must bring micromachine experts together
with experts of conventional mechanical engineering. People
desire products, not manufacturing techniques. I do not believe
the public cares what methods are used to create a product,
providing the required functions are achieved.
Here, I introduce methods of assembly and reproduction
only attempted by a few researchers in shaping processes.
The right diagram in Fig. 1 shows a micro-house that has
appeared many times on television and in newspaper articles.
While we have accumulated many other achievements in ourlaboratory besides this and have made painstaking efforts todescribe them to media personnel, the media still focuses only
on the micro-house. Perhaps this is because the micro-housecan be readily understood just by looking at it and does not
require a complex technical explanation. However, it took four
years to be able to develop this micro-house. As shown in theleft diagram, the micro-house is assembled and bonded under ascanning electron microscope using an electrostatic tool having

50µm

50µm

Fig.2 Micro-insemination employing rotation (right)

Tool
Nucleus

DNA

Tool

50µm

DNA

50µm

Fig.3 Handling DNA

50µm

50µm

Fig.4 Microchannel press-molded on a glass substrate

a diameter of 15µm and a semiconductor laser with an output of
1.6 W that are moved with a total of 20 degrees-of-freedom.
While, in an engineering sense, the micro-house can becreated if one has a mind to, such construction is not a
profitable enterprise. Since the microassembly of cell phonecomponents and magnetic heads has less than one cent of added
value, it is obviously more advantageous to have the work
performed by cheap laborers with 20/20 vision.
However, there exists some microassembly work that has an
added value of more than one-hundred dollars, such as work inbiotechnology including the micro-insemination of sperm,
electrical stimulation of specific cells, and isolated cultivation of
specific chromosomes. The right diagram in Fig. 2 shows anoperation of introducing sperm into the cell membrane of an
ovum while the tool is rotated. The left diagram shows the same
operation performed by simply pushing in with the tool. Here,the ovum deforms much more than that in the right diagram,risking injury to the DNA. Fig. 3 illustrates an operation of
extracting DNA from a chromosome, then isolating, stretching,and cutting the DNA strands. While DNA strands 2 nm indiameter are flowed, fluorescent molecules are attached toFig.1 Manufacturing a micro-house3pressed only on the core portion of the triangular groove twice
using a piezo element. Hence, it is possible to accurately
reproduce a micro-shape, such as a groove, up to about a 30-nm
width.
However, the problem is attempting to reproduce a
workpiece several millimeters square without bending theworkpiece. Wavefront aberrations are a problem in optics. For
example, a 20-nm flatness and parallelism is necessary in a 2mm square diffraction grating. In this case, it is not enoughsimply to create the micro-shape of the die, but also it isnecessary to analyze physical phenomena that occur during the
reproduction and to control cooling and the distribution ofpressure and deformation to prevent residual stress.
In addition to assembly and reproduction, other general
methods of shape formation include removal, addition, anddeformation. I believe that methods of shape formation, such as"growth" known in reproductive medicine will emerge fromnanotechnology in the future. At that time, we will be able toproduce anything by preparing the proper DNA father andculture medium mother. Perhaps this is what has conventional
designers paralyzed with fear.

SEM image

AFM imageFig.5 Triangular grooves formed through polystyrene
injection molding

specific parts of the DNA, then a DNA strand is handled briefly
relying on the fluorescent light. This type of microassembly canbe achieved with the proper micro-tools.
Next, I will describe reproduction assembly. Fig. 4 shows an
L-letter patterned groove having a width of 20µm and a depth of
2µm that is reproduced by press-molding on glass. Aftermasking a carbide die with resist, the die is formed by blasting
and reproduced to the glass under a temperature of 530;. Fig.
5 shows triangular grooves formed at a pitch of 1µm by injection
molding on plastic. To obtain an accurate reproduction, we

MMC Activities

The 7th International Micromachine Symposium
enterprises and organizations that had participated in the "MicromachineTechnology Project" (completed in March 2001) - part of the Industrial
Science and Technology Frontier Program by MITI- each presented theresults of their team's research results, as a summary of the project.
The scheduling and content of the presentations in this
symposium were regarded highly by participants, as showed by thecomments for the questionnaires submitted after the of the entire
program.
The schedule for the next symposium is shown below.

The 7th International Micromachine Symposium was held at the
Science Museum in Kitanomaru Park, Tokyo, on October 31 andNovember 1, 2001.
On the first day, the symposium program began with an opening
address by Mr. Toshiro Shimoyama, Chairman of the Micromachine
Center, followed by guest speeches by Mr. Iwao Okamoto, DirectorGeneral of the Manufacturing Industries Bureau, METI, and Mr. Keiichi
Aoyagi, Executive Director of NEDO with words of expectation to
micromachine technology and encouragement for the efforts toconcerned persons.
The symposium was very successful, despite the participants fromoverseas were greatly reduced as a result of the September 11 terrorist
attacks in New York. The venue packed with participants to almost full
capacity on both days,total participants for the two-day program
numbered 380, including 267 registered participants, presenters, andmembers of the press.
On the first day, Prof. Fumio Kodama of The University of Tokyo
Research Center for Advanced Economic Engineering gave a special
lecture entitled "Micromachine and Business Model," exploring the
topic which is currently of greatest interest to those within theindustry.
Other program items on the first day included sessions entitled"The Path to Micromachine Industries in the 21st Century," "Overseas
Activities," "Innovative R&D," and "Micromachine in the Last Decadeand Future Outlook". A total of 16 invited lecturers, including 4 fromabroad, made presentations during these sessions.
The second day of the program began with a speech by Mr. Yukihiro
Hata, Director- General of the Industrial Technology Development
Department of NEDO. After this, researchers representing 23

The 8th International Micromachine Symposium
Period: November 14 (Thu), 2002
P l a c e : Science Hall, the Science Museum in
Kitanomaru Park, Tokyo

View of Symposium Hall

4

Micromachines and Business Models
Fumio Kodama
Professor,
Research Center for Advanced Economic Engineering, The University of Tokyo
necessary to create a business model. As one might
expect, great changes in the direction of technologicalinnovation occurred during this process. We see manychanges particularly in technological innovation and thegeneration of industries, or the industrial structure.
Alternatively, the creation of industries changes theindustrial structure, causing the direction oftechnological innovation to change. I believe there is astrong interaction between innovation and theindustrial structure. Today I would like to tell you
about our research findings and views on this topic.

Introduction
Thank you for the introduction. I am Fumio Kodama.
Today I would like to focus my discussion on two topics:
micromachines and business models. You are probably
thinking that I am drawing a connection between two
wholly unrelated terms. Well, I believe I have been
associated with the Micromachine Center now more than
five years, where experts in many fields are tackling
various technical issues related to micromachines, andquestions on demand forecasts, economic effects, and soforth have eventually found their way to me.
If you think back to five years ago, it was extremely
difficult at that time to scientifically analyze potential
markets for this type of technology. At first we tried to
predict new markets, and by doing so came up withsome sort of statistics, but the grounds for thesenumbers were somewhat dubious. We wondered if
considering only new markets was enough. Then we
wondered if we should consider the creation of new
industries and begin to look at the relationships of these
new industries, which became a popular buzzword atthat time. While all this seemed to look good on paper,in fact it was extremely difficult to analyze.
While I realize that there are many types of
micromachines, I believe that by considering them asbasically element technologies we can look at theirvarious uses, particularly new uses. Therefore, we
considered the development of new uses, even though
we did not know whether they would actually be usedas such. Essentially it is necessary to link these useswith a system of use that can be established as abusiness. Or assuming this micromachine technology isof tremendous proportions, we must create a separatebusiness model. However, the term business modelsounded very small. We wanted a business model forestablishing an industry. So ultimately we began
creating peculiar terms, such as "industrial businessmodel," resulting in the title of my presentation,"Micromachines and Business Models."This
information is described in much more detail in ourreport, which is the result of experts in various fields
joining forces to analyze each sector of the market. But
rather than describing that here, I think you would
understand it much quicker by reading the report.
Today I would like to talk about the background andprocess at which we arrived at the conclusion describedearlier, through much trial and error, namely that it isMicromachine Systems
The reasons why Japan could create a new industry
and take control of its creation, and why Japan isregarded as the home of micromachines is due to the"mechatronics revolution" in the background. In fact,
the word "mechatronics" was coined by a Japanese,
which leads one to believe that Japan seized theinitiative in this technological revolution. The essenceof mechatronics and optoelectronics is the skillfulcombination of technologies thought to be ofcompletely different types belonging to different fields
for the purpose of exhibiting effects greater than the
combination of its parts. In this sense, we created a
new concept called "technology fusion," meaning the
combining of different technologies.
Hence, technologies have advanced in this pattern.
While industries had been progressing in a directionthat emphasized total integration, the PC revolution
brought about a state in which a manufacturer
supplying a single element called a microprocessor
unit, specifically Intel, has taken complete control of
all industries. By looking at this situation, however, I
believe a major change has occurred in technologies;
in other words, a phenomenon called digitalconvergence has progressed. Digital convergence is aphenomenon peculiar to the PC industry. With theadvance of modularization, module suppliers seized
leadership in technological development, and final
products are obtained by combining these modules.
This is what has occurred in the PC industry.
While there are varied opinions on whether thisphenomenon has occurred in the mechanical industry
as well, indeed we can find the same phenomenon bylooking at the automotive industry and the like. There
are some differences in how the progression of thisphenomenon is occurring in the automotive industry

5most cited patent group. Hence, many patents filed by
Japanese belonged to the patent group that is mostfrequently cited, thereby making them basic
technologies. As a result, in only ten years, Japan
jumped from the bottom rung in the Gellman Survey tothe very top rung in the Narin Survey.
It is conceivable here that this came about due to a
new technological concept. I think this is basically due
to the mechatronics revolution. For example, Japanbegan in fourth place in the number of machine tools
manufactured and jumped to an overwhelming firstplace in just ten years. As you are aware, such a largechange in only ten years was brought about by thegreat progress made in the numerical control ofmachine tools. Hence, Japan made this great jump
due to the advance of the mechatronics revolution.
Optoelectronics is a term for a similar technology,
also formed by fusing different technologies. In 1986
Fortune magazine published a scoreboard indicating
which countries were the strongest in various fields.
As you can imagine, the U.S. was the top in most fields,
but Japan was stronger in one: optoelectronics. Japan
had 9.5 points to America's 7.8, a difference thatcannot be ignored. While we found a major changeover a ten-year period when evaluating the quality ofpatents earlier, behind this change there has emerged
new technological concepts called mechatronics andoptoelectronics that conceivably brought about thischange. I propose that we combine these conceptions
into the term "technology fusion." Technology fusion is
not simply the combination of different technologies,
but rather the addition of one technology to another toprovide a solution greater than the sum of its parts. In
other words, one plus one equals three. This I havecited from the Harvard Business Review, a magazine
written for business managers, which emphasized inrather severe language that this is a new concept.

from how it is progressing in the PC industry, but
modularization is also taking hold in mechanicalsystems. Accordingly, the term micromachine-based
system was coined when considering the
micromachine market to mean a new system based on
micromachines. Much research has been conductedunder the belief that it would be better to consider
things under that system.
Hence, the idea is to predict the future. For
example, if we tried to predict what will occur in theyear 2010 and the year 2025, we know that while thecurrent pattern may hold through 2010, it is almost
impossible to predict what will happen in 2025 without
considering a completely different type of usage
pattern. Business models are used to consider new
industries that use micromachines.
Technology Fusion
To begin with, "mechatronics revolution" is a termcoined by a Japanese person in 1975. There wasanother significant movement occurring at this time.
Despite a steady increase in Japan's competitiveness in
the international market, doubts were raised at thistime concerning what original contributions Japan had
made. The U.S. administration in particular initiatedseveral comparative studies to determine whichcountry had the most technological innovativeness.
The first study, called the Gellman Survey, evaluatedthe innovativeness of each country. The method of
this survey was to list one hundred examples of radical
breakthroughs in technology over the period from 1953
to 1973 and determine which countries brought about
these breakthroughs. America was responsible for 65,
Japan for a mere 2, and England for 25. Hence,
although Japan's competitiveness in the market wasstrong, from the viewpoint of radical breakthroughs it
was responsible for only 2 of 100, leading to theconclusion that Japan is merely a country that imitates.
With the purpose of conducting a slightly moreobjective survey, Francis Narin was commissioned to
conduct a survey in which he stored all patents
registered in America between 1975 and 1985 in a
database. When checking the percentage of patents
for each country, Japan's share had increased steadily
during this period. Japan clearly demonstrated
enormous strength in high-tech oriented patents.
When looking at the quality of patents at this time, it
was found that the U.S. carefully manages citations ofpatents. All citations were fully listed on the front pageof each patent. By using this data, it was possible todetermine how many patents cite a particular patent.
If a patent is cited numerous times, that patent can beviewed as a basic technology. The chance of patents
submitted by Americans being in the most cited patentgroup, for example the top ten percent, was completely
random. It turns out that, rather than being
completely random, patents published by Japanese hada higher probability, by 37 percent, of belonging to the

Modularization
Subsequently, considerable changes occurred.
Around 1980, for example, the computer industry wascomposed of vertically integrated firms. Companies
like IBM, TEC, Fujitsu, and NEC were competing witheach other making their own chips, their own
platforms, their own software, and their own
applications, and selling them at their own distribution
outlets. Hence, the industry had an extremely
vertically integrated structure.
Around 1995, the industry shifted to a horizontal
competition. Intel and Motorola were competing in thesilicon industry; Sharp, NEC, and DTI in the matrix
display field; and so on. Great changes in the industrial
structure occurred when computer manufacturers
began to obtain various components and combine
them. In 1999 Newsweek magazine did a featureasking experts what they felt the major changes of thenext century would be. I was also interviewed, atwhich time I commented that it is not easy to link6

developing engines and outsourcing parts in otherfields as much as possible. As a result, modularizationin the automotive industry is advancing.
Generally speaking, modularization is also
advancing in mechanical industries. Hence, if
micromachines are provided in modules, it is sufficient
to simply consider the design of the overall system. So
what type of strategy do we use? Two scholars that
popularized the term "core competence" say thisstrategy comes in the form of first acquiring thenecessary technologies, integrating these technologies,
and then competing for the core intermediate product.
Ultimately the intention is to maximize shares in the
final end product. An example of this strategy was
adopted by Canon, and maybe some of the people
related to this project are here today. Canon evensells laser printer engines to its competitors, includingApple. Ultimately they sold their core product tocompetitors in order to obtain a larger market share in
the field. "Virtual market share" is a term being used
today. This is a competitive strategy for controllingthe entire market by seizing the initiative in module
development, as modularization increases.

things in the analog world, while things can be joined inevery possible combination in the digital world,
demonstrating results greater than the sum of theirparts. Hence, digitization has come charging into thecurrent age, I commented, and we will see a change
from technology fusion to digital convergence.
In my laboratory, we attempted to measure how much
modularization had developed. While there may be
several methods for measuring this, ours was to searchpatent applications on a patent database called PATORIS
for four different computer fields: CPUs, memory, discs,
and I/O devices. We measured the percentage of patentapplications filed to determine how much leadership theassemblers (not component suppliers) had seized in thetechnological development of each field. The assembler
shares in each field had all dropped, indicating thatmodularization has progressed in the personal computerfield, shifting control of technological development to theindividual module providers. This shift reflects thechange in industrial structure indicated above from a
vertical to a horizontal structure.
Many in the mechanical industry felt thatcompromise between companies was necessary andthat modularization would not be easy to implement.
We attempted the same analysis on the automotive
industry. We divided up control-related areas of theautomotive industry into four fields, checked thepatent filing percentage for each and measured theratio of automotive assembly manufacturers, or socalled automobile manufacturers, therein. While thetrends here were slightly complex, we divided theindustry into four fields: engines, chassis, safetysystems, and communication systems including
navigation. Although the share of automotive
assemblers rose in most fields up to around 1980, they
all dropped in the 1990s. Hence, we mustacknowledge that modularization had progressed.
While all fields in personal computers dropped, there
were some differences in the mechanical industries.
Only one field, engines, rose in the automotive field.
We can say that the proportion of automotive
manufacturers in engine control increased, that is,their leadership strengthened - a trend different fromthe personal computer manufacturers.
In general terms, I believe that the promotion ofmodularization is electronification. Determining theshare of production volume for electronic control units
in the overall production of parts of each automotive
field and determining how much weight each has interms of monetary value is one index for indicating
how much digitization and electronification has
advanced in each field. Based on this index, welearned that digitization in the field of engine control
has not advanced, or rather is in a declining trend.
Since the ratio of patent applications supplied fromautomotive manufactures has risen slightly in the
category of engines only, the strategy of automobile
manufacturers is being watched. This strategy isreflected in the pattern of concentrating all efforts in

Creating a Business Model
So what strategies will be used for micromachinetechnology? Micromachines should be thought of as corecomponents of systems rather than core products.
Therefore, I think that the problem lies not in the end
product, but in how systems can skillfully use inventive
micromachines, in other words, how micromachines canbe used in a virtual system. Hence, we considered
micromachine-based systems or systems of use that are
only possible with micromachines. Actually, two years
ago I spoke at this very symposium on "Micromachines
and the Market," and today I am talking to you about"Micromachines and Business Models," so I haveprogressed a little. This table lists the ideas that we cameup with at our research conference (see Table 1).
Experts in various fields came up with the details, so I
believe the table is reliable. We considered, for example,
data storage systems, printing systems, opticalcommunication systems, wearable systems, and microinspection systems. Regarding printing systems, weIndustries
Information Technology
IT Infrastructure
Precision Instrument
Measurement Instrument
Micro Factory
Maintenance
Medical and Health
Bio Technology
Environment
Automotive applications
Life and Household

Micromachine-based systems
Data-storage system
Printing system
Optical communication system
Wearable system
Micro inspection system
Micro factory system
Maintenance system
Medical Endoscope and catheter system
Personal health support system
Genetic and DNA analysis system
Environmental inspection system
Automotive related system
Electric household appliances system

Table 1 Micromachine-based Systems

7

cellular telephones. In other words, the upper limit isincreasing constantly and the market size is
continually expanding. In a sense, I suppose businessmodels are also constantly being created.

viewed the development of new printers as anopportunity. We could come up with various wearable
systems, but here we will take up cellular telephones.
Therefore, we selected printers and cellular phones andthen quantitatively analyzed what form of market had
been created, what industries had been created, theirdifferences, whether they were a new type of usage, or
what part they played in the creation of a business model.
Specifically, while the facsimile machine was asubstitute for conventional communication means, aliquid crystal display (LCD) expanded the number ofapplications. As you know, the PC of today beganfrom a computer and later a word processor, and thenwas developed with a new use as an Internet terminal.
Clearly, we can say that a business model had beendeveloped. I would like to study each of thesetechnologies in more detail. As you know, a logistic
model is used to determine how large a new market
has grown. Over time, the size of the market(production volume) approaches an upper limit, that
is, an ultimate potential demand. This is a substitutemarket, wherein a new product is used as a substitutefor an existing conventional function.
We can also consider the occurrence of an
extremely major technological invention that greatly
expands the scope of users. Since the logistics of this
scenario take place in two stages, its model is called atwo-stage logistic model. As the market size of the
product nears an upper limit during a certain time
period, a major technological innovation occurs,
causing the market size to leap suddenly. The printeris one example that comes to mind immediately.
Inkjet, bubble jet, or laser printers and particular
inkjet are a good example of a product designed for
office use that suddenly became useful in the home,and moreover could print photos or other pictures.
Instead of just printing conventional text, it is now
conceivable to print pictures.
Next is an example of the upper limit itself growing
according to a logistic function. This is called a double
logistic model. In short, new usages are being createdconstantly, increasing the production volume more andmore. The cellular telephone fits this description, in
which new business models were created continuously.
We talked about analyzing each one individually.
The facsimile is a simple logistic model in which the
production number approaches a fixed value. Printers
follow more of a two-stage logistic curve. As you
know, printers were used to print characters and werelimited to use in the office. However, laser and inkjet
printers came out around the mid-80s. At the sametime, printing precision improved and the ability toprint in color was also added, clearly causing
production to jump a step.
If we assert that micromachine-based systems will
create new business models, I think they must
continually create new business models. A very recent
example that follows the double logistic curve can beseen if we look at the actual production data forConclusion
At the research conference, we studied various
micromachine-based systems, such as printers using
micromachines. We considered a business model of
on-demand printer systems that can be used in thehome and print when the user requests it (see Fig. 1).
Next, we considered a business model for order madeprinter systems in 2025, wherein users can custom
order printers with a desired design and shape and thecapability of printing on anything, not just paper. The
members at the research conference considered what
systems would be necessary to achieve this and what
technologies must be developed. When considering
future technological development, the members
concluded that it would be beneficial to promote thedevelopment of micromachine technology inparticular, which is capable of changing the world.
Such being the case, if you can imagine an industrial
business model, such as that shown in Fig. 2, extract
the technological issues from this model and attempt
to resolve them, I believe that there is potential andvalidity in taking that future direction. Thank you allfor your attention today.
current

2025

On demand printing system of books

Business
Model

Micromachine
based
Systems

2010

Order made printing system
Document printing system
Digital printing system On demand printing system
Photo printing system
Industry printing system
Metal, Polymer, Bio-medical printing system

2beam scanning Multi beam scanning
Integrated LED head 2D write head Direct printing headTechnologies
Piezo electric ink jet head
Integrated head
Thermal ink jet head
Super small particle Super precision Control
User

Office use

Personal use Factory / Industrial use

Fig.1 Micromachine Technologies for Printer Systems
Year 2025
Industrial "Business Model"
14 Applications
Year 2025
Micromachine-based System

Technological Challenge
Fig.2 What is technological innovation in future?

8

Members' Profiles

Fuji ElectricCo., Ltd.
1. The Challenge of Micromachine Technology
Micromachine technology at Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.
began with the development of sensors. Examples ofour current products include accelerometers for
activating automobile airbags, pressure sensors forplant monitoring, and gas leakage sensors for domesticuse.
In a government research program called"Research on Hazardous Environment Robots," wedeveloped 3-axis tactile sensors to be fitted in thefingertips of robots. Here, multiple micromachined
strain sensors are mounted on a silicon substrate todetect three-dimensional force components. Robots
equipped with these sensors are now able to grip soft
objects, like a rubber ball.
2. Development of Micromachine Technology
Fuji Electric Co., Ltd. took part in theMicromachine Technology Project of the Industrial
Science and Technology Frontier (ISTF) Programfrom the beginning, studying primarily the
manufacture of micro-actuators. In Phase I of the
project that began in FY 1991, we pursued thefeasibility of such micro-actuators as anelectromagnetic motor with a rotor diameter of just 1
mm.
Phase II, which began in FY 1996, saw sevencompanies collaborate to develop a "microfactory."
The microfactory was an attempt at extreme sizereduction of manufacturing equipment, shrinking
processing and assembly units to fit into a space about
the size of a desktop. In Phase II, we were responsible
for a two-dimensional micro-conveyor used to convey
parts and finished products between operating units.
Fig. 1 shows an external view of the microconveyor, the surface of which is lined with square

Akira Takai
General Manager
Corporate Technology Planning Office and Corporate R&D Center

coils having a side length of 1 mm. By controlling anelectric current supplied to each coil separately, it ispossible to move a carrier with a permanent magnet ina desired direction.
3. Future Stance
While achievements from the ten-year ISTF
Program range from actuator driving technology tomicromachining/assembling technology, thin-film
formation technology, and material technologies, weconsider thin-film technology and micromachining
technology to be the most promising areas for future
development. In addition to actuators, we expect
these technologies will be applied to a wide range of
products, including sensors and electronic parts.
Fig. 2 shows a thin-film coil having sides 4 mm inlength directly formed on the surface of an IC using
thin-film formation technology. This process will be
useful in manufacturing smaller power sources for
portable equipment. In this way, we hope to apply
technologies cultivated in the MicromachineTechnology Project in the development of many
products.

Fig.1 Micro-conveyor

Fig.2 Thin-film coil formed on an IC (4x4 mm)

9Matsushita ElectricIndustrial Co., Ltd.
1. Endeavors in Micromachine Technology
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. has beenworking toward establishing design technologies for
micromechanisms, as well as micromachining, assembly,and evaluation techniques to cope with the increasing
integration and size-reduction of information-processing
equipment. We participated in the Industrial Scienceand Technology Frontier (ISTF) Program by conducting
research on the system integration of travelling devices.
2. Development of Micromachine Technology
A travelling device developed by Matsushita
Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Fig. 1) implements
locomotive functions by rapidly decelerating the highspeed rotations (40,000 rpm) of a motor andincreasing torque. We developed micromachine baseand system integration technologies for developing
micromechanisms by applying these integratedfunctions to a chain-type micromachine system forinspection of outer tube surfaces in cooperation with
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation and Sumitomo ElectricIndustries, Ltd. In particular, we developed suchelement technologies as mechanical interfacing (adesign technology for micromechanisms that involves
tribology), high-precision micromachining andmeasuring technologies, and high-precision assembly
technology. We manufactured numerous uniform
micromachine parts, assembled reducers, and worked
to achieve a low loss in drive trains.
Mechanical interfacing is a technology for
improving performance through studying reduction
methods and improving the contact surfaces ofcomponents in order to develop a reducer suitable foruse in micro-spaces. We succeeded in developing a
reducer with a reduction ratio of 1/200 and a size of 5
x 3.5 x 1.5 mm based on the planetary gear system(Fig. 2) constructed of a micro-gear in a 0.03 module.
We attempted to improve the drive train efficiency bystudying the bearing construction and improving the

Masaaki Adachi
Director
Advanced Technology Research Laboratories

surface quality to decrease the friction coefficient andwear of the gear.
High-precision micromachining, measuring, andassembly are technologies for efficiently processing andassembling numerous microparts and with great
precision and uniformity. By developing a moresophisticated form of electric discharge micromachining,
we can reliably supply many microparts for constructing
travelling devices. In our attempts to further improve
precision in machining, we demonstrated the value of amethod for on-machine measuring of micro-texturesusing a microvibration probe (minimum diameter of 20mm and length of 1 mm). In order to produce many
micromachines from machined parts more efficiently,
we developed and demonstrated the effects of a selfaligning/self-assembly technology using excimer laser
beam machining to etch a sacrificial layer.
We integrated these basic technologies to mount a
travelling device in the tube inspecting micromachine
system, demonstrating that the rotational drive of thedrive device can be converted to horizontal andvertical locomotion of the inspection system.
3. Future Endeavors
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. hopes to
add to its achievements in the ISTF Program bycombining those results with other micromachinetechnologies and applying these technologies to suchproducts as information-processing equipment.

1mm
1mm

Fig.1 Traveling device

Fig.2 Planetary gear system

10Introductory Course

Medical Applications for Micromachines, Part 4
Iwao Fujimasa,
Professor,
National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies
Micro-Electrodes: Data Interface with Living
Organisms

Micro Fluid Devices: an Essential MicromachineTechnology for Medical Measurements

Mechanical industries tend to view electronic systems as
borrowed systems. With the human body, however, we must
consider contact points between an electronic system andnerves in the human information system as a complex systemfrom the beginning. The development of an interface between
neural circuits and external instruments is essential as a basetechnology for micromachines. Recently Japan has beenpresented with a golden opportunity to make up lost ground inpacemaker development.
Forty years have passed since development began on
pacemakers, now the most widely used artificial organ. The
pacemaker is also a good example of the increased use of
micromachines, achieving complex control and highcompatibility with the human body. Pacemakers that have until
recently been developed to treat bradycardia are starting to beincorporated as implanted defibrillators for treating tachycardia.
We are just now developing other methods of applying
micromachines to the nervous system. In addition, diseases
brought about by the nervous system of the heart and diseases
brought about by nerves in the cerebral/peripheral nervous
system have many common points in the form of electric
signals. A great number of regions controlling human bodyfunctions can be manipulated electrically, and engineers haveshown an interest in this field. However, we have tried toprovide interface with macro-instruments located external tothe body to provide a less invasive operating method. As aresult experiments in Japan using the approach of installing a
micro-electrode into the body have unfortunately been limited
to animal experiments in our engineering departments.
Although many approaches in a clinical setting have been
proposed, there has been little research aimed at making thispractical. Nowadays, researchers of neural systems have begun
to assert that the 21 st century is not only the age of gene
research, but also of brain research.
Studies on micro-electrodes implanted in the human body
have increasingly been conducted in the areas of visual andauditory systems, wherein multichannel needle electrodes are
implanted to directly stimulate sensory areas in the brain.
Some clinical achievements have been observed in the auditory
field. A strong potential has also been seen in approaches tostimulate afferent nerves between sensory organs and the brain
and in direct stimulation of sensory cells. In the auditory field,
cochlear implants have found practical uses, while in the visual
field there have been repeated experiments conducted tostimulate optic nerves using electrode, with inclined needle
array. Japan has also been recognized for its advanced medical
technology on implanting multichannel microsensors in the
cranium to sample signals from the brain and determinefunctional regions. Many clinical examples that have been
conducted are now common in health insurance coverage.
Many approaches have been developed for treating
peripheral nerves, such as microsleeve electrodes and nerve
growth electrodes that incorporate the fiber-growing region of
the nerve stump in an electrode. Studies are being conducted
to create an interface between nerves and artificial devices,
both internal and external to the body. Studies on both of thesemicro-electrodes and electronic devices must cover such
medical engineering issues as the compatibility of
micromachining methods and materials with the body tissue,
and the intervention of nerve growth factors, such as endocrine
substances. We must create new areas of research.

It is well known that the object of medicine, the human
body, comprises 70% water. Many medical instruments operateusing an aqueous solution or a solution containing cells or
micro-particles. It is a well-known historical fact that the firstidea for creating an automated biochemical analyzer, called an
auto analyzer, came during the development of tabletop
chemical plants. With these devices, methods of pumping,cleaning devices, separating samples, and detecting reactions
were studied at dimensions near the micro-level to enable a
drastic size-reduction in the plants.
Although there have been various proposals for developing
micro-fluid devices since the beginning of micromachinedevelopment, even today these devices only function as a single
component. We must reinvestigate and reconstruct all systemcomponents with the aim of versatility. To do this, we must
begin by acquiring base technologies for designing micro-fluid
systems, including theories for analyzing fluid behavior at highviscosity and approaching particle transport and the need forrheological analysis, which knowledge can help us zero in on
the essence of living matter. It would not be an exaggeration to
say that developing technical elements as systems will influence
tomorrow's sample testing apparatus. However, we must stilldevelop numerous components and study them as
microsystems in order for micro-instruments used in sample
measurement, such as micro-TAS (total analysis system) andon-chip labs, to become the next-generation of auto analyzers
useful in medical treatment.

New Medical Industries Created from an On-site
Demand for Micro-Instruments
In order to popularize medical products and their use in thehome, we must develop technologies for manufacturing cheaperand smaller products. By taking up each instrument one by one,
perhaps we will see the need to explore the feasibility andsignificance of manufacturing them at a micro-size. Most
conventional medical equipment is manufactured manually one
product at a time, resulting in high prices that have stifled themarket. Manufacturing this equipment at micro-sizes would giverise to industrialization and lower costs, which could generate alarge demand. Blood sugar testing apparatus that are alreadyused in the home have generated a new direction for diabetes
control and have generated an enormous market. Micro-syringes
for use in the home, which have helped reform conventional
methods of administering medicine, and the much smaller
catheter, have the potential to radically change medical treatmentin the future. Obviously in either case it will be necessary todevelop impartial ideas with much consideration for the clinicalsites. It is clear from experience that the more widespread themicromachine system can be used, the more likely the system may
become Japan's original industry. The objective of our efforts ismost likely to develop common equipment of widespread use
aimed primarily at treating lifestyle-related diseases.
Since the components of micromachine systems are small,
we have a tendency to think it difficult to mount circuits for
information systems therein. However, the smaller the devices
become and the more widely they are used, the moreindispensable it is to automate data processing in devices andelements. If our research does not include the study ofsomewhat fixed distributed data processing systems in
micromachines and their integration as systems, there willprobably be less possibility of micromachines becoming anessential technology in the medical industry.

11

MMC Activities

The 12th Micromachine Exhibition "Micromachine 2001"
The 12th Micromachine Exhibition "Micromachine 2001" washeld in conjunction with The 7th International Micromachine
Symposium at the Science Museum in Kitanomaru Park, Tokyo, for
3 days from October 31 to November 2, 2001. The exhibition wasreceived enthusiastically.
Exhibitors included the Micromachine Center and 10 of thecenter's supporting member companies. Altogether, a record
number of 111 companies, organizations, universities, and research
institutes from Japan and overseas joined the exhibition program.
With a total of 164 booths, this year's event occupied 5 exhibition
halls - one hall more than last year. The exhibition covered such
topics as state-of-the-art micromachine technology and the latest
research results. Because of its size and contents, this exhibition ishighly regarded year after year as an exhibition specializing in
micromachine technology.
The 10-year "Micromachine Technology" project - part of theIndustrial Science and Technology Frontier Program promoted by
the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (now the Ministryof Economy, Trade and Industry) - was completed last year andachieved tremendous results. Because of the growing interest in
micromachines, a particular feature of this exhibition was the large
number of newly exhibiting companies (nearly half) representing
micromachine-related industries, such as production equipment
manufacturers, measuring instrument manufacturers, andsemiconductor production equipment manufacturers.
The exhibition welcomed a record number of approximately
7,460 visitors (including 359 elementary school children). Exhibition

floors were crowded with the enthusiastic visitors, who spent a longtime looking at the exhibited items and asking questions to boothattendants.

The schedule for the next exhibition, "Micromachine
2002," is shown below.
Period: November 13 (Wed.) to November 15 (Fri.), 2002
Place: The Science Museum, Kitanomaru Park, Tokyo
Inquiries: Mesago Messe Frankfurt Corporation
Tel.: +81(0)3-3262-8441
E-mail: micro@mesago-messefrankfurt.com
URL: http://www.mesago-messefrankfurt.com/micro

Preliminary Announcement
The 8th International Micromachine Symposium
November 14, 2002
at Science Hall, Science Museum, Tokyo, JAPAN
Exhibition

MICROMACHINE 2002
Novemver 13-15, 2002
at Science Museum, Tokyo, JAPANThe Detail will be announced later.
Pictures on the cover : Winning artworks in the Micromachine Drawing Contests : Micro-Volcanic-Eruption-Predictor,
Walking Flowers, Shizu: The Rainbow-Making Machine, Repair/Rescue Robot Centipede

MICROMACHINE No. 38
MICROMACHINE is published quarterly by Micromachine Center (MMC) to promote the international
exchange of information related to micromachines, R&D and other technical topics, and is circulated free ofchange. Please send your comments about MICROMACHINE to the publisher :Takayuki Hirano, Executive Director, Micromachine Center (MMC)
5-F, Niikura Building, 2-2, Kanda-tsukasacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0048, Japan
Tel : +81-3-5294-7131, Fax : +81-3-5294-7137
Internet Home Page h t t p : / / w w w . m m c . o r . j p /Change of Address : Please send old address lebel and new address to the publisher.
Editorial and Production Management : Japan Technical Information Service (JATIS)
Date of Issue : February 4, 2002

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