Activities of the MEMS Industry Forum
1. Overview of Plans for MicroNano 2011

promotion of advanced research requiring a high capital
investment that individual companies generally cannot afford,
and the enhancement of design and trial production capabilities
needed for pioneering MEMS applications. The MEMS IndustryForum (MIF) established the Investigative Committee for a
Micro/Nano Open Innovation Center (MNOIC) to consider anorganization and implementation schedule for best utilizing
TIA-NMEMS.
After a fourth council meeting, the 2nd MNOIC InvestigativeCommittee meeting was held in December. The meeting was
filled with lively discussion on such topics as how to arrange
participation by each company and how best to implement thecenter, including lab tours of the advanced 8-inch and 12-inch
MEMS-related equipment being installed in clean rooms by theG-devices program and the Funding Program for World-Leading
Innovative R&D on Science and Technology. The MNOIC
Investigative Committee also serves as the TIA-NMEMSWorking Group, one of eight working groups established under
the Executive Council for promoting TIA-NMEMS.

The micromachine exposition MicroNano 2011 (including
the Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS and concurrent events)
will be held at Tokyo Big Sight on July 13–15, 2011. Preparations
for the event are being undertaken jointly by the Micromachine
Center (MMC), which is sponsoring the event, and the organizer
Mesago Messe Frankfurt Corporation.
We are pleased to note that attendance for MicroNano
2010 returned to its original trend of growth, due in part toimprovements in the economic climate and the addition ofROBOTECH, an exhibition on manufacturing technologies forservice robots utilizing MEMS sensors.
With the proliferation of fabless and fab-lite businessmodels, the MEMS Industry Forum (MIF) is working on
improving the convenience for visitors to MicroNano 2011
through effective zoning, e.g., providing a MEMS outsourcing
zone for foundry services and analytical outsourcing, and a zone
for sensor networks, which are anticipated to improve energy
management and the safety and security of a company’sinfrastructure. In addition, we are discussing plans toaccommodate diverse interests through a wider variety ofsymposiums, seminars, and other concurrent events.
The MIF is also working on plans to provide the mostvaluable technical information, business information, andbusiness opportunities in one location for exhibitors andvisitors. Please consider participating in MicroNano 2011 as anexhibitor or visitor. This event is not to be missed!

2 n d MNOIC Investigative
Committee meeting

2. Program for Human Resources Development:“Micro/Nano Innovator”

4. International Exchange: a Survey on MEMS
Industrial Trends in North America

The “Micro/Nano Innovator” program for human resources
development is a nationwide, self-reliant program being
developed under the Committee for the Promotion of Human
Resources Development newly established this year, incooperation with the National Institute of Industrial Scienceand Technology (AIST) and the Kitakyushu Foundation for theAdvancement of Industry, Science and Technology (FAIS),
among others. The MMC has conducted various training courses
for this program, including “Advanced applications course: the15th MEMS Seminar” held in October, “Introductory course onMemsONE” held in November, and “Techniques for promoting
MEMS commercialization” held in December. All of the courses
were extremely popular, indicating high interest in the field ofMEMS and a persistent need for MEMS human resource
development.

15 t h MEMS Forum

Installing state-of-the-art
equipment

In early November, the MIF dispatched a mission led by Isao
Shimoyama, professor at the University of Tokyo, to North
America in order to ascertain trends in the MEMS industry. Thegroup visited seven MEMS-related companies and participatedin the MEMS Executive Congress organized by America’s
MEMS Industry Group (MIG).
The group came away with an overall impression that theconsumer market in North America has become saturated withaccelerometers and other sensors, and that venture companies
and other businesses are working vigorously at developing
products for the next promising market amid declining prices
and fierce competition. There were also many sensor networkand high-frequency applications for smartphones, and medical
applications emphasizing performance and function over cost. It
was quite clear that the market in North America develops
dynamically, with existing major companies and venturecompanies sometimes collaborating and sometimes competing.

Course on techniques forpromoting MEMS
commercialization

3. Formation of the Tsukuba Innovation ArenaNMEMS

Freescale Semiconductor,
Tempe, AZ (USA)Formation of the Tsukuba Innovation Arena NMEMS (TIANMEMS) at AIST Tsukuba is an endeavor aimed at the4Dalsa Semiconductor,Bromont, Quebec(Canada)