Activities of the Micromachine Center

Activities of the Micromachine Center in FY 2009
Overviewof the concurrent events at MicroNano 2009 and actively
promotes government policies related to MEMS.

The Micromachine Center (MMC) carries out various
activities aimed at establishing fundamental technologies in
micromachines, micro electro mechanical systems (MEMS), andother micro/nano fields. These activities include researchstudies, data collection and provision, and projects to encourage
information exchange and cooperation among businesses inMEMS and other industries carried out through the MEMS
Industry Forum (MIF) in order to improve the environment for
MEMS industrialization, such as policy recommendations andindustrial vitalization, as well as activities to promote
standardization and improve public awareness of MEMS.
In FY 2009 the MMC worked to implement various projects
in a manner deemed most effective and efficient. These projects
are designed to contribute to the growth of Japan’s industrial
fields having ties with micromachines, MEMS, and othermicro/nano technologies by exploiting unique features of the nonprofit sector in order to supply an extensive and flexible array ofservices necessary for meeting numerous demands inmicromachines and MEMS fields that cannot be met by theprivate sector alone. The projects are also aimed at creating a safe
and secure society with little impact on the environment throughtechnological innovation in these fields in order to contribute not
only to Japan, but also to the international community as a whole.
The following is an overview of each project.

The 2009 informal gathering on MEMS

The 2009 MIF Workshop

1. Research Studies

2) Industry-academia collaboration
The MIF continued its study group activities, which bring
together member companies interested in specific research
themes. The MIF also gave extensive consideration to R&D
projects needed for accelerating the BEANS Project and forrealizing a low-carbon economy. In addition, the MEMS
Advanced Technology Forum was held three times during theyear.
3) MEMS infrastructure improvements
The MIF implemented the following five projects aimed at
improving the infrastructure for MEMS development.
a. Expansion and upgrading of the MEMS foundry network
systemb. Compilation and upgrading of MEMSPedia
c. Dissemination of the MEMS equivalent circuit generator
d. Strengthening of collaboration among regional public
foundries and local clusters
e. Implementation of personnel training projects
4) Information exchange among businesses
The MIF also implemented the following seven projects forencouraging information exchange among businesses in MEMS
and other industries.
a. Promotion of the MEMS Mallb. Holding of the exposition MicroNano 2009c. Holding of Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS
d. Expansion of the international affiliate network
e. Participation in the 15th World Micromachines Summit
f. Participation as an exhibitor at Hannover Messe
g. Dispatch of overseas fact-finding missions and exchangeof researchers

The MMC has conducted research studies aimed at gaining
a clearer picture of the technological and industrial trends inmicromachine and MEMS technologies, which are emerging as
key technologies in the manufacturing industry. These researchstudies entailed the investigation of new issues facing
micro/nano technologies that arise when merging
nanotechnology with technologies in other fields and included
surveys of technological and industrial trends at home andabroad.

2. Data Collection and Provision
In order to strengthen Japan’s industrial competitiveness in
micromachines and other technologies, the MMC has
implemented a data collection and provision project for thepurposes of clearly identifying technological and industrial
trends and for contributing to surveys, studies, and information
distribution. A portion of the collected information has been
made available over the Internet, and all data is available to thegeneral public year-round in the MMC archives.

3. MEMS Industry Forum Projects (promoting
information exchange and cooperation among
businesses in MEMS and other industries)
The MMC has conducted the following activities in FY 2009
within the MIF in collaboration with affiliated academies,
regional centers, and overseas institutions.
1) Policy recommendations
The MIF Promotion Committee comprising MIF membercompanies held an informal gathering on MEMS to encourage
the exchange of ideas with government and related agencies.
The MIF also held the MEMS Industry Forum Workshop as one4MicroNano 2009 (including the Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS)
micromachines and MEMS, the MMC has been a central figurein actively promoting MEMS R&D projects while harnessing thecombined capabilities of government, industry, and academia.
In FY 2009 we engaged in the activities below to follow up onthese projects.
The MMC continued its activities of the previous year toaggressively promote and disseminate the MemsONE software,
which was the product of R&D in the MEMS Open NetworkEngineering System of Design Tools project (commonlyreferred to as the MemsONE Project), a national/NEDO projectthat was completed in March 2007. We have also continued ouraggressive promotion and dissemination of the fine MEMS
knowledge database and the new MEMS equivalent circuit
generator developed in the Highly Integrated, Complex MEMS
Production Technology Development Project (commonlyreferred to as the Fine MEMS Project), a three-year project
carried out between 2006 and 2008. We also worked to develop
an outline for firmly establishing fine MEMS in Japan’s industry
and to write up drafts and proposals for plans related torelevant R&D projects. Specifically, we drew up plans for
effectively establishing the role of a support organization for
outfitting the Tsukuba Nanotech Innovation Arena and for
effectively considering R&D on an advanced network sensor
system and environmentally friendly processes.

4. Activities to Promote Standardization
In the fields of micromachines and MEMS, the MMC has
promoted standardization while demonstrating its initiative on
the international stage.
1) Joint research for the purpose of proposinginternational standardsa. Standardization for methods of evaluating the performanceof micro-gyroscopesb. Standardization for measuring methods and notation forMEMS shapes
2) Follow-up to a proposal of standards for testing
MEMS wafer-to-wafer bonding strength
We conducted a follow-up on methods for a 3-point bending
test and a die shear test that Japan proposed in FY 2008 as
methods for testing wafer-to-wafer bonding strength, with theaim of realizing their adoption as international standards in FY
2009.
3) Research study on overseas standards4) Adoption of a thin film material tensile testingmethod as a JIS

5. Dissemination and Publicity Projects(dissemination, publicity, and informationservices)
The MMC has continued to publish and distributenewsletters, hold exhibitions, and otherwise expand publicawareness of micromachines and MEMS. The MMC also
continues to collect reference materials and documentation
related to micro/nanotechnologies from universities, industrial
circles, public organizations, and other sources in Japan andoverseas. This documentation is consolidated with referencematerials for surveys conducted at the MMC and is available in
the MMC’s archives for browsing and searching. Information is
also being provided internally and externally through MMC’sWeb site.

6. Other Projects
1) A follow-up to previous national/NEDO-commissionedprojects (activities related to MEMS R&D projects)
In an effort to establish fundamental technologies for5