MEMS Industry Forum Activities
The MEMS Industry Forum (MIF) was established to help

Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).

strengthen the international competitiveness of the MEMS

This study was conducted to study and analyze MEMS

industry in Japan. Members are primarily companies in areas

industry trends and to determine how devices, application

related to the MEMS industry. The MIF promotes various

equipment etc. using MEMS technologies should be deployed,

activities in cooperation with affiliated academies, regional

as well as ways to achieve market expansion.

centers, overseas institutions and so on.

The main content of the study includes the following:- Industry trends as seen by the papers presented at

1. Planning of Fiscal Year 2009

international conferences and the patent applications that

Under control of the MIF Executive Committee, three

have been filed

special committees (Industrial Networking Committee, Foundry- Analysis of individual application fields in order toService Industry Committee and International Networking

determine application trendsCommittee) have been established to implement specific- Analysis of the current status of players in the MEMS fieldproject activities. From May through June, the MIF Executive

in order to determine trends at MEMS-related companies

Committee and the three special committees held their first

The study provides basic data on the overall industry as

committee meetings and finalized their activity schedules forwell as information on strategy formulation by individual

the fiscal year.

companies. In the near future, the study will be made available

At the MIF Executive Committee meeting held on June 12,

on the MIF Supporting Member page.

the overall schedule of activities for the current fiscal year was

3. International Networking Activities (HanoverMesse, Micromachine Summit, LETI Workshop)

approved. The main components of this fiscal year’s activities
include the following:

As international Networking activities, the MIF engages in

1. Continue the ongoing survey of industry trends withbusiness-related and academic international interchanges that

increased depth of focus

include sponsoring international symposiums and dispatching

2. Study how the Nanotech Arena concept (being promoted

overseas study missions.

primarily by the Ministry of Economy, Trade andSo far during this fiscal year, the MIF has exhibitedIndustry) could be employed by the MIF
3. Support personnel training activities being implemented

products and presented papers at the Hanover Messe (inin regional areas and begin the process of organizingHanover, Germany) held April 21 - 25, and presented papers

these activities as an ongoing effort

and participated in interchange activities at the MMC/LETIWorkshop held June 11 - 12 in Grenoble, France. Attendance by

4. Intensify efforts to disseminate the achievements of past

Japan at the Micromachine Summit held May 5 - 8 inprojects such as MemsONEEdmonton, Canada was canceled due to the H1N1 influenza

5. Prioritize international networking activities in the midst

outbreak.

of the tight budgetary environment
The three special committee activity schedules wereThe MMC/LETI Workshop was held to provide a venue forfinalized in accordance with this overall activity schedule andthe presentation of MEMS-related papers and to study ways toimplementation of the projects for the fiscal year has begun.

enhance cooperation with LETI/MINATEC, an MIF overseas
affiliate and one of the centers for device research in Europe.
Japanese universities and companies participated in theworkshop in addition to representatives from the Ministry ofEconomy, Trade and Industry and NEDO. The workshop andrelated facility visits provided valuable stimulation with regard
to future projects, research activities and policy research.

1 s t MIF Executive Committee Meeting

2. MMC Survey of MEMS Industry Trends
A report was compiled that added a relevant study
conducted by the MMC Industrial Trends Research Committee
to the “Survey of Domestic and International Technology
Workshop participants from Japan in front of
LETI/MINATEC (Grenoble, France)

Trends for the Formulation of Strategies in the MEMS Field”
compiled last year at the request of the New Energy and8