Overseas Trends

4th Japan-Korea-China MEMS Standardization Workshop
Efforts to promote international standardization of MicroElectro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) have up to now resulted in
the publication of three international standards originating inJapan: “Terms and definitions,” “Tensile testing method of thinfilm materials” and “Thin film standard test piece for tensiletesting.” Another proposed standard, “Thin film fatigue test
methods,” is currently under review as a Committee Draft Version(CDV). Recently efforts to achieve international standardization
have become active in South Korea as well. Five draft standards
have been proposed and are currently under review.
Against this backdrop,
the Japan-Korea-China
MEMS Standardization
Workshop has been held
as a forum to promote
cooperation and theexchange of information
relatingtoMEMS
standardization amongWorkshop venue
Japan, Korea and China.
The 1st workshop was held in 2005 in Tokyo. The 2nd workshop washeld in 2006 in Gyeongju, South Korea. The 3rd workshop was heldin Beijing, China. After having been held in all three countries, forthe 4th workshop the venue returned to Japan once again, and theworkshop was held on Friday, June 20, 2008 in Tokyo to coincidewith the IEC TC47 WG4 Tokyo Meeting. Although at this year’s
workshop there were only four presentations (two each fromJapan and South Korea), as China had been forced to cancel its
participation as a result of the Sichuan Earthquake, thepresentations sparked a lively discussion.
The following is an overview of the presentations.
Following the opening address by Chairman Naotake Oyamaof the Micromachine Center’s Standardization ProjectCommittee, the following four presentations were given on thetopic of MEMS standardization.

type standardization projects that have been implementedin Japan up to now and the current state of internationalstandardization. Subsequently, he reported on progress inthe accelerated life test standardization project currently
being implemented. He also discussed a draft standard thatis currently under study.
(3) Dr. Nak Kyu Lee of the Korea
Institute of Industrial Technology
gave a presentation on the Forming
Limit Diagram (FLD) Test forevaluating the ductility ofnanoimprint materials. In this test, athin film is fastened in place and asemispherical jig is used tocompress the film, after which thedeformation of the film is evaluated. In the presentation, hediscussed the measurement principle and introduced adeformation measurement technique that utilizes a CCD
camera to measure the grids formed on the test specimen.
Plans call for this test method to be proposed to the IEC as
an international standard.
(4) Professor Higo of Tokyo Institute ofTechnology gave a presentation on
the development of standard
materials used for calibrating thinfilm material test equipment,
entitled “Bending specimen for
calibrating materials testingmachine.” He proposed metallic
glass materials as materials that are stable, uniform, strong
and have a low modulus of elasticity, and noted that thesematerials have been confirmed to possess stable elastic
properties. He also reported on studies of the significant
impact of machining on these standard materials, as well ason the shape of the test specimens used for calibration.

(1) Professor Park of Kyunpook National
University in South Korea gave apresentation on the current status ofMEMS / NEMS standardization andthe approach to standardization
research in South Korea. He spoke
about standardization in the MEMS
field (IEC TC47 / WG4) and the stateof international standardization in the area ofnanotechnology (IEC TC229), as well as future approaches
in the MEMS field (in terms of the evaluation of packages,
sensor devices and flexible devices and standardization
topics for which reliability is a chief concern).
(2) Associate Professor Tsuchiya of
Kyoto University gave a presentation
on “The Accelerated Life Test for
MEMS Device Structures,” one of
the standardization projects
currently being promoted in Japan.
Dr. Tsuchiya began by giving an
overview of the material evaluation

The conference ended with Keiichi Aoyagi, Executive
Director of the Micromachine Center, expressing his hopes forstandardization in the MEMS field.
Although it was unfortunate that China was unable toparticipate, it was a valuable workshop, with an active exchange
of information between Japan and South Korea and participantsfrom many companies in attendance. Prior to this 4th workshop,
the workshop had been held in each of the participating
countries – Japan, South Korea and China – and so thisworkshop also marked the beginning of the second round ofworkshops held in each country. The major achievement of theWorkshop has been its role in providing a forum for theexchange of information regarding the current state of MEMS
standardization and future prospects in each country, as well as
in enhancing the common recognition in these three countries.
It is crucial that these achievements be utilized in MEMS
standardization strategies in Japan.
The 5 t h Japan-Korea-China MEMS Standardization
Workshop will be held in South Korea in 2009.

7