Personnel Training and Improvement of Foundry Functions to Accommodate MEMS Market Expansion
expansion of the MEMS market. Taking this into
account, the Micromachine Center studied the statusof personnel training programs in the MEMS field thatare currently being implemented by MEMS relatedcompanies, as well as the MEMS personnel training
programs being promoted and supported by thenational government. Based on the results, theobjectives have been divided into two areas(“improving the environment for company in-housepersonnel training policies” and “improving theenvironment to enable personnel in other fields toeasily enter the MEMS field”). A conceptual diagramof a MEMS personnel training system has also been
prepared and this has been reflected in the technicalstrategy roadmap for MEMS fields.

The market for Micro Electro Mechanical Systems(MEMS) – tiny, highly sensitive key devices withexcellent energy conservation properties – is expected
to expand in diverse fields such as
telecommunications, automobiles, robots, medical careand biotechnology. However, knowledge andtechnologies in a wide array of fields including
machinery, electricity, chemistry, physics, materials,
optics and medical care will be needed for thedevelopment and manufacture of MEMS. The trainingof MEMS personnel who can take a comprehensive
view of the entire technical development process will
also be essential.
Securing of personnel in the MEMS field is a matterof pressing urgency in order to accommodate theMEMS Personnel Training System
Improvement of environment
to allow personnel in otherindustries to easily enter
the MEMS fieldUtilization ofsenior citizen
personnel

Improvementof MEMS foundryfunctions

MEMS managers
Dispatched to different
fields and different
industries

Senior citizen
personnel bankAble to view MEMS development/design
and production from a cross-sectional
perspective and plan and propose
appropriate MEMS applications

MEMS research &development personnel
MEMS prototyping
consultants /coordinators(MEMS joint
prototyping center)
Improvement of
MEMS systems
infrastructure

Use of MemsONE

Improvement /upgrading of
Use of MemsPedia
knowledge
database
Expansion of internships

Enhancement ofcompany in-housetraining

Senior citizen personnel(industry-academic collaboration coordinators, etc.)

Step-up

Personnel who can multiple technologies
in different specialist areas and then fuse themin MEMS development and design
Step-up
Personnel who have a fair knowledgeof MEMS manufacturing process analysis,
structural analysis and systems analysis
and can see the connection with design
and production technology

MEMS Meister

Personnel who understandcutting-edge production technologies(MEMS, fine nanoprocessing)and can lead the manufacturing workplace
by not only handling advanced
equipment operation but improving
the equipment as well

Step-up policies- On-the-job training- Company in-house
MEMS training andcourses- Study groups /seminars- Joint industry-academic research- Collection andteaching of
knowledge fromdifferent fields
Hiring of seniorcitizens
by companies(review ofretirement system)

Step-up
Step-up
Personnel who have a deep specialist
knowledge and technical ability with regard
to MEMS and can use their knowledge
and skill to conduct development
and design.

Personnel training at
industry-academia-government
collaboration centers
MEMS courses for working people

Operator
Personnel who are familiar with MEMS
manufacturing equipment and can handle
advanced equipment operation

Practical MEMS training

Enhancement of MEMS
specialist education
at universities, etc.

Improvement of technical guidance and practical training courses
at national research centers and publicly-run laboratories

6 -1

Establishmentof skill
certification
programMEMS Personnel Training Roadmap
2000

2005

2010

Objectives- Maintaining and strengthening the international competitiveness of the parts industry

2015

2025

- Ensuring safety and peace of mind and helping to build a comfortable society - Creating new lifestyles- Advancement of MEMS manufacturing technologies (high performance, high reliability, low cost) - Establishment of comprehensive micro/nano manufacturing technologies

Market trends

Single function MEMS

Advanced single
function MEMS

Highly integrated MEMS
(highly functional and complex)

Revolutionary MEMS
(nano/bio fusion and autonomous distributed)

Market scale JPY 440 billion yen

Market scale JPY 1.17 trillion yen

Market scale JPY 2.4 trillion yen

Approximately 23,000

Approximately 48,000

MEMS personnel objectives Approximately 9,000

Personnel training

Improvement of environment

Improvementof company
in-house training policy

Improvement of environment to enable in-house personnel to step-up to MEMS training- On-the-job training - In-house MEMS training and courses - Study groups andand seminars - Personnel training through joint industry-academic research

Establishment of MEMS skill certification program- Designated testing organization

Improvement of
personnel training
policy throughindustry-academia
cooperation- Certification program

Expansion of MEMS lectures and training courses for working people- Earning
Earning ofof credits
credits atat graduate
graduateschool
schoolbybyworking
workingpeople
people - -Expansion
Expansionofofpracticalpracticaltraining
training
coursescourses
at atnational
national
research
research
centers
centers
andandpublicly-run
publicly-run
laboratories???
laboratories

Enhancement of MEMS personnel training at industry-academic collaboration centers- Interdisciplinary program

Improvement ofenvironment toenable personnel
in other industries
to easily enter
the MEMS field- Personnel cooperation with different departments
departmen and companies - Awarding of degrees

Utilization of senior citizen personnel- "Senior citizen personnel bank"- MEMS prototyping consultants / coordinators
coordinInfrastructure improvement in MEMS fields- Systems infrastructure (to promote dissemination of MemsONE)- Construction / upgrading of knowledge database (use of MemsPedia)

Expansion of MEMS internships- Establishment of MEMS program

Moreover, to accommodate the expansion of theMEMS market, it is essential to upgrade MEMS foundry
services to make it easy for even companies that do notpossess manufacturing equipment to actively engage in
MEMS business. For this reason, a study of the current
state of MEMS foundry business in Japan was alsoconducted. This study determined that the scale of useof MEMS foundries in Japan is currently estimated atapproximately JPY 35 billion yen, and this is expected
to increase each year along with the expansion of thescale of the MEMS market. However, the study made it
clear that shortened durations and cost reductions are
the biggest issues that must be resolved to enable theMEMS applications needed for creating new markets tobe prototyped and verified as quickly as possible.
Moreover, as overseas dedicated MEMS foundrycompanies are beginning to appear, the Micromachine
Center put together a proposal emphasizing that there
is an urgent need in Japan as well to upgrade MEMS
foundry functions, through the creation of entities suchas a MEMS joint prototyping center with MEMS
development and prototyping functions as a mechanism
for producing and supporting MEMS ventures.
The Micromachine Center also conducted a study
for the purpose of establishing a mechanism by which,in cooperation with foundry companies, small andmedium-sized companies and the like with little

knowledge of MEMS manufacturing methods cansubmit a request to MEMS foundries and order MEMS
of feasible shapes and sizes created using basic
manufacturing processes. The Center also compiled adraft collection of standard process recipes (readymade processes). The use of these standard process
recipes is expected to reduce the cost of new MEMS
manufacture and shorten deadlines and so on. A study
will be conducted together with the use of theserecipes in MemsONE.
Overview of Draft Collection of Process Recipes
Platform
Device:Piezoelectric
acceleration
sensorDevice:Electrostatic
capacity type
acceleration
sensorDevice:Micromirror
poweredby static
electricity
Device:Piezoelectricpressure
sensor

6 -2

ProcessRecipe

DeviceStructureSampleMemsONE
emulation