Overseas Trends

Recent MEMS Trends in the U.S.
the MEMS infrastructure was fully developed, the foundry wastransferred to a private company. The MEMS Exchange,currently in operation, is a network of fabrication facilities atuniversities designed to aid universities and small to mediumsize companies. By linking the facilities at these universities,
the project is beneficial for universities that conduct only smallscale MEMS research.
With the support of DARPA and other organizations, startup
companies have started to commercialize the results of research
conducted by universities. Some professors and university
researchers who pioneered the field of MEMS are taking twoyear long sabbaticals to launch their own venture companies,
where their achievements are put into practical use. Dr. Gabriel,
former professor of Carnegie Mellon University, created an
innovative method for developing MEMS-based speaker andmicrophone chips. About two years ago, he founded a fablesscompany named Akustica with some twenty employees and iscurrently involved in operations, while on sabbatical from CMU.
Akustica is expected to break even by 2005. Since startup
companies like Akustica rely on investments from venture capitaland individual investors, their success depends both on thetechnology to be commercialized and their fund-raising ability.
California is a center for hi-tech companies, such as thoselocated in Silicon Valley, and academic research. The state has
many prestigious universities, such as the University ofCalifornia, Berkeley, but since their campuses have reached asaturation point for research facilities, additional facilities andfaculties for advanced research are being constructed in Irvine,
located 40 mile south of Los Angeles. Many biotechnology
companies and other ventures are flocking to Irvine because of
the venture capital available and are working closely with UC
Irvine in biotechnology research. Irvine is already beginning totake the form of a "Bio Valley."
Normally new companies look outside the company fortechnological seeds to develop MEMS products, but U.S.
companies establish relationships, in the form of joint researchand the dispatch of in-house researchers, with universities thathave accumulated technological expertise through advanced
research. Intel Corporation, for example, has begun conducting
biotechnological research in cooperation with universities.
According to comments we received, it is extremely
important for startup fabless companies to find foundry services
that can maintain repeatability in product quality andperformance.
A widely used technology, MEMS is being incorporated into
various devices developed with CMOS, SiC and other materials.
As measuring technology is becoming vital to the application ofMEMS, the MEMS Industry Group (MIG) is holding workshops
to address this issue.
The U.S. MEMS community has been shifting to applicationoriented research, while firms offering integrated services havealso expressed an interest in MEMS technology. Advancedresearch covers the potential uses of not only silicon but also
new innovative materials for MEMS device. Many experts haveindicated that commercialization of MEMS technology must
include an improvement in reliability and reduction in costs,
particularly packaging costs.

Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) is a technologicalconcept that originated in the U.S. in the late 1980s. MEMS
function to form electromechanical devices by integrating thefunctions of actuators and other mechanical elements withcircuitry on wafers using microfabrication. Following subsidies
provided by the National Science Foundation (NSF) to support
MEMS, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency(DARPA) began a full-scale MEMS program with an annual
budget of $40-50 million.
We interviewed academic and industrial experts tounderstand the current state of MEMS in the U.S. as part of asurvey commissioned by the Japan Industrial Policy ResearchInstitute. Contacts are listed below.
Prof. Wen Ko, Case Western Reserve University
Has been studying pressure sensors since the 1960s
and is now conducting training on MEMS in China.
Dr. Clement, Managing Director, MEMS Industry Group
Serves as the day-to-day manager of MIG operationsand activities.
Dr. Gabriel, Akustica, former Prof. of Carnegie MellonUniversity
Served as Director in the initial DARPA MEMS
Program and contributed to establishing the existing
MEMS research system.
Dr. Bob Rao, Technology and Manufacturing Group, IntelCorporate
Actively involved in research on microsystems andnanotechnology
Prof. Tang, UC Irvine, former MEMS Director of DARPA
Former MEMS Director at DARPA and is now
launching MEMS research at UC Irvine.
MEMS research and infrastructure in the U.S. have beendeveloped under the sponsorship of DARPA. DARPA's goals insupporting MEMS R&D are to determine potential applicationsof MEMS technology in national defense, as well as commercialapplications. Accordingly, DARPA has continuously funded
MEMS projects anticipated to spark developments in
microfabrication technology, changing the focus of the research
topics to meet the needs of the times. In the initial stages of theMEMS Program, DARPA aimed at enhancing overall MEMS
technology and subsequently focused on applied research in thefields of optics and biotechnology. At present, the agency has
shifted its research thrust to biotechnology and wirelesstechnology from optical switches, which it had supported duringthe "IT bubble era."
In order to ensure that research findings lead tocommercialized products, DARPA has recently sought toinclude private companies in the program. In addition, theagency undergoes strict evaluations at the completion of each
18-month phase in a total of three phases.
DARPA also funds research conducted by startup
companies until they can find venture capital and other financial
sources. The funding has proved effective in luring serious
investors. As the MEMS infrastructure is still in its growing
stage, DARPA supported a foundry service based onstandardized multiuser MEMS processes (MUMPs) that enable
us to fabricate different types of devices on a single wafer. After5