Starting the BEANS ProjectAtsushi Yusa, President, BEANS Laboratory
This month, the Project to Develop Technologies for theManufacture of Next-Generation Devices That Fuse Different
Fields – a FY 2008 research and development project of theMinistry of Economy, Trade and Industry – was initiated. The“next generation devices that fuse different fields” referred toin the project’s title are none other than the Bio & Electromechanical Autonomous Nano Systems (BEANS), therevolutionary devices of the future that the Micromachine
Center has been studying for the past four years. As you know,
BEANS is a concept for the creation of third-generation Micro
Electro Mechanical Systems (MEMS) devices. A committee
chaired by Professor Hiroyuki Fujita of the University of Tokyo
was established and specialists from companies, universities
and national reserch institute that are supporting members of
the BEANS Research Center have pooled their knowledge andexpertise to create these devices.
I am most gratified that BEANS have been selected as oneof the candidates for application of the device manufacturing
technologies that is the aim of the new project. I salute theenthusiasm and the efforts of all of you who have contributed
their energies to involvement in BEANS research up to now.
Thanks to your hard work, the Micromachine Center has been
selected by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry as theresearch promotion entity for the new project. In response, theBEANS Laboratory has been set up within the Micromachine
Center to plan and propose new projects and conduct researchpromotion activities. This paper will provide an overview of theBEANS Laboratory and will cover its research management
policy, research areas and research promotion organization inthat order.

integration of technologies in different fields, combining MEMS
(which is the title of one of the research and development
projects) with nanotechnology and biotechnology. The projectwill also work to establish ties between state-of-the-art
technology centers and integrate company management with
cutting-edge research. Another goal is to accomplish theheretofore difficult task of establishing a framework for fusion
research. Moreover, since the research areas are precompetitive research areas, a knowledge database containing
both academic achievements and test data will be compiled tomake the achievements and data widely available. In addition,steps will be taken to make licenses widely available for thepatents and other intellectual property rights that have beenacquired, to ensure that the research achievements contributeto the growth of domestic industries and the creation of newbusinesses. In addition, as personnel training and development
is also considered to be of crucial importance, research
management that integrates industry and academia will beconducted and an effort will be made to create interchange
between young university researchers and company engineers.
For this purpose, many managers that previously worked atcompanies and have experience in research management will
be recruited to accelerate and effectively promote research.

2) Research Areas
Fig.2 shows the research areas planned for implementation
at the BEANS Laboratory. Under this Basic Project Plan, there
will be three major research areas:(1) Bio and organic materials fusion process technologies(2) 3-dimensional structure formation processtechnologies(3) Micro/nanostructure large-area / continuous
manufacturing processes
To these will be added one common research area: thecompiling of a database of manufacturing technology
development knowledge.

1) Research Management Policy
A basic policy for research management has been
established in order to guide the project to success and ensurethat its research achievements provide wide-ranging benefits tosociety. (Fig.1). The watchwords for this policy are“integration” and “open.” The goal of the project is theINTE
GRATEGRAT ED
EDOPEN

Coordination of research centers
and technologies

Open access to technologies
and facilities

Three leading-edge research centers
Three research and development topics

Collection of technical data in pre-competitive domains
Use of both in-house and outside research facilities

Integration of technologies
in other fields

Open access to achievements

18 companies, 11 universities
and 2 research centers participatingElectricity/electronics, machine,materials, bio/medical/pharmaceuticalAchievement licensing
Construction of knowledge databasethat integrates different fields

Integration of company management
and state-of-the-art technology

Open access to personnel

Top management from the corporate world
Leading researchers in cutting-edge fields

Appointment of young person to serve as Center director
Personnel interchange among research centers

Fig 1 BEANS Research Center Policy: Integrated and Open

7

Research Topic 1 Bio and organic materials fusion process technologies(1) Process technologies for nano-interface fusion(2) Process technologies for the formation of bio and organic material higher-order structures

Research Topic 2 3-dimensional structure formation process technologies(1) Ultra-low damage / high-density three-dimensional nanostructure formation technologies(2) Three-dimensional nanostructure formation technologies for integrating different types of functions(Note: implemented by the Institute(3) Three-dimensional nanostructure formation technologies for use in aerospace applications
for Unmanned Space Experiment Free Flyer)

Research Topic 3 Micro/nanostructure large-area / continuous manufacturing processes(1) Process technologies for the formation of high-grade nanofunction membranes over a large area in non-vacuum environments(2) Process technologies for continuous fine processing / integration of fibrous substrates

Research Topic 4 Creation of a knowledge database for next-generation device manufacturing technologies that integrate different fields
Fig 2 Research Topics Studied by the Beans Research Center(1) Bio and organic materials fusion process technologies
The goal in this area is the development of process
technologies for achieving the device functions and mechanisms
needed in next-generation health, medicine and environmental
fields. In addition to the conventional inorganic dry materials
such as silicon, research and development will be conducted forfusion processes that utilize the unique functions of bio andorganic materials such as synthetic organic molecules,biomolecules, cells, structures, microorganisms and so on. One
example is technologies to enable biological organic materials(such as lipid bilayer membranes, hydrogels and peptidesynthesis) to be handled freely within microsystems.

Macro BEANS
Center (AIST)

ing
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,
ctu
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nos lat deNa Simu le moscalti-(4) Knowledge database mProjec&ana t nedge
Simulations
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elow eent
Kn pertis
ResearchplanningsdKe
exnowe ntnte
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rtis e &Pro nagee
mayookUltra-low damage methods for modification,
arrangement etc. of bio and organic materials
on 3-dimensional nanostructures

Ce nU she Kyu ic mf us

3(2) ter (3- d② Th D B E
ime e U
ANnnsiS
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Knowledge &expertise

BEANS Research CenterMain Research Centerf T ty)
NSEA ty o ersi
e B r si, iv s
L if nive hu Un ateri al(1)(3) Micro/nanostructure large-area / continuous manufacturing
processes
One of the efforts in this area involves the development ofprocess technologies for the continuous manufacture, over alarge area and in non-vacuum environments, of microstructurehigh-grade functional materials for use in electronic devices.
This can be achieved by combining atmospheric pressureplasma equipment with nanomaterial coating technologies andself-assembly technologies. Another effort is the developmentof processing technologies capable of continuously
nanoimprinting or forming functional membranes on glass fibers
and other fibrous substrates. There are also plans to develop
weaving technologies to turn these fibrous substrates into cloth.
This would create an applied technology with wide-ranging
applications for industry.

(T d K anes
ter an nd org rocessap
Ce nionBio(2) 3-dimensional structure formation process technologies
As a core technology for BEANS devices, process
technologies will be developed for integrating inorganic andorganic nanostructure materials on silicon, glass or other 3dimensional structures to achieve functions not possible withsilicon alone. The ultra-low damage etching conducted up to
now using neutral particle beams has been developed into amethod of creating 3-dimensional nanostructures that achievesurface smoothness at the atomic layer level, enabling theformation of “bottom up” structures through the self-assemblyof nanomaterials on the surface of three-dimensional
nanostructures. This will make it easy to manufacture terabit
class high-density recorders and ultra-sensitive sensing devices.

Project needs
management

Appliin s cation
elforg of fleform anizin xible s
ing g pr heet, et oce sc.
ss(3) Micro/nanostructure large-area /continuous manufacturing processes

Fig 3 BEANS Research Center: Cooperation with Other Research Centers
research activities of the BEANS Laboratory will be conductedin three separate locations, but the research planning andbudgeting for project areas, personnel allocation and otheraspects of project management will be centralized at theBEANS Laboratory. Moreover, project management will live up
to the “Fuse Different Fields” part of its name by accelerating
integration and coordination among the three centers withregard to research areas, and by ensuring close cooperation
among these centers. During this fiscal year, 18 companies, 11
universities and 2 research centers are scheduled to participate
in the project, with the involvement of a total of 102 researchers
from companies, universities and research centers. Apart fromthe research achievements, it is project management that willbe the key to the success of the project. As we move forwardwith this project, I hope we can count on the continued
understanding and cooperation of all who are involved in theBEANS project.

3) Research Promotion Organization
This project will be promoted by the BEANS Laboratory, anew entity set up within the Micromachine Center. The BEANSLaboratory will include three research centers, one for eachresearch area: Life BEANS, 3D BEANS and Macro BEANS.
These three research centers will be set up outside theMicromachine Center. Life BEANS will be located at theUniversity of Tokyo and Kyushu University. 3D BEANS will belocated at the University of Tokyo as well. Macro BEANS will belocated at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Scienceand Technology (AIST) in Tsukuba (see Fig. 3). In this way, the8