Topic : MicroNano 2009 Report/ 1
Activities of the Micromachine Center / 2
Activities of the BEANS Laboratory / 6
Members' Profiles / 8

Topic

MicroNano 2009 ReportFine MEMS Project and the BEANS Project; theJapanese-German MicroNano Business Forum providing
an opportunity for Japanese and German companies tomake business contacts; the MEMS Packaging Forum
focusing on MEMS packaging; presentations by
exhibitors; and the Workshop on Industry-Academia
Collaboration at which universities and research
institutes affiliated with the MIF presented their latest
research findings. The fact that all events attracted alarge audience indicated a strong interest among visitors.
The 15 t h International Micromachine/Nanotech
Symposium held this year as a project of the MIF
International Exchange Committee featured ten lecturers
both within and without the MIF talking on such topics as
the concentration of MEMS R&D centers and MEMS
applications. In the keynote session, representatives from
LETI/MINATEC, Fraunhofer ENAS, and the MEMS
Industry Group discussed trends toward concentrating
MEMS R&D into major centers. The speakers in session 1
introduced some of the latest trends in MEMS
applications including sensor networks, optical MEMS,
and energy-related MEMS. The speakers in session 2
focused on fabrication processes as emerging
technologies from the perspectives of wafer vendors,
fabrication equipment (bonding equipment) vendors, andmaterial vendors.
Unlike in previous years, there was no charge forattending the symposium, and the event was held during
the exhibition in the exhibition hall, rather than at a
separate location. While there was some concern whether
the Symposium would maintain its high status or see a
decline in attendance, all 230 seats in the conference area
were filled. Further, more than half of the lecturematerials were distributed to non-MIF members(nonmembers were charged 2,000 yen), indicating astrong and widespread interest among visitors. Thus, we
can conclude that the value of the Symposium was notaffected by the change in format.
MicroNano 2010 will be held next year around thesame time (July 28–30). We expect to begin preparations
for next year to ensure that this remains the world’s
largest event for micro- and nanotechnologies in bothform and content by further expanding the concurrent
program schedule and by adding a concurrent exhibition
focusing on service robot fabrication technology(ROBOTECH) in order to create more business
opportunities and provide visitors with the latest
information of the highest quality.

MicroNano 2009 was held at Tokyo Big Sight, East
Hall 5 on July 29–31. Despite temperatures reaching thehigh 80s in Tokyo, the event was a great success,receiving a total of 12,247 over the three days. The
sponsors would like to express their appreciation to all
who attended.

With a program of concurrent events that included
the Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS and the International
Micromachine/Nanotech Symposium held at the sametime and place, MicroNano 2009 was organized with theaim of bringing together all the latest MEMS-related
technologies at one venue and providing business
opportunities for visitors and exhibitors alike.
Reflecting the current economic conditions, thenumber of exhibitors participating in the Exhibition
Micromachine/MEMS was down 30 percent from last year
(252 exhibitors with 320 booths). On the positive side,
there was an increase this year in the number of
exhibitors involved in nanoimprinting and MEMS
foundries and only about a 10 percent decrease inattendance from last year. Thus, the event has been
deemed a resounding success under the circumstances.
This year the Micromachine Center (MMC) increased its
exhibition area to six booths, our largest number to date,in order to introduce our activities on MemsONE, theMems Mall, foundry service promotion, and international
standardization. The MMC also launched a trial concierge
service this year in order to more efficiently direct
visitors to booths matching their interests.
A total of eight events were held concurrently in two
special conference areas set up in the exhibition hall.
These events were the 15 t h International
Micromachine/Nanotech Symposium in which experts
presented the latest MEMS-related information for
promoting industrialization; the MEMS Forum providing
an opportunity for the MEMS Industry Forum (MIF) to
distribute information; presentations of results on the1

Activities of the Micromachine Center

Research Studies and Standardization Activities
1. MicroNano 2009

Fig. 2 shows the numbers of oral presentations by country
for the past three conferences. The U.S. had the mostpresentations at Transducers 2009 with 94, an increase of 1.7
times over its previous conference’s total of 56. Japan wassecond with 43 presentations, less than half of that from
America, while Taiwan had a remarkable increase inpresentations to take the third spot. The top three presenterswere followed by Germany, Switzerland, China, theNetherlands, and South Korea.

In the MEMS Forum held at MicroNano 2009, Dr. Shuichi
Shoji, a professor at Waseda University, gave a talk on “Trends
in MEMS Technology at International Conferences and the
Future Outlook for MEMS.” Dr. Shoji is the chairman of theInvestigative Committee on Technological Trends at Home andAbroad established by the MEMS Industry Forum to study
these trends. On the topic of standardization, Dr. Kuniki Owada
of Teikyo University gave a speech entitled “Recent Trends in
MEMS International Standardization: Heightened Significanceand Business Applications” and Dr. Kazuki Takashima of
Kumamoto University spoke on “International Standards for
Evaluating MEMS Materials.”
At the Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS, the Micromachine
Center presented an exhibit detailing terms and definitions for
MEMS that have been proposedor established thus far, tensile
testing methods for thin film
materials, standard test pieces
for tensile testing, and fatigue
testing methods for thin film
materials, as well as drafts ofinternational standards that areeither currently under review
or under development.

Number of oral presentations

100

80

60
50

30

11

US

A

0

1999

2001

2003

2005

Sw

ed

Ca

na

da
Si

ng

ap

Transducers '07 (Lyon)

Sp

3

2

1

n
ai

ia

um

Au

st

r

Be

lg

i

Transducers '09 (Denver)

26 25

24

17

19
17

16

18 18

14
12

11
9

10

8

43

23

2

1

Technologies
outside the above Categories

45RF-MEMS

4

5

11

7

Power-MEMS

8

Other applied Technologies

0%

19

19

Optical

0

600

2009

an

3
UK

32

10

20%

2007

Fr

e
or

37

15

10%

1997

r

Fluidic

50%

200
0

Ko

4

Biomedical Systems

401nChemical/Bio Sensors

400

358

464

la

Radiation/Material
Substance Sensors

439

er

en

Mechanical Sensors

634
524

N

h
et

ce

5

21

800

639

i

ea

26

30%

600

Ch

ds

25

5

854

826

la

5

30

1035

960

1000

er

5

35

40%

40.8%

Sw

itz

Materials

1200

aOther basic Technologies

1307

rm

Design and Modeling

48.3%

47.0%

45.9%

Ge

na

6

40

20

50.6%

1400

iw

nd

Number of presentations

1554

53.1%

Ta

ny

6

Fig. 3 shows the numbers of presentations broken down by
specific technological field. Among the basic technologies (1-1
through 1-7 in Fig. 3), actuators were the most popular,
followed by packaging technologies, whose number increased
dramatically over the previous conference. Under applied
technologies (2-1 through 2-9 in Fig. 3), mechanical sensors
occupied the top spot with a considerable increase in number
over the previous conference. This topic was followed in
popularity by fluidic and biomedical systems, while the numberof presentations on chemical/biosensors was half that of theprevious conference.

60%

56.0%

p

an

Actuators

1600

Ja

an

8

Fig.2 Numbers of oral presentations by country forthe past three conferences

Acceptancerate

Acceptance rate

810Packaging Technologies

Accepted

24

20

Fabrication
Technologies(Silicon)
Fabrication
Technologies (non-Silicon)

Submitted

4340

For its activities in the first half of 2009 in the Survey ofTechnological Trends at Home and Abroad, the Committee
conducted a survey on Transducers 2009 (the 15th Annual
Conference on Solid-State Sensors, Actuators andMicrosystems). The Transducers conference features
presentations on the latest R&D casework related tomicrosensors and microactuators and has occurred bienniallysince the first conference was held in Boston, Massachusetts in
1981. As the 15th installment of this conference, Transducers
2009 was held in Denver, Colorado in June 21–25.
Transducers 2009 drew 984 participants from 28 countries
according to the advance registration. The conference attracted
1,307 paper submissions, with an acceptance rate of 45.9%, as
well as 216 oral presentations and 384 poster presentations.
Fig. 1 shows the numbers of submissions and corresponding
acceptance rates over the past several conferences.

1800

Transducers '05 (Seoul)
Transducers '07 (Lyon)
Transducers '09 (Denver)70

2. Survey of Technological Trends at Home or
Abroad (First Semester)

Number of
papers94

90

1-1 1-2 1-3 1-4 1-5 1-6 1-7 2-1 2-2 2-3 2-4 2-5 2-6 2-7 2-8 2-9 3-1

Fig.1 Numbers of submissions and corresponding
acceptance rates over the past several conferences

Fig.3 Numbers of presentations broken down by specifictechnological field2

Activities of the MEMS Industry Forum
1. The 15th International Micromachine/Nanotech
Symposium – MEMS World

concept of centers for the integration of MEMS knowledge andexperience to serve as arenas for developing nanotechnology,
an introduction to the foundry network, MemsONE, and
MEMSPedia designed to improve the infrastructure for MEMS
development, and a description of efforts to implement
micro/nano personnel training in order to promote expansion of
the MEMS industry. In Session 3 subtitled “Anticipation toward
the formation of MEMS industries and R&D centers,” speakers
described the state of activities being conducted in the Tohoku,
Kansai, and Kyushu regions for strengthening the foundation of
the MEMS industry.
The fact that every seat in the Forum’s conference hall was
filled indicates a strong interest in the MEMS industry.

The 15th International Micromachine/Nanotech Symposium
was held at MicroNano
2009 on July 29, 2009
(Wednesday) in a special
conference area preparedat the event as one of the
concurrent events with
the
20 t hExhibition
Micromachine/MEMS.
This year’s Symposium was held on such topics as theconcentration of MEMS R&D centers and MEMS applications
and featured keynote speeches from LETI/MINATEC,
Fraunhofer ENAS, and the MEMS Industry Group on trends
toward concentrating MEMS R&D into major centers. The
lecturers in Session 1 introduced some of the latest trends in
MEMS applications, including sensor networks, optical MEMS,
and energy-related MEMS, while the lectures in Session 2
focused on fabrication processes as emerging technologies fromthe perspectives of wafer vendors, fabrication equipment(bonding equipment) vendors, and material vendors.
Unlike in previous years, there was no charge for attending
lectures, and the Symposium was held during the exhibition in
the exhibition hall, rather than at a separate location. The
Symposium filled all 230 seats in the conference area andstimulated a lively question and answer session. Looking toward
next year, we would like to clarify the positioning of this
symposium within the overall MicroNano 2010 event and thetarget audience (management or on-site technicians, forexample) and to prepare a program of even greater quality thatmeets the needs of this audience.

3. The 18th MEMS Advanced Technology ForumThe 18th MEMS Advanced Technology Forum was held on
June 24 (Wednesday) at the MMC Techno Salon, where the MIF
had the privilege of hearing lectures by Dr. Minoru Kurosawa,
associate professor at the Tokyo Institute of Technology in theInterdisciplinary Graduate School of Science and Engineering,and Dr. Tadatomo Suga, professor at the University of Tokyo in
the Graduate School of Engineering.
In his lecture entitled “Surface acoustic wave linear
motors,” Dr. Kurosawa talked about linear motors using SAW
elements, long-established MEMS devices, and introduced his
research spanning from ultrasonic motors to the present. Dr.
Kurosawa also discussed potential future development of highspeed, high-precision micro-linear motors.
In his presentation entitled “Low-temperature wafer
bonding,” Dr. Suga discussed potential applications for the lowtemperature bonding of wafers using plasma and ion irradiationfor 3D mounting and MEMS packages. He also describedvarious types of bonding and bonding techniques, particularly
chip bonding in ambient air and in a vacuum and bonding using
nano-adhesion layers, as well as the mechanisms of bonding.

2. The MEMS ForumThe MEMS Forum was heldon July 31 (Friday) in a special
conference area at the 20 t h
Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS
for the purpose of distributing
information on the activities ofthe MEMS Industry Forum(MIF), a special project committee of the Micromachine Center,and encouraging the exchange of ideas.
In Session 1 of this year’s Forum, which was held under theoverall theme “Toward development and expansion of the
MEMS Industry: an update from the MEMS Industry Forum,”the MIF reported on technology trends in MEMS seen atinternational conferences, trends in the MEMS industry,including trends in MEMS applications and company’s breaking
into MEMS fields, and the MIF’s international standardization
activities in MEMS fields.
Session 2 had the sub-theme of “Enhancing theinfrastructure for MEMS R&D and production to prevail inglobal competition.” Presentations included the proposed

Dr. Kurosawa, Tokyo
Institute of Technology

Dr. Suga, the Universityof Tokyo

The Advanced Technology Forum attracted 19 participants
composed of MIF members, personnel involved in the BEANS
Project, and general visitors. Following the lectures on thesecutting edge technologies and a round of lively Q&A, some ofthe participants adjourned to the Micromachine Center’s
conference room to further discuss these technologies andexchange opinions with Drs. Suga and Kurosawa, bringing themeeting to a harmonious close.

3

Activities of the MEMS System Development Center
The enthusiastic atmosphere at the conference hallthroughout the presentation of results and the exhibition
showed a strong interest in the achievements of this project. We
hope that more companies will utilize this data for commercial
products and that the project will lead to new collaborations.
Information on all of the activities in the project performed
thus far, materials prepared for the presentation of results, andNEDO reports are available via the Fine MEMS Project linkprovided on the Micromachine Center’s home page. Feel free tomake use of these materials.

1. Presentation of Results from the Fine MEMS Projectand Activities for Disseminating MEMSPedia
A meeting for presenting the results from the Highly
Integrated, Complex MEMS Production Technology
Development Project (the Fine MEMS Project) commissioned
and subsidized by the New Energy and Industrial Technology
Development Organization (NEDO) was held on July 31(Friday) in a special conference room set up within East Hall 5of Tokyo Big Sight as part of the MicroNano 2009 event(sponsored by NEDO and cosponsored by METI). The meeting
began with opening remarks from the sponsor given by Katsuya
Okano, head of the Machinery System Technology Development
Department at NEDO, and was followed by a guest speech by
Motoki Korenaga, Deputy Director of the Industrial Machinery
Division under METI’s Manufacturing Industries Bureau. Next,
Dr. Isao Shimoyama, project leader of the Fine MEMS Projectand professor of the Graduate School of Information, Science,
and Technology, the University of Tokyo, gave an overview ofachievements made through the Fine MEMS Project.
Thereafter, the individual leaders for each of the ninecommissioned projects and the eight subsidized projects gave adetailed report on their own project achievements, which led tomuch lively discussion. As was the case with last year’s meetingfor presenting the interim achievements, this year’s meeting
proved to be quite popular, with a large enough audience to fillmost of the approximately 200-person-capacity hall and toexhaust all 400 copies of the prepared material handouts.
Similarly, NEDO’s booth on the Fine MEMS Project at theexhibition center attracted a large number of visitors and also
served as a place for more in-depth and animated discussion on
the presentation of results. Panel exhibits and computerdemonstrations were provided at both the NEDO booth and theMicromachine Center booth on the knowledge database andMEMS equivalent circuit generator, which the Micromachine
Center made available to the public in June 2009 under thename MEMSPedia. There was a lot of positive feedback on
MEMSPedia, with many visitors looking forward to further
developments and expanded functions in the tool.

Web page for the Fine MEMS Project

2. Nano-Tech R&D Base, Tsukuba
METI’s policy measures for strengthening the role of AIST
Tsukuba Central as an R&D base for nanotechnology haveentered the implementation stage. The measures call for moreemphasis on N/MEMS, as well as nanoelectronics and powerelectronics. The policy sets a new direction that will not only
enhance MEMS R&D at the arena, but also initiate
implementation of the arena as a center for trial manufacturing,with the Micromachine Center playing an active role in planning
the specifics. In addition to cutting-edge technologies
emphasizing multilayer integration, large-diameter wafers, andlow environmental impact, the MMC recognizes the importanceof a trial production line that facilitates the transition to mass
production and is investigating this possibility. We will be
providing more information as the investigation progresses.

Presentation of the Fine MEMS Project (upper left)
and MEMSPedia demonstrations

4

Dissemination and Publicity Projects
1. Report on the 20th Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS

We also set up computers at the booth in order that visitors
could explore the MEMS Mall. The booth was quite popular,
particularly among visitors seeking business opportunities, withmany people remarking that the exhibit helped them see the big
picture of the MEMS market and some people expressing adesire to include their company in the MEMS Mall.

We are pleased that so many of you visited the Micromachine
Center’s booths at the 20 th Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS
throughout the entire MicroNano 2009 event. The following is a
description of the exhibits at each booth.
(1) Special 20th Anniversary Booth
To commemorate the 20 t h anniversary of Exhibition
Micromachine/MEMS, we created a chronological table entitled“Twenty years of progress” to take a look back at the growth ofthe exhibition from its beginnings at the 1 s t Industrial
Micromachine Exhibition to the now world-leading event
MicroNano 2009, and guided visitors on a journey through thishistory using large panel exhibits. This booth also featured thedebut of “MMC Concierge,” an experimental navigation systemdesigned to help visitors locate products and technologies ofinterest in the exhibition hall. We are happy to report that manyof you made use of this service.

(4) MEMS Foundry BoothAt this booth, we prepared panel exhibits and a computer
corner for introducing the MEMS foundry network composed ofmembers in the Foundry Service Industry Committee under theMicromachine Center, and the on-line help desk MEMStationthat accepts inquiries from users seeking information on thefoundry service. We received much feedback from visitors
looking forward to further developments in and expansion of
MEMStation and the foundry network.

MEMS Mall BoothMEMS Foundry Booth

2. Adjusted Participation Fee for the MEMS Mall
The Special 20 t h Anniversary BoothThe Micromachine Center launched the MEMS Mall on its
Web site to provide information on products and technologies
developed by MEMS-related companies. This Web site serves as
an Internet portal for MEMS businesses, allowing access to
information on the entire MEMS industry.
In order to make it easier for non-member companies who
did host an exhibit at this year’s Exhibition
Micromachine/MEMS to participate in the MEMS Mall, we
decided to discount the membership fee to a flat 50 thousand
yen rate for all companies throughout FY 2009.

(2) MemsONE BoothThe MemsONE booth doubled in size from the previous
year’s exhibition, as we greatly expanded promotional activities
through videos, panel exhibits, computer demonstrations,
pamphlets, a free offer for temporary use of the MemsONE
software, and the establishment of a consultation corner. We
are happy to report that visitors to this booth showed a keeninterest in the MemsONE software distributed at the booth, andwe have since issued many licenses for the product.
Incidentally, the demonstration software provided at the boothis the full version, with no functional restrictions. If there are
any of you who have yet to install and evaluate the program, we
hope that you will do so and apply for a license.

Exhibition
Micromachine/MEMS(FY 2009)
Did exhibit

Did not exhibit

Non-member companies

50,000 yen

50,000 yen(revised*)

MIF Industry members

No charge

No charge

MIF Associate members(corporations)

No charge

No charge

MIF Associate members(small/medium ventures)

No charge

50,000 yen

Participation fee for the MEMS Mall (tax excluded)
For companies that decide to participate in the MEMS Mallduring the current fiscal year, the fees will be prorated based on thenumber of months of participation from the start of the company’s
publication on the Web site until the end of the fiscal year.
* Beginning from FY 2010, the participation fee in the
MEMS Mall for non-member companies not hosting an
exhibit at the Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS will returnto the previous annual rate of 100 thousand yen.

MemsONE Booth(3) MEMS Mall BoothAt the MEMS Mall booth, panel exhibits were used to
explain how the Web-based MEMS Mall introduces MEMSrelated products and technologies, and to list participating
businesses and describe how other businesses can participate.

5

Activities of the BEANS Laboratory

Achievements and Activities of the BEANS Project
At its five research centers (Life BEANS Center, Life
BEANS Center Kyushu, 3D BEANS Center, 3D BEANS Center
Shiga, and Macro BEANS Center) and its head office, theBEANS Laboratory has been conducting R&D on process
technologies for integrating biomaterials, integrating organic
matter, fabricating 3D nanostructures, fabricating 3D
nanostructures for space applications, and large-area
continuous manufacturing of micro/nanostructures, and has
been developing a knowledge database for next-generation
device fabrication technologies integrating heterogeneous
fields. We have presented our research achievements at twentytwo academic conferences worldwide, including Transducers
2009, and have applied for five patents. In order to further
publicize the achievements of the BEANS Project, we exhibitedat the 20th Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS held at MicroNano
2009 on July 29–31, and organized the 3rd BEANS Project
Seminar. Moreover, we did press releases and the rosuH was
published in the newspapers and journal articles and wastelecasted on the television coverage. This article describes thecontents of MicroNano 2009 and the press release held on June
19 as a part of the activities of the BEANS Project.

(2) 3rd BEANS Project Seminar
The seminar was held in conference area B on July 30(Thursday) at 13:10–17:00. Following greetings by Akira
Uehara, executive director of NEDO, and Atsushi Yusa, theBEANS project leader, Professor Masayoshi Esashi of Tohoku
University gave a guest lecture entitled “Prospects for MEMS
and expectations for the BEANS Project” and Deputy Editor
Tsuneyuki Miyake of Nikkei Microdevices gave a guest lecture
on “The MEMS market and recent technical trends.” Then, Sub
Project Leader Hiroyuki Fujita, a professor at the University ofTokyo, introduced “The structure and significance of the
BEANS Project,” After that the center director or otherprincipal researcher for each research center (Associate
Professor Masaharu Takeuchi, Professor Chihaya Adachi,
Associate Professor Masakazu Sugiyama, Professor Seiji
Samukawa, Professor Masaaki Kimata, and Group Leader
Toshihiro Ito) gave clear and concise presentations on the coreresearch and achievements of their respective projects. While
the presentations continued for a long time with no break, the200-capacity conference area remained overcapacity, withmany of the audience standing throughout.

1. MicroNano 2009(1) 20th Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS
The Exhibition Micromachine/MEMS provided an
opportunity for us to show the R&D achievements of each
BEANS research center through posters and actual
demonstrations. Models were made to simplify explanations onsuch difficult topics as neutral beam etching and supercriticalfilm deposition by visually illustrating the theory and principlesof these technologies. We also demonstrated functional vests
equipped with organic devices, and cloth-like touch sensors
formed of woven functional fibers to provide simple illustrationsof some developments in BEANS technology. Posters on theexterior of the booth facing the walkway provided an overall
description of the BEANS head quaters, while posters on
interior area illustrated the location of each research center inKyushu, Shiga, Tsukuba, and Tokyo (Komaba Campus) andprofiles of all researchers participating in the project. Set off in
a conspicuous green hue adorned with the bean logo thatsymbolizes the project, the booth attracted large crowds on
every day of the conference and elicited enthusiastic
discussion.

BEANS Project booth

Project Leader Atsushi Yusa giving the opening
remarks at the seminar

2. Press Release
Is Your Ear Glowing?! Developing a Blood Sugar Sensor
that Glows under the Skin
A press release was held from the Life BEANS Center onJune 19, 2009. Twelve mass communication companies
participated. The TV coverage was done at the same time in
NHK and Fuji Television, and it was delivered on news and theInternet at that night.
The press release announced that the Center had
succeeded in manufacturing beads with a uniform diameter ofabout 100 microns through microfabrication of a hydrogel
whose light emission varies in intensity according to the level ofblood sugar. By embedding these beads in a mouse’s ear,fluorescent light could be observed externally, as shown in thephoto. The Center was able to measure the brightness of thebeads externally as the brightness fluctuated in response tochanges in the surrounding glucose concentration. This
technology may lead to the future development of an embedded
blood sugar sensor for humans.

Demonstration offunctional vests

A mouse’s ear glows from embedded fluorescent gel beads

6Research Centers for the BEANS Project (Part I)
1. Life BEANS Center (the University of Tokyo)

2. 3D BEANS Center (the University of Tokyo)

The MEMS devices that are expected to become essential in
the fields of health, medical care, and the environment will be
implantable medical devices for around-the-clock healthmanagement, ultra-high-sensitivity on-site prevention anddiagnostic devices, on-site environmental control devices for
improving and preserving the environment, and energy
harvesting devices for the effective utilization of natural energy.
However, in order to manufacture such devices, it isnecessary to develop processes for fusing the desirable
functions possessed by biomaterials and organic matter(biomolecules, cells, tissues, microbes, and synthetic organic
molecules) with conventional materials used in current MEMS.
In addition to the members involved in MEMS fields, ourresearch center has assembled researchers from health carebusinesses, researchers active in biotechnology fields forstudying regenerative medicine and proteins, for example, anddoctors from university hospitals, all of who work day and nighton research for fusing heterogeneous fields.
These efforts have continuously produced research findingsthat are fascinating enough to be covered by the news media,
such as a cell doll and fluorescent gel beads, even though wehave been conducting research under the BEANS Project forless than one year. While we have plans to continue upgradeson the research facilities, the center is steadily conducting
studies on seeds needed to produce even more fascinating
results in the future.
As we have plans to add more people to the staff in
October, you can expect that the Life BEANS Center willcontinue to grow stronger.

The 3D BEANS Center comprises seven companies, four
universities, and one research institute and may be
distinguished from the other research centers by the large
number of members–more than half of the staff–who aredispatched from companies. It may be accurate to say thatthese employees gradually became acclimated to the lifestyleand culture at the university over a period of about one year,
since they were forced into a lifestyle quite different from thecorporate environment and culture to which they had become
accustomed. During last year, the inaugural year of the BEANS
Project, most of our duties were far removed from research,such as outfitting the laboratory that included construction of
the clean room and setting up equipment. On many occasion it
seemed that we would never reach our intended purpose of
conducting research. However, things have now settled down,
and we have sufficient equipment installed for performing ourown work. Although overdue, we are now progressing slowly
but surely and will have much more to show for our efforts inthe near future.
We have already begun implementing joint research
projects with other research centers in the BEANS Project thathave greater needs, since the 3D BEANS Center primarily
studies etching, film formation, and other technologies rooted
in semiconductor processes, and it is likely that ourcollaborations will continue to increase. For example, we havebegun fusing our low-damage dry etching and supercritical fluid
deposition (SCFD) technique with the organic film formation
technologies practiced at the Life BEANS Kyushu Center. By
utilizing our low-damage dry etching in the Kyushu center’sorganic film deposition, we have been able to form 3D
structures never before seen, indicating that this could lead to a
new processing method. In order to accelerate our research, weplan to install special equipment for etching organic films at theLife BEANS Kyushu Center in the near future. Some of theresearchers at the 3D BEANS Center will be traveling to
Kyushu to help set up the equipment. We are also making
steady progress on a study for deposition of the unique organic
films at Life BEANS Kyushu using our supercritical fluid
deposition (SCFD) technique. Further, while in fields otherthan research we have worked with the Life BEANS Center,with which we share a lounge at the University of Tokyo, thisyear joint research projects between the two centers have been
proposed as we gradually get on track to achieve the primary
BEANS objective of fusing dissimilar fields. Hereafter, the 3D
BEANS Center will continue in its efforts to serve as a bridge
for the fusion of heterogeneous fields.

R&D conducted at the Life BEANS Center(1) Process technologies for nano-interface fusion
The Life BEANS Center is developing interface control
processes for controlling the orientation of materials andachieving selective placement, immobilization, and high-density
coating of materials in order to utilize functions likebiocompatibility, specific molecular recognition, high-efficiency
multi-stage reactions, and high-efficiency energy harvesting. We
are also conducting R&D on processes for forming biomaterials
with long-term stability, such as hydrogels and artificial lipid
bilayers with high biocompatibility.
(2) Structuring of bio/organic materials
The center will establish processes for expressing advanced
cell functions through the structuring of bio/organic materials
and will acquire technical guidelines for reproducibility anduniformity of process technologies such as processes for
producing 3D heterostructures of cells using their capacity for
self-assembly.

7

OtherMembers’ Profiles

Shineisha Co. Ltd.
1. Business Summary
Shineisha has specialized in the manufacturing of photomasks since 1963. By manufacturing photomasks over these last 46
years under the corporate philosophy “Meet the needs of our customers promptly and with 100% satisfaction,” we have done
our best to make some contribution to the semiconductor industry. Our clientele includes university research institutes,
corporate R&D institutes, and electronics companies.
After becoming a supporting member of the Micromachine Center in March 2009, Shineisha participated in the Exhibition
Micromachine/MEMS held in July of the same year with an exhibit on ultraprecision photomasks for MEMS. The company
remains committed to developing superior products with no equal.

2. Product Lines• Ultraprecision photomasks from 2”, 4”, 5”, 6”, 7”, 8”, and 9” up to a maximum size of 2  2.5 meters• Ultraprecision photomasks for MEMS, thin-film integrated circuits, master integrated circuits, MPUs, package substrates,and electronic parts• Photomasks for flat panel displays, such as flat-screen TVs• Photomasks and lead frames for printed circuit boards

3. Photomask Technology
Shineisha is equipped with more than ten writing tools required to manufacture photomasks of various sizes, as well as
inspection and repair systems. In addition to the VIOLD laser plotter, which we have used for some time, we recently added a
production line to our Sagamihara plant in Kanagawa Prefecture for manufacturing high-resolution chrome masks. The
production line was installed by the U.S. company Applied Materials, who purchased Etec Systems, and includes the CORE
laser lithography tool. CORE employs an argon ion laser with a wavelength of 363.8 nm that is capable of writing lines as fine
as 0.6µm with a line width precision of 0.05µm.
Photomasks for MEMS having a line width greater than 3µm are written with the conventional VIOLD system, while highresolutions masks with a finer line width are written using the CORE system, enabling us to provide more reasonable
photomasks to MEMS companies that have typically used semiconductor reticles. We hope that you take advantage of our
photomasks when developing and producing your MEMS devices.

Steps in Photomask Fabrication
Blank

Write

Develop

Etch

Analysis
When defects are detected in the primary
photomask fabrication process,the defective area must be analyzed
to identify the cause.

A glass substrate coated witha layer of metal and resist

A circuit design is written
by exposing the resist witha laser beam

Attach pellicle

Repair

The exposed resist isremoved to develop
the circuit pattern

The metal layer is etchedwherever the resist wasremovedMeasure andvisually inspect

Strip and clean

Inspect to determine whether
the shape, dimensions, andposition of the pattern matchthe design data

Resist not used for the circuit
pattern is removed andthe remaining structure cleaned

Photomask specifications
Any defects found in the visualinspection are repaired

A protective membrane,or pellicle, is attached
to prevent contamination

Defective parts are removed
by laser
Defective parts are repairedby focused ion beams

Substrate size

Substrate thickness

Material

The product is subsequently packaged and shipped to the customer

Announcement
We would like to announce the recent appointment of Hisao Sakuta (President and CEO of Omron Corporation) to replace
Tamotsu Nomakuchi (President and CEO of Mitsubishi Electric Corporation) as chairman of the Micromachine Center and chair of
the BEANS Laboratory. We ask for your continued cooperation as we go forward.
The first address from the new director will be combined with his New Year’s address and included in the first edition of thequarterly magazine MICRONANO of 2010.

MICRONANO No. 69
MICRONANO is published quarterly by Micromachine Center (MMC), BEANS Technical Research Association(BEANS . TRA) to promote the international exchange of information related to micromachines, R&D and othertechnical topics, and is circulated free of change. Please send your comments about MICRONANO to the publisher :Keiichi Aoyagi, Executive Director, Micromachine Center (MMC)
MBR99 Bldg., 6F., 67 Kanda Sakumagashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0026, Japan
Tel : +81-3-5835-1870, Fax : +81-3-5835-1873
Internet Home Page h t t p : / / w w w . m m c . o r . j p /Date of Issue : November 13, 2009