The United States is perceived to have the lead in these areas and in sensor-circuit integration, although the Japanese programs are quite competitive, especially in realizing commercial products. Research efforts on MEMS in Japanese universities are generally less well equipped than their U.S. counterparts and involve a more diverse array of approaches and processes. While university research is one of the real strengths of MEMS in the United States, the research potential of Japanese universities is probably underdeveloped and underutilized. Still other Japanese companies are strongly involved in MEMS, but do not participate in the MITI program. MITI is encouraging participation by foreign companies in its micromachine technology program, which currently has one Australian and two U.S. participants.
Packaging technology is application-specific and is considered a major challenge in both countries.
The infrastructures for MEMS development in the United States and Japan are different, but both are effective. Strengths of the Japanese efforts include the relatively high involvement of industrial residents at Japanese universities and the ability in Japan to set long-range goals and establish multidisciplinary multiorganizational teams to accomplish them. Compared to United States in Microelectromechanical Systems Microelectromechanical systems promise to lead microelectronics into important new areas that will be revolutionized by low-cost data acquisition, signal processing, and control. These microsystems are expected to have a profound impact on society, but their development will require synergy among many different disciplines that may be slow to develop. Global leadership and cooperation will be required to realize the benefits of MEMS in a timely way.