Microelectromechanical systems
MEMS: micro-electromechanical systems are the key ingredient of micro-mechatronics. Micro-electromechanical systems are – as the name suggests – devices with significant dimensions in the micrometre regime or less. Highly suited to integration with electronic and microwave circuitry, they provide the key to electro-mechanical functionalities unachievable with classical precision mechatronics. Commercialisation of mass-produced Microelectromechanical systems products is rapidly picking up pace and includes printer ink-jet technology, 3D accelerometers, integrated pressure sensors, and Digital Light Processing (DLP) displays. At the cutting edge of Microelectromechanical systems fabrication and integration technologies are nano- electromechanical systems (NEMS). Typical examples are micrometres long, tens of nanometres thick, and have mechanical resonance frequencies approaching 100 MHz. Their small physical dimensions and mass (of order pico-grams) makes them highly sensitive to changes in stiffness; this, their synergy with mechanical and data processing systems, and the option of attaching chemical/ biological molecules, makes them ideal for ultra high-performance mechanical, chemical and biological sensing applications.