CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 MICROELECTROMECHANICAL SYSTEMS
MEMS, microelectromechanical systems, are systems that consist of small-scale electrical and mechanical components for specific purposes. MEMS were translated into systems with electrical and mechanical components but have extended their boundaries to include optical, radio-frequency, and nano devices. As a result, depending on the components included and applications desired, MEMS have different names: for example, MOEMS (micro-optoelectromechanical systems) for optical applications, RF MEMS (radio-frequency MEMS) to refer to radio-frequency components and applications, and NEMS (nanoelectromechanical systems) if the systems include at least one component whose dimension is less than 1 µm. When MEMS use bio-related material (e.g., strands of DNA) to detect desired targets or to manipulate cells, the corresponding MEM system is currently called bioMEMS. Different names may refer to MEMS: microsystems technology (MST) in Europe and micromachines in Japan. Throughout this book, MEMS will be referred to as systems that include at least one set of electrical and mechanical components for a specific purpose. Depending on the specific purpose, more components, such as a reflective surface for a micromirror, can be added to a MEMS device. A typical dimension of a component of MEMS varies from 1 µm to a few hundred micrometers, and the overall size is approximately less than 1 mm. In this book we describe MEMS principles via a unified ...
