Micro-systems

“Micro-systems and mega opportunities!”

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■  Markets demand intelligent, multi-functional, communicative, mobile, light and autonomous products. To meet these requirements, the miniaturisation of components and systems is required in a large number of innovation projects.

■  Micro-electronic technologies developed over several decades have made it possible to reduce the size of components, particularly sensors, and to increase their density in integrated circuits. After considerably reducing the sizes of components, electrical engineers realised it was advantageous to integrate, on the same silicon plate, the sensor and its signal processing electronics, followed later by the mechanical elements, gear pairs and motors.

■  This unit, called MEMS (Micro Electro-Mechanical System), is now set to invade all technical fields thanks to the advantages it generates. We have recently observed an acceleration in the history of industrial applications of MEMS, MST (MicroSystems Technologies) and Micromachine: a new technological and commercial universe is born: M³.

■  The vast amount of documentation available provides different definitions depending on the country, but it remains true that a micro-system is a multi-functional system that can detect physical-chemical units, process information collected, communicate externally and trigger actions; its volume is smaller than a few hundred mm³.

■  The first pressure micro-sensor, invented in the mid-1960s, was only marketed in 1990. Since 1998, micro-accelerometers, invented in the 1980s, have been piloting the triggering of airbags in cars. Developments take time, but new products have been announced that will soon be used in a wide number of sectors.

■  This M³ market, which represented around 16 billion euros in 2000, should double by 2004.

■  Around two thirds of MEMS are used today in the field of computer peripherals and in particular printer heads. The defence, space, aeronautics, medical, industrial automation, automobile, environment and telecommunications sectors are also concerned. In this last sector, between 2000 and 2004, the market should grow from 144 million euros to 4 billion euros; thanks to the physical properties of silicon, radio-frequency MEMS will be used to replace traditional passive components of switching applications and should represent a market of 390 million euros in 2006; micro-switches will create very rapid frequency changes for 3G telephony.

■  In the medical field, MEMS are used to detect very slight accelerations to make pacemakers self-adjustable to the different physical activities of the wearer. Drug delivery techniques will be profoundly modified with the appearance of micro-injection pumps, which will eventually be implantable; diagnosis and autonomous monitoring systems are also concerned with the development of bio-chips.

■  MEMs which measure rotation speed could also replace laser rate gyros in aircraft flight commands, enable detection of roll motion in automobiles and steer industrial robots. In the optical field, micro rate gyros equip consumer video cameras, which detect any trembling from amateur film-makers and make the necessary correction. The field of optical networks is also considerably affected, since the penetration of MEMS should make the market increase from just 5.5 million euros in 2000 to around 2.5 billion euros in 2005.

■  In the United States, the NSF, which launched the first research programme on MEMS, is now relayed by the DARPA; most National Laboratories and the main universities take part in its bids for tender. Japan, the European Union and Switzerland are following suit. The MEMS market is not yet mature, and already we see the emergence of nanoMEMS (NEMS). CalTech researchers used NEMS in metrology, for example, as part of fundamental research to detect nanometric charges.

■  In view of this explosion of R&D projects, innovations (145 patents filed in 1995 and 649 in 1999) and the creation of start-ups to meet the initial requirements of these emerging markets, integrators and their development partners, looking for innovation opportunities, have to manage a vast amount of technical, industrial and economic information, which is often diverse.

■  To facilitate understanding of the field and the provide engineers and policy makers with selected and summarised information, Innovation 128 has been conducting, since March 2002, a new Technological and Strategic Watch programme dedicated to micro-systems.

Main themes

■  Components

  • materials (silicon, AsGa, magnetostrictive, piezo-electrical, shape memory alloys)
  • micro-sensors (physical units, non-physical units)
  • micro-actuators (micro-valves, micro-pumps, micro-motors, other)
  • micro-chips
  • energy sources (remote power supplies, embedded sources)

■  Manufacturing technologies

  • micro-stereolithography
  • LIGA
  • assembly of MEMS
  • assembly of MOEMS

■  Appearances

  • Distributed Intelligent Systems
  • NEMS
  • biomimetism

■  Applications and feedback

  • aeronautics
  • space & defence
  • automobile
  • telecommunications
  • health
  • optical
  • consumer electronics
  • industry
  • other

■  Market data and trends

  • Europe
  • United States
  • Japan
  • Rest of world

■  Internet Bookmark

  • industrial units
  • R&D expertise centres
  • academic laboratories
  • national and trans-national programmes
  • associations & networks
  • international events