INTRODUCTION TO MICROSYSTEMS ENGINEERING

(C-M-01-2001)


MEMS/MST technology is truly interdisciplinary. Disciplines such as electrical, mechanical, materials and chemical engineering are often combined in the development of a novel microsystem. Furthermore, scientific disciplines such as physics, optics, fluidics, biology, and biochemistry are also often used as part of a successful microsystem design. The scaling laws affecting microsystems determine that at the microscopic level, properties such as surface tension and bonding interaction (stiction) are far more important than gravity, which becomes negligible. This course discusses the physics of microdevices, and the fabrication processes available for producing microsystems. Fabrication techniques such as silicon surface micromachining, bulk micromachining and deep reactive ion etch for high aspect ratio microfabrication are introduced. Other techniques such as plastic microforming, solid free-form fabrication and micromilling techniques are also discussed.

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