Microelectromechanical systems

The evolution and maturity of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) in the coming years will be driven less by captive fabrication facilities and process development and more by innovative, aggressive electromechanical systems design. MEMS is poised to take full advantage of advances in information technology and couple them to advances in other disciplines to drive a fundamentally new approach to electromechanical system design and fabrication. By merging sensing and actuation with computation, MEMS will not only invest existing systems with enhanced capabilities and reliability but also will make possible radically new devices and systems designs that will exploit the miniaturization, multiplicity, and microelectronics of MEMS. For the first time, approaches akin to VLSI electronics can be taken to usher in an equally exciting and productive era of VLSI electromechanics.