Bringing MEMS From the Lab to the Marketplace

Complex machines with micron-sized features are being pulled from the lab and used in high-tech, big-money commercial applications.

They are machines that are too small to view with the human eye. The gears that make them work are no larger than a grain of pollen. They are made possible by microelectromechanical systems, or MEMS. These micron-sized devices can be manufactured in batches of tens of thousands on silicon wafers, using semiconductor fabrication techniques. Their cost is low and their potential is high.

As we described in our MEMs feature in the August NASA Tech Briefs, new applications for MEMS devices are popping up every day in industries such as automotive, medical, and optics. It's a relatively new market; the idea of MEMS devices was introduced in the 1960s. But the potential market for this technology is expected to reach $3 billion in the next three years.

While commercial companies like Endevco Corp. and IntelliSense are firmly entrenched in the areas of sensors, accelerometers, and MEMS design software, many of the most exciting new applications for MEMS are coming out of government and independent research labs. Sandia National Laboratories is one recognized leader in the field, focusing on defense and commercial applications. Their projects range from inertial sensors for commercial applications to locking mechanisms for weapons systems.

Last year, Sandia spun off a private company, MEMX, to commercialize the lab's MEMS technology developments. MEMX, located in Albuquerque, NM, is focusing on producing optical switches for the telecom industry. Paul McWhorter, a MEMX founder and deputy director of Sandia's Microsystems Science, Technology, and Components Center, anticipates considerable interest in the optical switches due to the demand for bandwidth created by the Internet.

"Optical switching applications are a driving force in the MEMS arena right now," said McWhorter. "A key challenge is that traditional techniques for performing optical switching can't keep up with the explosion in demand. Optical switches present the 'speed bumps' on the information superhighway."

The advantage of using MEMS technology is a significant cost savings, according to McWhorter. "Because they are batch-fabricated using standard integrated circuit manufacturing techniques, MEMS offer an affordable technique for creating large arrays of high-performance mirrors on a single silicon chip."

While the initial focus of the company is on optical switching, MEMX is planning to broaden its product line, becoming not only a supplier of commercial technology, but also a supplier back to Sandia for national security applications.

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