Assessment of Japanese Research and Development in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS)

Final Report

Outline:

Cover and Table of Contents (144Kb)
Executive Summary (179Kb)
Chapter 1: Introduction (149Kb)
Chapter 2: Japanese Initiatives, Future Outlook (264Kb)
Chapter 3: Industry and University Interactions (147Kb)
Chapter 4: Foundries and Infrastructure (353Kb)
Chapter 5: MEMS in Japan: Industry Perspectives (385Kb)
Chapter 6: Microsystems Technologies in Japan (393Kb)
Chapter 7: Emerging Applications Research in Japan-Microfluidics and Bio-MEMS (184Kb)
Chapter 8: Conclusions (156Kb)
Appendix A: Biographies of Panel Members (141Kb)
Appendix B: Site Reports (1.7Mb)
Appendix C: Microsystems Research in the United States (2.0MB)
Appendix D: Glossary (118Kb)

Workshop Information

The WTEC workshop on Microsystems Research in Japan, was held at the National Science Foundation (NSF) on January 18, 2002. At the workshop, WTEC’s panel of experts focused on the latest work going on in Japan—historically one of the leaders in microelectromechanical system (MEMS) research and development.

The panel's viewgraphs from their presentations are available.

Purpose and Scope

The goal of this study is to gather information and disseminate it to the research community on the status and trends in Japanese research and development in the field of MEMS in comparison to U.S. activities in this field.

A comparative assessment will be undertaken of U.S. and Japanese research and development in MEMS, which will provide the international research community with an evaluation of the state-of-the-art and future prospects for progress in theory and applications. The study will identify Japanese research centers of excellence that have major program initiatives in MEMS; some of these will be visited by a panel of senior U.S. MEMS researchers, while information on others will be gathered through secondary sources. The study panelists will have as their mission to analyze critically and compare MEMS research in the United States with that being pursued in Japan. The United States needs an assessment of this information and on any planned programs.This study will serve the following purposes:

to identify good ideas emerging in this field in Japan that may be worth exploring in U.S. R&D programs
to clarify research opportunities and needs for promoting progress in the field generally
to identify strategies being taken in Japan for encouraging cross-disciplinary research
to identify opportunities for international collaboration in this emerging field

Scope

Microelectromechanical systems of interest for this study are a class of devices in the sub-micron to one millimeter size range. Typical device components are fabricated using techniques based on or similar to the photolithographic processes used to manufacture semiconductor devices. However,there are some important differences between MEMS and conventional semiconductor devices. The mechanical properties of processed materials frequently manifest themselves in MEMS devices (e.g., when they are released from the substrate). On the other hand, these mechanical properties may have hidden or subtle effects in semiconductor electronic devices (which are never released from the substrate). The fabrication of integrated MEMS devices presents unique issues. The emerging use in recent years of MEMS devices in fluidics, optical, and biological applications also present novel issues.Encapsulation and interconnect technologies are a major barrier to the exploitation of MEMS in these applications.

Technical sub-topics to be covered in the study may include the following:

MEMS Science and Technology Base

Materials and processes, including processes for wafer bonding
Microsensors
Microactuators
Design and micromachining techniques
Integration and parallel assembly technologies
Packaging and encapsulation processes
Non-lithographic approaches to MEMS fabrication, such as have been supported under the MITI/METI Micromachine Program
Nano-scale electro-mechanical devices (referred to sometimes as "nano-MEMS" or "NEMS").
MEMS reliability

MEMS Applications

Bio-MEMS: devices, microfluidics, and encapsulation
Optical MEMS
MEMS data storage applications

Finally, beyond the above technical issues, the panel may also address the following non-technical issues:

Explore models of cooperation across industry and academia in Japan compared to the United States.
Examine mechanisms for international and interdisciplinary cooperation in the field and make suggestions on how cooperation can be more interactive and dynamic.
Review long range research, educational, and infrastructure issues that need to be confronted in order for MEMS research and applications to advance rapidly.
Identify new funding strategies employed by Japan that could be of use to U.S. programs.
Report on current R&D funding levels in Japan compared to the United States, to the extent data are available.
Review R&D methodology (e.g., size and educational background of research teams, management strategy, etc.).

The above list of topics will be refined by panel members in consultation with the sponsors at the study kickoff meeting.

Panelists

Roger Howe	Dept of Electrical Engineering University of California, Berkeley 497 Cory Hall # 1774 Berkeley CA 94720-1774 howe@eecs.berkeley.edu
Mark Allen	The School of Electrical and Computer Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, GA 30332-0250 mark.allen@ece.gatech.edu
Khalil Najafi	Dept of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science University of Michigan 1301 Beal Avenue Ann Arbor, Michigan, 48109-2122 najafi@umich.edu
Elliot Hui	Dept of Electrical Engineering University of California, Berkeley elliot@eecs.berkeley.edu
Andrew Berlin	Intel andrew.a.berlin@intel.com
Mineo Yamakawa	Intel mineo.yamakawa@intel.com
Dave Monk	Motorola dave.monk@motorola.com