MEMS and Nanotechnology is currently used in low- or medium-volume applications.
Some of the obstacles preventing its wider adoption are:
Limited Options
Most companies who wish to explore the potential of MEMS and Nanotechnology have very limited options for prototyping or manufacturing devices, and have no capability or expertise in microfabrication technology. Few companies will build their own fabrication facilities because of the high cost. A mechanism giving smaller organizations responsive and affordable access to MEMS and Nano fabrication is essential.
Packaging
The packaging of MEMS devices and systems needs to improve considerably from its current primitive state. MEMS packaging is more challenging than IC packaging due to the diversity of MEMS devices and the requirement that many of these devices be in contact with their environment. Currently almost all MEMS and Nano development efforts must develop a new and specialized package for each new device. Most companies find that packaging is the single most expensive and time consuming task in their overall product development program. As for the components themselves, numerical modeling and simulation tools for MEMS packaging are virtually non-existent. Approaches which allow designers to select from a catalog of existing standardized packages for a new MEMS device without compromising performance would be beneficial.
Fabrication Knowledge Required
Currently the designer of a MEMS device requires a high level of fabrication knowledge in order to create a successful design. Often the development of even the most mundane MEMS device requires a dedicated research effort to find a suitable process sequence for fabricating it. MEMS device design needs to be separated from the complexities of the process sequence.
How the MEMS and Nanotechnology Exchange Can Help
The MEMS and Nanotechnology Exchange provides services that can help with some of these problems.
- We make a diverse catalog of processing capabilities available to our users, so our users can experiment with different fabrication technologies. We also have a number of novel processes that are difficult to obtain from other fabrication services.
- Our users don't have to build their own fabrication facilities, and
- Our web-based interface lets users assemble process sequences and submit them for review by the MEMS and Nanotechnology Exchange's engineers and fabrication sites.