Microelectronic Mechanical Systems (MEMS) are becoming more and more common; the technology enables greater power and supreme complexity in a small, single single system. MEMS technology is essentially very micro machines, small mechanical devices driven by electricity.
MEMS are found in the following:
- Inkjet Printers
- Accelerometers
- MEMS gyroscopes
- Pressure sensors: silicon, car tire and blood pressure
- Displays with several hundred thousand micro mirrors
- Optical switching in data communications
- Bio-MEMS
- MEMS Optical Switches
MEMS devices typically combine electronic circuitry with mechanical structures to produce different outcomes. With optical switches, the key mechanical components are MEMS-based micro-machined mirrors. These are created with silicon chips using well-established, very-large-scale integration and complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) foundry processes.
MEMS Optic Devices
The general attributes of MEMS Optic Devices are that they are small and inexpensive, fabricated like an IC, easily scalable into a large number of devices, can be integrated with analog and digital circuits, are robust and long-lived, provide extraordinarily flexibility and finally are a very good match for optics.
