According to relevant data, in the global sensor market, the United States to 29% market share to occupy the throne of the first global sensor market share, which is closely related to the United States has always attached great importance to the sensor.
The United States is the source of the information revolution, as one of the three major technological cornerstones of modern information technology, sensors have been regarded as a key high-tech technology by the United States. As early as 2004, the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) released a very forward-looking special report - "The Sensor Revolution" (The Sensor Revolution). (If you are interested in this report, please refer to the content: NSF Releases: The Sensor Revolution.)
MEMS ( Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) is a revolutionary technology in the sensor field. As part of a series of actions to promote the popularization of sensor education in the United States, NSF has funded SCME (Support Center for Microsystems Education), which aims to popularize and support MEMS education.
This article is translated from History of MEMS, one of SCME's educational series, which provides a comprehensive history of MEMS technology, covering key technology nodes and milestones in MEMS: including the most famous MEMS presentations, the discovery of the silicon resistive effect (which isthe basis ofMEMSpressuresensors), the most cited papers in the MEMS field, and other content. papers, etc. It is recommended for everyone!
For "History of MEMS" (History of MEMS) PDF original document (English), you can search for keywords [ MEMS history ] in the sensor expert network, in the article details page for information download can be.
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Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are miniature systems that are present in our daily lives. MEMS components range in size from one part per million (micron) to one part per thousand (millimeters). They are also known as micromechanics, microsystems, micromachines, or microsystems technology (MST).
MEMS are manufactured from a wide variety of materials and processes using materials such as semiconductors, plastics, ceramics, ferroelectrics, magnetics, and⽣.
Materials used include semiconductors, plastics, ceramics, iron, magnetic, and⽣ materials.
MEMS are used as sensors, actuators, accelerometers,switches, gamecontrollers, and light reflectors, to name just a few applications.
MEMS are currently used in automobiles, aerospace technology, vitality and medical applications, inkjet printers, wireless and optical communications, and new use cases are emerging every day.
In 1965, Gordon Moore made the observation that since the invention of the transistor in the late 1940s, the number of transistors per square inch onintegratedcircuitshad doubled every 18 months from the late 1950s until the early 1960s , an observation that underlies "Moore's Law. Moore said in this statement, "For the foreseeable future, technology will focus on being smaller, not larger."
"Moore indicated that technology has and will for the foreseeable future concentrate on smaller, not bigger. "
Like the transistor, people have been trying to make electromechanical systems smaller and smaller, and a man named Richard Feynman put it best in his famous 1959 lecture entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom": "They tell me that the electric motor is the size of the fingernail on your little finger, and it's a small, small world."
Gordon Moore and Richard Feynman are just two examples of the scientists who are predicting smaller and smaller emerging MEMS technologies. This article will discuss key technology nodes and milestones that are emerging in the MEMS field.
Important MEMS Milestones
The birth of MEMS devices has taken place in many places and through the efforts of many people. Of course, new MEMS technologies and applications are being developed every day. This includes the many efforts that have led to the development of MEMS.
Below is a timeline that completes the timeline of MEMS technology development. Starting with the first point contact transistor made in 1947 and ending with the optical network switch in 1999, MEMS has contributed to the current state of MEMS technology and nanotechnology through many innovations in more than 50 years.
Below about the 35 major milestones in the history of MEMS, we can see that there are many well-known laboratories, universities and companies that have made significant contributions to the development of MEMS:
- 1948, Germanium transistor invented at Bell Labs (William Shockley)
- 1954, piezoresistive effect of germanium and silicon (C.S. Smith)
- 1958, first integrated circuit (IC) (J.S. Kilby 1958/Robert Noyce 1959)
- 1959, "Lots of room at the bottom" (R. Feynman)
- 1959, demonstrated the first silicon pressure sensor (Kulite)
- 1967, Anisotropic deep silicon etching (H.A. Waggener et al.)
- 1968, Resonant gate transistor patented (surface micromachining process) (H. Nathanson et al.)
- 1970, Batch-etched silicon wafers used as pressure sensors (batch micromachining process)
- 1971, Microprocessor invented
- 1979, Hewlett-Packard micromachined inkjet nozzle
- 1982, "Silicon as a structural material" (K. Petersen)
- 1982, LIGA process (KfK, Germany)
- 1982, Disposable blood pressure sensor (Honeywell)
- 1983, Integrated Pressure Sensor (Honeywell)
- 1983, "Infinitesimal Machinery", R. Feynman.
- 1985, Sensor or Crash Sensor (Airbag)
- 1985, Discovery of the "Buckyball"
- 1986, Invention of the atomic force microscope
- 1986, Silicon wafer bonding (M. Shimbo)
- 1988: Mass production of pressure sensors by wafer bonding (Nova Sensor)
- 1988, Rotary electrostatic side drivemotor(Fan, Tai, Muller)
- 1991, Annual polycrystalline silicon hinge (Pister, Judy, Burgett, Fearing).
- 1991, Discovery of carbon nanotubes
- 1992, grating light modulators (Solgaard, Sandejas, Bloom)
- 1992, Bulk micromachining (SCREAM process, Cornell)
- 1993, Digital Mirror Display (TexasInstruments)
- 1993, MCNC creates MUMPS foundry service
- 1993, First mass-produced surface-micromachined accelerometer (Analog Devices)
- 1994, Bosch deep reactive ion etching process patented
- 1996, Richard Smalley develops a technology to produce carbon nanotubes of uniform diameter.
- 1999, Optical network switches (Lucent)
- 2000s, optical MEMS boom
- 2000s, BioMEMS surge
- The 2000s saw an increase in the number of MEMS devices and applications.
- 2000s, NEMS applications and technology development
1947 Invention of the Point-Contact Transistor (Germanium)
In 1947, William Shockley, John Bardeen, and Walter Brattain of Bell Labs succeeded in building the first point-contact transistor. This transistor utilized germanium, a semi-conducting chemical element.
This invention demonstrated the ability to make transistors from semiconductor materials, allowingbetter control ofvoltageandcurrent. It also opened the door to making smaller and smaller transistors. The patent for the germanium NPN growth junction transistor was filed by William Shockley in 1948.
The first transistor was about a half-inch tall and was certainly huge compared to today's standards. Today, scientists can create nanotransistors that are about 1 nanometer in diameter. For reference, a human hair is about 60-100 microns.
Discovery of the piezoresistive effect in silicon and germanium in 1954
In 1954, C.S. Smith discovered the piezoresistive effect in semiconductor materials such as silicon and germanium. This piezoresistive effect in semiconductors can be orders of magnitude greater than the geometric piezoresistive effect in metals. This discovery was important for MEMS because it showed that silicon and germanium could sense the pressure of air or water better than metals.
The discovery of the piezoresistive effect in semiconductors led to the commercial development of silicon strain gauges in 1958.In 1959, Kulite Corporation was founded as the first commercial source of bare silicon strain gauges.
In 1958, the first integrated circuit (IC) was invented
When the transistor was invented, the actual size of each transistor was limited because it had to be connected to wires and other electronic devices. As a result, the shrinking of the transistor came to a standstill until the advent of the "integrated circuit".
An integrated circuit would consist of transistors, resistors, capacitors, and wires to meet the needs of a particular application. If an integrated circuit could be fabricated entirely on a single substrate, the entire device could be made even smaller.
Almost at the same time, two people independently developed integrated circuits.
In 1958, Jack Kilby, working for Texas Instruments, developed a working model of a "solid-state circuit". This circuit consisted of a transistor, three resistors, and a capacitor, all mounted on a sheet of germanium.
Soon after, Robert Noyce of Fairchild Semiconductor made the first "unit circuit", an integrated circuit made on a silicon chip. This integrated circuit was made on a silicon chip, and Robert Noyce received his first patent in 1961.
1959 "Lots of room at the bottom"
In 1959, at a meeting of the American Physical Society, a man named Richard Feynman popularized the development of micro- and nanotechnology with a famous seminal lecture entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom."
In his lecture, he posed the question: "Why can't we write the entire 24-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica on the head of a pin?"