MEMs Applications other than Sensors EE 4611 Patrick Davich 4/13/16

Outline What are MEMs? How can they be used in other ways than sensors?

What are MEMs? MEMs are Micro-Electrical-Mechanical systems Essentially bridge the gap between mechanical motions and electrical current, in either direction Used commonly in microsensors, as stated by previous presentations

Other Applications Optical applications Non-Volatile Memory Digital Micromirrors (projection) Non-Volatile Memory RF applications

Optical Applications MEMs can be very small, on the magnitude of the wavelength of light Because they use light to communicate, switches can be much smaller A spider mite dwarfs a micromachined mirror assembly. Courtesy Sandia National Laboratories, SUMMiTTM Technologies, www.mems.sandia.gov.

Projection and Digital Imaging Portable Projectors require digital mirroring in order to create images Two mirrors in the on and off position. A mirror in the on position directs light toward the projection optics. The mirrors are shown transparent to show device components. (Illustration courtesy of Texas Instruments.)

Non-Volatile Memory Because they are mechanically driven, switches can latch and stay in that position when power is taken away Works using a floating gate and a metal actuator

RF Applications Low-power filters/Variable capacitors Switches Valuable due to the small size that it is capable of

RF Filters Can adjust capacitors using vibrations, thus changing the LC constant in the filter

5 Key Points Main draw to MEMs in all of these applications is the ability to make it a very small size It is also unique because it combines mechanical and electrical elements, much like a motor Most common application is sensors, but can clearly be used elsewhere as well They are valuable for outage situations Can be used to tune RF devices

Sources http://www.memsnet.org/mems/what_is.html https://compliantmechanisms.byu.edu/content/introduction-microelectromechanical-systems-mems http://www.nature.com/ncomms/journal/v2/n3/full/ncomms1227.html http://www.memtronics.com/files/RF%20MEMS%20Based%20Tunable%20Filters%20RFMCAE01.pdf