ABSTRACT
Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) exploit microelectronic fabrication techniques to miniaturize commonplace macroscopic objects to micron-sized dimensions. The tiny MEMS micro-gadgets typically exploit a combination of electrical and/or mechanical properties of the host building material to do their thing. 1987 was a watershed year for silicon micromachining, because techniques for integrated fabrication of mechanical systems were demonstrated for the first time. The term “micro/nanomachining” refers to the set of fabrication techniques needed for building the MEMS/NEMS/BioMEMS menagerie, and is appealingly descriptive. In 1982, the term “micromachining” came into use to designate the fabrication of micromechanical parts for use in silicon microsensors. Bulk micromachining refers to selective removal by etching of the bulk of the silicon substrate, leaving behind the desired MEMS elements. Surface micromachined MEMS gadgets have a number of advantages over their bulk micromachined cousins. Diagnostic BioMEMS is typically composed of a microfluidic MEMS assembly and some sort of MEMS sensor.
