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- Analog Devices, Inc.
- Foster-Miller Inc.
- MIT Microsystems Technology Laboratories
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- Fraunhofer USA Center for Manufacturing Innovation
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MEMS
The Manufacturing Engineering Department at Boston University is home to an active program in Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) research. In MEMS, the tools that emerged from the semiconductor manufacturing revolution are employed to design and build electronic, mechanical, and optical devices whose dimensions are measured in nanometers and micrometers. Like their microelectronic counterparts, MEMS devices can be made extremely small and in great numbers economically. Unlike microelectronic devices, MEMS components often feature three-dimensional moving structures, and must interact with their physical environment directly instead of being encapsulated in a solid-state package. Advances in MEMS technology over the past decade have revolutionized manufacturing processes and industries, resulting in entirely new products ranging from micromirrors that redirect fiber optic telecommunication signals, to ink-spraying devices for ink-jet printer heads, from micro accelerometers that activate automobile air-bags to implantable drug delivery systems. Nearly all areas of advanced technology and manufacturing have been directly affected by this emerging field.
The research program at Boston University has grown exponentially over the past few years, with research expenditures of several million dollars annually. Our work in MEMS focuses on several important problems. We have an active program in Optical MEMS systems —electromechanical devices to improve the performance of imaging and communication systems. One of the more successful outcomes of this research has been the design, fabrication and testing of a new class of micromirror array that can be used to improve the resolution of microscopes, telescopes, and biomedical instruments. Two specific types of these devices, developed at the University — MEMS deformable mirrors and MEMS spatial light modulators — have been incorporated into test-beds worldwide to exploit this new technology. Our work on optical MEMS is conducted primarily in the Photonics Center, where world-class facilities for modeling, producing, and measuring optical MEMS devices are housed.
Another area of active MEMS research in the Department is Power MEMS. These are systems designed to take advantage of the miniaturaztion achievable in MEMS fabrication to allow rapid, efficient processes useful for energy conversion. If successful, this will lead to a longer-lasting, lighter-weight alternatives to batteries. Current work on thermal sensors, microengines, and microvalves are addressing cricital problems in micro-energy conversion systems.
A third area of Microsystems research in the Department is BioMEMS, the use of micromechanical systems to manipulate cells, deliver drugs, perform microsurgery, and conduct biological experiments directly on microchips. In collaboration with the Fraunhofer USA Center for Manufacturing Engineering, we have built an automated gene chip factory for drug discovery and clinical experimentation. Also, we are partners with the Biomedical Engineeing Department in a Whitaker Leadership Award to establish a graduate educational program in cellular and subcellular science using bioMEMS.
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