The Best and Fastest Ways to Learn MEMS Design

In 2003, Benedetto Vigna mused that a key to successful MEMS design was “lateral thinking of ‘Leonardo-like’ MEMS engineers … who have a breadth of skills and knowledge in technological processes, materials science, mechanical and electronic design and strong physics background.” [1] For those of us who are not “Leonardo-like,” how do we go about learning how to design a MEMS device?

If you are just getting started, the classic reference textbook for MEMS design is Microsystem Design by Stephen Senturia [2]. This book offers an introduction to MEMS and MEMS design, a discussion of microfabrication, as well as modeling strategies and physics domain considerations for MEMS, circuit, and system-level design.

For those seeking to study MEMS design at a university setting, several universities in the United States and around the world offer courses in the fundamentals of Micro and Nano Electromechanical Systems. Here is a list of some of the universities in the United States that have research laboratories dedicated to the study of MEMS and NEMS:

• The University of California at Berkeley collaborates with key players in the semiconductor and MEMS industry and has several labs dedicated in whole or in part to MEMS and NEMS research, including the Berkeley Sensor and Actuator Center (BSAC). UC Berkeley also offers a Master of Engineering degree with a concentration in MEMS and Nanotechnology.
• The University of California at Irvine has a Microsystems Lab that does research and development on chip-scale gyroscopes and Inertial Measurement Units (IMU).
• The University of Minnesota has its Nano and Microsystems Applications Center (NMAC), which provides graduate education through research along with courses in nano and microsystems and their application.
• Carnegie Mellon University has a Microelectromechanical Systems Lab doing research on miniature sensor and actuator systems.
• Boston University has a MEMS and Nanotechnology group and a Laboratory for Microsystems Technology (LMST), which is involved in interdisciplinary research on MEMS and metamaterials.
• The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has its Microsystems Technology Laboratories, which does research in integrated circuits, systems, electronic and photonic devices, MEMS, bio-MEMS, molecular devices, nanotechnology, sensors, and actuators.
• Marquette University’s MEMS and Advanced Microsystems Laboratory conducts research on membrane sensors and actuators, phase change materials, micro-electrical contacts and micro-switches, energy harvesting and storage, and micro-grids.

For students seeking shorter, non-degree training on MEMS design, these institutions offer courses on general principles of MEMS:

• High Tech Institute offers a 3-day introductory course on basic MEMS theory. This course reviews how MEMS are processed, applications of MEMS in sensors and actuators, usage issues of MEMS, and MEMS assembly, housing, testing and interconnection technologies.
• Semitracks, Inc. offers a two-day overview of MEMS technologies that covers design, manufacturing, packaging, reliability, simulation, and testing.
• The Association of Technology, Management, and Applied Engineering (ATMAE) offers a MEMS Foundation Certification (MFC) program, which covers topics related to the background, theory, and skills involved in microsystems fabrication, including an introduction to actuators, transducers, and sensors.

Coventor, a Lam Research Company, offers software and training for MEMS design using CoventorMP^®. Its CoventorMP software platform provides a unified environment for MEMS design, starting from fully parametric design entry to the production of functional models that can be simulated at all levels of abstraction. Within one interface, a user can build a MEMS device and assign material, mechanical, and electrical properties.  The user can also easily simulate device behavior, using a collection of built-in physics models.  You can even see how a MEMS device behaves within its larger circuit or system, to simulate the behavior of your final finished product.  The software includes examples and tutorials that demonstrate how to design and simulate accelerometers, gyroscopes, pressure sensors, microphones, actuators, micromirrors, microbolometers, switches, resonators, and more.

Figure 1:  MEMS Product Design using CoventorMP

Coventor also provides design-specific training and support for its customers, and CoventorMP is used as a teaching tool in many of the world’s leading university programs. CoventorMP makes it easier than ever for anyone to learn MEMS design and quickly test their new design ideas.

With the academic research, training, and software tools available today, the “Leonardo-like,” multi-disciplinary capabilities previously required to design MEMS are now within reach of anyone who wants to become a MEMS designer.

References

1. Vigna, “MEMS dilemma: how to move from the “technology push” to the “market pull” category?” 2003 International Symposium on VLSI Technology, Systems and Applications. Proceedings of Technical Papers. (IEEE Cat. No.03TH8672), 2003, pp. 159-163, doi: 10.1109/VTSA.2003.1252577.
2. Senturia, Microsystem Design, 2001, Kluwer Academic Publishers.