Typical Applications:

There are plenty of applications for MEMS. As a breakthrough technology, MEMS is building synergy between previously unrelated fields such as biology and microelectronics, many new MEMS .

MEMS technology finds applications in the below general domains

Automotive domain: 1. Airbag Systems 2. Vehicle Security Systems 3. Intertial Brake Lights 4. Headlight Leveling 5. Rollover Detection 6. Automatic Door Locks 7. Active Suspension

Consumer domain: 1. Appliances 2. Sports Training Devices 3. Computer Peripherals 4. Car and Personal Navigation Devices 5. Active Subwoofers

Industrial domain: 1. Earthquake Detection and Gas Shutoff 2. Machine Health 3. Shock and Tilt Sensing

Military: 1. Tanks 2. Planes 3. Equipment for Soldiers

Biotechnology: 1. Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) microsystems for DNA amplification and identification 2. Micromachined Scanning Tunneling Microscopes (STMs) 3. Biochips for detection of hazardous chemical and biological agents 4. Microsystems for high-throughput drug screening and selection 5. Bio-MEMS in medical and health related technologies from Lab-On-Chip to biosensor & chemosensor.

The commercial applications include: 1. Inkjet printers, which use piezo-electrics or thermal bubble ejection to deposit ink on paper. 2. Accelerometers in modern cars for a large number of purposes including airbag deployment in collisions. 3. Accelerometers in consumer electronics devices such as game controllers, personal media players / cell phones and a number of Digital Cameras. 4. In PCs to park the hard disk head when free-fall is detected, to prevent damage and data loss. 5. MEMS gyroscopes used in modern cars and other applications to detect yaw; e.g. to deploy a roll over bar or trigger dynamic stability control. 6. Silicon pressure sensors e.g. car tire pressure sensors, and disposable blood pressure sensors. 7. Displays e.g. the DMD chip in a projector based on DLP technology has on its surface several hundred thousand micromirrors. 8. Optical switching technology, which is, used for switching technology and alignment for data communications. 9. Interferometric modulator display (IMOD) applications in consumer electronics (primarily displays for mobile devices). 10. Improved performance from inductors and capacitors due the advent of the RF-MEMS technology

MEMS devices: Few examples of real MEMS products are, 1. Adaptive Optics for Ophthalmic Applications 2. Optical Cross Connects 3. Air Bag Accelerometers 4. Pressure Sensors 5. Mirror Arrays for Televisions and Displays 6. High Performance Steerable Micromirrors 7. RF MEMS Devices 8. Disposable Medical Devices 9. High Force, High Displacement Electrostatic Actuators 10. MEMS Devices for Secure Communications

MEMS devices used in Space exploration field include: 1. Accelerometers and gyroscopes for inertial navigation 2. Pressure sensors 3. RF switches and tunable filters for communication 4. Tunable mirror arrays for adaptive optics 5. Micro-power sources and turbines 6. Propulsion and attitude control 7. Bio-reactors and Bio-sensors, Microfluidics 8. Thermal control 9. Atomic clocks