Think Outside the Chip: MEMS-Based Systems Solutions

MEMS is an acronym for Microelectro mechanical Systems; however, most MEMS implementations to date have not been systems at all, but rather devices. This article reports the constituents and some applications of what is defined as MEMS-based systems solutions, or MBSS. In Europe, this concept is commonly referred to as ”Smart Systems In tegration.” These MBSS use front-end MEMS devices — either one or a combination of many sensors, actuators, and/or structures — that work in conjunction with several other devices including signal conditioning commonly using application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processing (DSP) with embedded microcontrollers and software, energy creation and storage, and networking communications functions.