Microsystems

Patent Granted Microsystem is the name commonly used in Europe to describe the same technology which goes under the name MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) in the US. In Japan, this field is often termed micromachines. Microsystems are miniaturized (silicon or polymer) devices which perform non-electronic functions: typically sensing and actuation. Typical microsystems have mechanical parts, like microbridges in RF switches or bending cantilevers in atomic force microscopes (AFMs); electrical parts like piezoresistors in airbag sensors or capacitors in pressure sensors; or thermal, optical and fluidic structures like heaters and nozzles in inkjet printer or flow sensors.