Evenina panel discussion - Session 21

Micro-electromechanical systems, or MEMS, and nanotechnology have been billed as "The Next Big Thing" by many industry analysts. Technology companies and government laboratories have been pouring billions of dollars into research and development into the design and manufacturing processes which allow tiny mechanical devices such as sensors for temperature, pressure, and vibration, valves, actuators, micro mirrors, gyroscopes, and other micro-scale mechanical devices to be embedded into semiconductor chips. Commercial applications for MEMS range from automotive where MEMS sensors are used for pressure and acceleration measurement or airbag deployment, to optical telecommunications RF switches, to construction where building materials sense changes in mechanical stresses and medical applications where MEMS are used in micron-sized blood pressure sensors, disposable angioplasty devices which monitor pressure in balloon catheters, kidney dialysis pressure sensors or airflow sensors in respiratory equipment. But is the price tag too high for MEMS development and manufacturing, which has been estimated by Vertical Market Research at $3.3 billion US R&D dollars by 2007, and will the payback be too little too late?