Microsystem Design

by Stephen D. Senturia

The goal of this book is to bring together into one accessible text the fundamentals of the many disciplines needed by engineers working in the field of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS). The subject matter is wide-ranging: microfabrication, mechanics, heat flow, electronics, noise, and dynamics of systems, with and without feedback. Because it is very difficult to enunciate principles of good design in the abstract, the book is organized around a set of case studies that are based on real products, or, where appropriately well-documented products could not be found, on published prototype work. The case studies were selected to sample a multi-dimensional space: different manufacturing and fabrication methods, different device applications, and different physical effects used for transduction. The case study subjects are: the design and packaging of a piezoresistive pressure sensor, a capacitively-sensed accelerometer, a quartz piezoelectrically-driven and sensed rate gyroscope, two electrostatically-actuated optical projection displays, two microsystems for the amplification of DNA, and a catalytic sensor for combustible gases.; This book is used for a graduate course in Design and Fabrication of Micro-electromechanical Devices (MEMS) at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It is appropriate for textbook use by senior/graduate courses in MEMS, and should be a useful reference for the active MEMS professional. Each chapter is supplemented with homework problems and suggested related reading. In addition, the book is supported by a web site that will include additional homework exercises, suggested design problems and related teaching materials, and software used in the textbook examples and homework problems.

Genres: Textbooks, Reference, Engineering, Nonfiction

716 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 2000

About the author

After a 36 year career as a Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, I am now writing fiction. My first novel, One Man's Purpose, deals with Martin Quint, himself a Professor at the fictional Cambridge Technology Institute, and is based on my personal experiences as a professor and educator.

During my long career, I have written several textbooks, hundreds of scientific papers, quite a few patents, started two companies, co-edited two journals and two books series, and taught, literally, thousands of students. Now I'm writing stories about the high-tech academic life, and I'm having a blast. I also run blog entitled
Education as Conversation, part reminiscence over my career, and part commentary on issues of online education.

In addition to my writing and blogging, I am a clarinetist. My trio, Giocoso, performs chamber music in the Boston area from time to time. And my wife Peg and I are active in the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement, a group of 550 retirees who teach 12-week seminar classes to each other. My most recent focus has been on teaching geology, a hobby of mine since my teenage years.

We live in Brookline, MA, have three wonderful children and seven equally wonderful grandchildren.