Microsystem Design

by Stephen D. Senturia

It is a real pleasure to write the Foreword for this book, both because I have known and respected its author for many years and because I expect this book’s publication will mark an important milestone in the continuing worldwide development of microsystems. By bringing together all aspects of microsystem design, it can be expected to facilitate the training of not only a new generation of engineers, but perhaps a whole new type of engineer – one capable of addressing the complex range of problems involved in reducing entire systems to the micro- and nano-domains. This book breaks down disciplinary barriers to set the stage for systems we do not even dream of today. Microsystems have a long history, dating back to the earliest days of mic- electronics. While integrated circuits developed in the early 1960s, a number of laboratories worked to use the same technology base to form integrated sensors. The idea was to reduce cost and perhaps put the sensors and circuits together on the same chip. By the late-60s, integrated MOS-photodiode arrays had been developed for visible imaging, and silicon etching was being used to create thin diaphragms that could convert pressure into an electrical signal. By 1970, selective anisotropic etching was being used for diaphragm formation, retaining a thick silicon rim to absorb package-induced stresses. Impurity- and electrochemically-based etch-stops soon emerged, and "bulk micromachining" came into its own.

Genres: Textbooks, Reference, Engineering, Nonfiction

715 pages, Hardcover

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.