CHANDIGARH, July 21: Micro Electronic Machines will revolutionise the electronic industry in the coming decades and are expected to have a profound impact on professional scenario as well as on individual's lifestyle by making available services and technology so far thought to be beyond reach.This was revealed by Dr Dinesh K. Sood, a professor of materials science and engineering at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology and an expert on micro motors, while talking to Newsline during his visit to the Central Scientific Instruments Organisation, today. Defence, electronics and communications, medicine and auto-industry are among the areas having maximum utility of this technology, which presently has a $5 billion market.Micro Electronic Machines are smaller than the human hair (500 microns) while having full functionality and control as electronic gadgets. Unlike electronic circuits which are planar, MEMS are 3-dimensional i.e. having multiple layers which allow incorporation of several physical forces like motion, sound and sensitivity.Dr Sood felt that this technology was still in its infancy in India. He said that though some agencies, including IIT Delhi, Indian Institute of Science and the CSIO, have equipment to make such devices, the capabilities of all institutes should be synergised. He said that a moderate investment of one million dollars is required to set up a self-sufficient laboratory here.In defence, Dr Sood said that with MEMS it will be possible to control the trajectory of long range missiles after they have been launched, which at present cannot be done as the flight path is pre-programmed."Smart skins" on aircraft and ships, which sense change in the environment and comply accordingly is another MEMS utility. Dr Sood, a Masters in Physics from Punjab University and a Ph.D from IIT Kanpur, said that deception and camouflage doctrines would also see drastic changes. The level of surface emmissivity of a weapons platform can be controlled. This includes radar signatures, thermal trail, microwave signals and optical reflection, which can be deflected, reduced or altered by adjusting shape configurations.On the communications front, the Global Positioning System (GPS) is set to be revolutionised, with the instrument being reduced to the size of a wrist watch. Another growing use of MEMS, Dr Sood said was in automobiles where these are being used to actuate the crash air-bag and control fuel injection. For the air-bag just a 3 mm motor is being used, which costs $200. On the other hand, the convectional system is an 8-inch box with additional sensors, costing $2,000.MEMS has made near photographic quality possible in ink-jet printers, which has also reduced its cost to half of what a black and white printer was available six years ago.One of the greatest spinoffs of MEMS, which is expected to have a $30 billion market in the next decade, is in the medical field. Micro-pumps, drug flow modulators, and other aids which can be placed beneath the skin and activated by physiological signals are now possible. One device being developed, Dr Sood said, is a micro pump with an inch-long reservoir, to be placed near the kidney. This instrument would sense the level of insulin required and release the quantity into blood. Another MEMS to replace the Pacemaker for heart problems is also on the agenda. Top
