Microsystems: applications and implementation

Microsystems, which emerged in the late 1980s and came onto the market in the 1990s, are currently enjoying a major boom. Microsystems technologies have been identified as the most promising technologies of the twenty-first century, with the potential to revolutionize both the industrial and consumer worlds by combining microelectronics and microfabrication technology.

The following article begins with the design of a microsystem, describes its manufacture and presents the main applications of microsystems: radio-frequency microsystems, optical microsystems and sensors, for example. It complements the following articles in Techniques de l'Ingénieur: "Microsystems". ref. [37], "Semiconductor sensors" [E 2 310] ref. [43], "Microelectronic sensors" [E 2 315] ref. [44].