1. Context

Microsystems are compact, miniaturized, multifunctional, collectively manufactured devices that interact with the surrounding world via sensors and actuators. They are also able to exchange information and communicate with the outside world or with other microsystems, thanks to coupled electronic and mechanical functionalities.

They were born in the late 1980s around the concept of a microbeam or vibrating diaphragm used as a sensor, for example in a magnetometer or pressure or acceleration sensor.