Smart MEMS: micro-structures with error-suppression and self-calibration control capabilities

Micro-sensors and actuators are differentiated from conventional sensors and actuators by their size, cost, and techniques used in their manufacture. The small size of MEMS is a convenience, a contribution to their potentially low cost, and a source of new conceptual challenges. Improvements in sensing structures, process technology, and circuit technology are presently addressed by the MEMS research community. Unavoidable, the next logical step in-the MEMS evolution will be development of precision micro-systems by integrating a number of smart control functions including self-calibration, self-testing, structural compensation, and even communication with one or more other sensors located on the same chip. The control community will be the critical driving force in these developments. This paper gives an overview of functional blocks needed for Smart MEMS and provides several examples highlighting benefits of the paradigm