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Figure 1: The products that get developed with MEMS Technology. ST/Industrial Sensing Solutions What is MEMS? MEMS stands for Micro-Electro-Mechani- cal-Systems. In its simplest definition, it may be considered a class of devices as well as a technology, that is used to produce sensors and micro-actuators (Figure 1). This article focuses on some of the MEMS sensors that get employed in industrial applications. Innovation in Miniaturization: MEMS Technology Delivers Compelling Industrial Sensor Solutions By Jay Esfandyari, Ph.D., Senior Manager, MEMS & Sensors Product Marketing at STMicroelectronics T here is no one single standard process that can may be considered the Holy Grail for making MEMS devices, and in many cases still the concept of "one process one product" applies. There are many steps involved to make the final MEMS device, and a suc- cessful MEMS-based device production depends on design, fabrication process, manufacturing materials, packaging, and testing. 11 There have been many challenges in manufacturing, testing, calibration, and packaging from the inception of MEMS as the enabling technology for making sensors. However, those challenges that led to yield loss, perfor- mance failure, and increased cost in the early years of MEMS technology have gotten resolved, leading to the development of many new sensors. There are multiple critical steps to design, develop, and manufacture a final MEMS sensor with the target specifi- cations. The significant parts of an ultimate MEMS sensor product include mechanical sensing structure, internal building blocks, and the packaging. All these components determine the overall performance of the device and, ultimately the use cases for the sensor. Let us start by look- ing at a high-level internal block diagram of the sensors including its building blocks.