PREFACE
This report is based on the findings of a workshop sponsored by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. DMI-0002466. The workshop was held at the DoubleTree Club Hotel, Lake Buena Vista, Orlando, Florida on November 7, 2000. The workshop brought together experts from industry, academia, and government in the field of manufacturing of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) so that, through synergistic interaction and discussion, existing barriers and opportunities in the field could be identified, research and development priorities could be suggested, and a research roadmap for future research collaboration and investment could be formed. Three critical areas: (a) MEMS fabrication, (b) MEMS applications, and (c) MEMS packaging and reliability, formed the focus of this workshop.
A total of thirty-six delegates from academia, government, and industry, participated in this one-day workshop. Participants were split into three breakout sessions, each of which focused on one critical area. The workshop consisted of presentations of the technical position papers submitted before the workshop by the participants, breakout session discussions on collaboration opportunities and relevant emerging topics in each critical area, and conclusion presentations reached by the participants at the workshop. There was a large degree of unanimity among the suggestions and recommendations, despite the breadth of the subject area and the diversity of backgrounds and interests represented by the participants.
After the meeting the leaders of the three critical areas were responsible for compiling the area recommendations for their respective area. The final draft was composed based on the suggestions and recommendations of the three areas, and sent to all participants for review. The final report has been modified in light of the reviews received. The workshop agenda and a list of contact information of attendees, and submitted position papers are appended to this report. The report does not contain references to the literature. This was a deliberate decision to make the report as generally accessible as possible, without the normal scholarly detail and bibliographic information.
In closing, I would like to express my deep gratitude to all the attendees for their time and effort, and for sharing their expertise and insight. Special thanks are due to the members of the Organization Committee, for their efforts in organizing the workshop and preparing the area report. Finally, I would also like to thank NSF Program Director, Dr. Delcie Durham for her encouragement and guidance. I believe that this is a significant event in the field of MEMS manufacturing in this millennium-turning year, the year 2000.
Ampere A. Tseng
Chair, Organizing Committee