Recent trends in silicon micromachining technology

The rapid expansion in number and scope of research projects in the general area of micromachining technology makes the field especially interesting. Advances, particularly from universities and research institutes, suggest that increased commercial development is likely in a number of new fields. The nature of the fabrication technologies used to make these prototype parts, however, lead to difficulties in quickly reaping commercial benefits from these technolgoical advancements. This is in contrast to the nature of commercial development in the integrated circuit industry, where standardized processes result in rapid development of systems and products which use new designs.