What Courses Best Prepare for a Career in MEMS?

[HappMatt]

I am currently studying biomedical engineering and have been thinking about pursing this as a concentration area for my degree. I was trying to find info on what kind of courses would best prepare me to go out into industry and work in this area. I figured some of the smart people here would know and was just curious.
thanks Matt

 

[cmos]

Definitely a microfabrication course (MEMS-based would be best but microelectronics-based is just as good). Are there any other MEMS courses at your school? These will tend to be in the EE or MechE departments. Besides that, I would say any fundamentals you lack in your biomed foundation (circuits/analog electronics, fluids, materials, etc.).

 

[Moonbear]

For the benefit of those of us who have no idea what MEMS is, what does that acronym mean? We won't be the ones who can help you, but at least we'll learn something along the way...and someone who might find it interesting but didn't know about it previously might benefit from that information too.

 

[Hippo]

MEMS = Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems

Just another fancy name for Nanotechnology or those Midget Microchips. I have over 18 books based on MEMs on my shelf but never bothered to read them I guess its just not my thing.

 

[PerennialII]

MechE & materials depts might have something about "advanced/novel materials", "material/constitutive modeling", "smart materials/structures" etc. which could include MEMS related topics.

 

[cmos]

Just another fancy name for Nanotechnology or those Midget Microchips. I have over 18 books based on MEMs on my shelf but never bothered to read them I guess its just not my thing.

Well this just isn't true at all. Nanotech is a very broad area that could also encompass MEMS (or maybe NEMS at that point), but they're definitely not the same thing.

Generally, MEMS is any micro-scale device or system that operates on both electrical and mechanical principles. Many types of commercial actuators are MEMS-based devices (e.g. an accelerometer).

 

[Mapes]

Hi Happmatt,

I did my (mechanical engineering) master's on a few MEMS devices and then worked for four years in industry for a biomedical startup designing and prototyping implantable silicon-based devices.

Microfabrication skills are useful, but there are big differences between the techniques used in, say, sensor development (silicon, doping, CVD) and those used for biomedical research (PDMS, glass, microfluidics). I recommend concentrating on the universal biomedical topics--fields, forces, and flows--that will let you design microscale or macroscale devices when you get out of school. You could also look into working part-time or interning at a university or industry lab that's doing research you're interested in.

Good luck, and feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions.

 

[vikki0688]

can anyone please tell me where i can a download a software for getting the electromagnetic analysis of mems switch.also tell me the difference between mems switch and a filter.