Application of MEMS technology to rf/microwave systems
Héctor J. De Los Santos · International Symposium on Antenna Technology and Applied Electromagnetics · 2002
It can be said that the field of MEMS was originated by the late Richard P. Feynman back in 1959 when he made the observation “there is plenty of room at the bottom.” [1]. Feynman reached this conclusion upon conducting a special type of search, namely, a search for a boundless field. He noticed that fields like endeavoring to attain low temperatures, or attaining high pressures, had virtually no end in sight. That is, you could never say/claim you had reached the lowest temperature or the highest pressure. His search led him to discover a new field, namely, that of miniaturization, whose goal was to engage in a program to make everything small. Wondering why had so little been done on miniaturization, Feynman determined that, while there were no innate limitations imposed by the laws of physics, these were actually rooted in technology, that is, it is our ability to make small things that sets a limit on miniaturization. Having acknowledged that miniaturization was limited by technology, and that this limitation would erode in time, Feynman went on to consider what if the technological problem/limitation was nonexistent? How would miniaturization impact three particular areas of application, namely, Information Storage, Computers, and more pertinent to this presentation, Machines?