MEMs Materials and Processes Handbook" is a comprehensive reference for researchers searching for new materials, properties of known materials, or specific processes available for MEMS fabrication. The content is separated into distinct sections on "Materials" and "Processes". The extensive Material Selection Guide" and a "Material Database" guides the reader through the selection of appropriate materials for the required task at hand. The "Processes" section of the book is organized as a catalog of various microfabrication processes, each with a brief introduction to the technology, as well as examples of common uses in MEMs.

The revolution is well underway. Our understanding and utilization of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are growing at an explosive rate with a worldwide market approaching billions of dollars. In time, microdevices will fill the niches of our lives as pervasively as electronics do right now. But if these miniature devices are to fulfill their mammoth potential, today's engineers need a thorough grounding in the underlying physics, modeling techniques, fabrication methods, and materials of MEMS. The MEMS Handbook delivers all of this and more. Its team of authors-unsurpassed in their experience and standing in the scientific community- explore various aspects of MEMS: their design, fabrication, and applications as well as the physical modeling of their operations. Designed for maximum readability without compromising rigor, it provides a current and essential overview of this fledgling discipline.

M. C. Roco and W.S. Bainbridge In the early decades of the 21st century, concentrated efforts can unify science based on the unity of nature, thereby advancing the combination of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and new technologies based in cognitive science. With proper attention to ethical issues and societal needs, converging in human abilities, societal technologies could achieve a tremendous improvement outcomes, the nation's productivity, and the quality of life. This is a broad, cross cutting, emerging and timely opportunity of interest to individuals, society and humanity in the long term. The phrase "convergent technologies" refers to the synergistic combination of four major "NBIC" (nano-bio-info-cogno) provinces of science and technology, each of which is currently progressing at a rapid rate: (a) nanoscience and nanotechnology; (b) biotechnology and biomedicine, including genetic engineering; (c) information technology, including advanced computing and communications; (d) cognitive science, including cognitive neuroscience. Timely and Broad Opportunity. Convergence of diverse technologies is based on material unity at the nanoscale and on technology integration from that scale.

energy production, environmental management, transportation, communication, computation, and education. As the twenty-first century unfolds, nanotechnology's impact on the health, wealth, and security of the world's people is expected to be at least as significant as the combined influences in this century of antibiotics, the integrated circuit, and human-made polymers. Dr. Neal Lane, Advisor to the President for Science and Technology and former National Science Foundation (NSF) director, stated at a Congressional hearing in April 1998, "If I were asked for an area of science and engineering that will most likely produce the breakthroughs of tomorrow, I would point to nanoscale science and engineering. " Recognizing this potential, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) have issued a joint memorandum to Federal agency heads that identifies nanotechnology as a research priority area for Federal investment in fiscal year 2001. This report charts "Nanotechnology Research Directions," as developed by the Interagency W orking Group on Nano Science, Engineering, and Technology (IWGN) of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC). The report incorporates the views of leading experts from government, academia, and the private sector. It reflects the consensus reached at an IWGN-sponsored workshop held on January 27-29, 1999, and detailed in contributions submitted thereafter by members of the V. S. science and engineering community. (See Appendix A for a list of contributors.