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2 MEMS and Microstructures in Aerospace Applications

infancy of micron-scale machines in space flight. To move from the infancy of a
technology to maturity takes years and many awkward periods. For example, we did
not truly attain the age of flight until the late 1940s, when flying became accessible to
many individuals. The insertion or adoption period, from the infancy of flight, began
with the Wright Brothers in 1903 and took more than 50 years until it was popularized.
Similarly, the birth of MEMS began in 1969 with a resonant gate field-effect transistor
designed by Westinghouse. During the next decade, manufacturers began using bulk-
etched silicon wafers to produce pressure sensors, and experimentation continued into
the early 1980s to createsurface-micromachined polysilicon actuators that wereusedin
disc drive heads. By the late 1980s, the potential of MEMS devices was embraced, and
widespread design and implementation grew in the microelectronics and biomedical
industries. In 25 years, MEMS moved from the technical curiosity realm to the
commercial potential world. In the 1990s, the U.S. Government and relevant agencies
had large-scale MEMS support and projects underway. The Air Force Office of
Scientific Research (AFOSR) was supporting basic research in materials while the
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) initiated its foundry service in
1993. Additionally, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) began
supporting commercial foundries.
In the late 1990s, early demonstrations of MEMS in aerospace applications began
to be presented. Insertions have included Mighty Sat 1, Shuttle Orbiter STS-93, the
DARPA-led consortium of the flight of OPAL, and the suborbital ride on Scorpius 1
(Microcosm). These early entry points will be discussed as a foundation for the next
generation of MEMS in space. Several early applications emerged in the academic
and amateur satellite fields. In less than a 10-year time frame, MEMS advanced to a
full, regimented, space-grade technology. Quick insertion into aerospace systems
from this point can be predicted to become widespread in the next 10 years.
This book is presented to assist in ushering in the next generation of MEMS that
will be fully integrated into critical space-flight systems. It is designed to be used by
the systems engineer presented with the ever-daunting task of assuring the mitiga-
tion of risk when inserting new technologies into space systems.
To return to the quote above from Saint Exupe ´ry, the application of MEMS and
microsystems to space travel takes us deeper into the realm of interactions with
environments. Three environments to be specific: on Earth, at launch, and in orbit.
Understandingtheimpactsoftheseenvironmentsonmicron-scaledevicesisessential,
and this topic is covered at length in order to present a springboard for future gener-
ations.

1.2 IMPLICATIONS OF MEMS AND MICROSYSTEMS
IN AEROSPACE
The starting point for microengineering could be set, depending on the standards,
sometime in the 15th century, when the first watchmakers started to make pocket
watches, devices micromachined after their macroscopic counterparts. With the
introduction of quartz for timekeeping purposes around 1960, watches became the
first true MEMS device.

© 2006 by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC