Page 162 - Principles and Applications of NanoMEMS Physics

150 Chapter 4

technology may well lie on its ability to deliver improved performance at
low cost on technology-blind applications, Figure 4-1, as well as in enabling
new applications (some of which are right now only limited by our
imagination). For the purposes of this book, we focus on NanoMEMS SoCs
in terms of implementation and applications.

Ou tp u
Ou tp u t t
Inpu t t
Inpu
In fo r m a tio
In fo r m a tio
In fo r m a tio n n In fo r m a tio n n
N a n o ME MS S o C C
N a n o ME MS S o
Pic tu r
E lectro m a g n et
E lectro m a g n etic ic Pic tu r e e
Vo ic e e
Vo ic
He a
He a t t
Co m p u tin g g
Co m p u tin
So un d d
So un
D iagn ostic ic
B iom ole c u le s s D iagn ost
B iom ole c u le
Da
Da ta ta
F o rce
F o rce
…
… … …
Figure 4-1. Conceptual rendition of a NanoMEMS System-on-Chip.
4.2.1 NanoMEMS SoC Architectures
Regardless of the technology of implementation utilized, a system must
perform a definite function and is characterized by how close it comes to
meeting certain technology-blind specifications (specs). Typically, the
design process begins with a block diagram of the system in question, which
displays an architecture or high-level topological diagram showing how the
constituent building blocks are interconnected to transform or process one or
more input signals into one or more output signals, see Figure 3-1.
Following this, overall systems analysis assigns or “flows down” the overall
system specs to the individual building blocks, which are then designed. In
the case of NanoMEMS SoCs this is difficult to do because the field is so
premature that, using a circuit analogy, the equivalents of passive
components (resistors, inductors, capacitors, diodes) and active components
(transistors) is not yet available to the degree of completeness that would
allow a complete consistent system implementation. Our course of action,
therefore, is to expose a variety of potential NanoMEMS SoC building
blocks.