Ink-Jet Printing of Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS)

Beyond printing text on paper, inkjet printing methods have recently been applied to print passive electrical and optical microparts, such as conductors, resistors, solder bumps and polymeric micro lenses. They are also useful to print micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) as sub-millimeter sensor and actuator arrays, such as multifunctional skins applicable to robotic application and ambient monitoring. This paper presents the latest review of a few successful cases of printable MEMS devices. This review shows that inkjet printing is good for printing two-dimensional or surface MEMS devices from a small unit to an array over a large area. In the future, three-dimensional printing of multi-materials, from metal, plastic, to ceramic, will open the possibility of realizing more variety and function of a large-areal MEMS array, for a mobile electro-mechanical systems.