MEMS ASSIGNMENT

The idea of scaling down things and the opportunities that it provides is quite
captivating and that is what is being discussed in depth in the provided articles.
The vision he has on the subject and how he plans to implement it even if it was
not possible at that time is astonishing. He discusses the prospect of descaling
objects and the possibilities that come with it. He discusses how the entire
knowledge that the man has ever collected can be recorded in just 35 pages of an
encyclopedia by scaling down in an accessible way. He also cites various
possibilities through which it can be implemented in the future as the technology at
that period was not sufficient to implement several of his ideas.

He is mainly inspired by nature on the concept of micro scaling. he says about the
possibilities if they could create systems like cells that perform so many functions
and also stores information at such nanoscales.
He then describes the challenges faced when working on such small scales since
many laws and properties do not work in the same manner as in larger scales. these
limitations have to be cited and redesigned appropriately. Further, he adds about
the advantages of working in small scales like it reduces the amount of material
required and saves money, space and time.

The other article discusses the top-down and bottom-up approaches being used in
the nanoscales. The top-down approach is commonly used and provides greater
scope for scaling. The bottom-up approach uses the principle of self-assembling by
molecular recognition. however, these systems can process information and
replicate as proven by our nature. It urges the chemists to follow their chemical
intuition and to reframe the walls of the existing system.

These were very much relevant to our course since many possibilities cited by
Feynman in his talk have become realities and we have learned about it in this
course. For example, he speaks about using photoresistive material to etch metal
and also discusses the possibility of using evaporation which is implemented now
and is being discussed in our course.
At present, MEMS technology has taken giant leaps in several sectors like
biomedical, automobile, etc. Several new advances like Organ-on-a-chip
technology offers the potential to recapitulate human physiology by keeping
human cells in a precisely controlled and artificial tissue-like microenvironment.
Chip-based in vitro organ models are ranked 6th among the top ten emerging
technologies by the World Economic Forum in 2016, thus highlighting the
potential of organ-on-a-chips to improve lives and transform the health care
system.

Further, the MEMS technology holds the largest share in the overall sensor market
across the globe. The implementation of sensors made with MEMS technology in
consumer electronic devices is another factor that boosts the market growth.
To conclude the two articles were highly knowledgeable and had great relevance to
our course educating how the idea of scaling had initially stemmed and how far it
has come with technological advancements. Further, it has opened up a lot of
possibilities for us to pursue.