BIRLA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCE, PILANI

INSTRUCTION DIVISION
SECOND SEMESTER 2022-2022
Course Handout
Date: 16/01/2023

In addition to Part I (General Handout for all courses appended to the timetable) this portion gives
further specific details regarding the course.

Course No. : BITS F415 (3 1 4)

Course Title : Introduction to MEMS
Instructor-in-charge : Prof. Devendra G. Patil

Course description:
The course introduces the basic concepts in MEMS (Micro Electromechanical Systems) with a view
to address a class of students from science and engineering disciplines. The discussion on topics like
MEMS design, Microfabrication, Microfluidics, Microrobotics and Microsensors have been
structured in the course plan.

Scope and Objective of the Course:

The course introduces the basic concepts in Micro Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) to students.
It covers fundamentals of solid and fluid phenomena at small scales, advances in microfabrication
technologies. The objective of the course is to equip the students from various aspects and with basic
knowledge of the area of MEMS.

Text Book:
1. Tai-Ran Hsu, “MEMS and Micro systems Design and Manufacture”, Tata McGraw Hill,
2002
2. G.K. Ananthsuresh, “Micro and Smart Systems”, Wiley, India, 2010.

Reference Books:
(a) Nitaigour P. Mahalik, MEMS, Tata McGraw Hill, 2007
(b) Marc Madou, Fundamentals of Microfabrication, CRC Press, 2002.
(c) Chang Liu, Foundation of MEMS, Pearson Education Inc., NJ, 2006
(d) Nadim Maluf , An Introduction to Microelectromechanical Systems Engineering , Artech
House, 2000.
(e) Stephen D. Senturia, Microsystem Design , Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001
(f) Gad- el-Hak, Introduction to MEMS, CRC Press, 2010.
(g) Research articles published in academia and industry.

Course Plan:
Topic No. of Lectures Refer. [along with Ref. (g)]
Introduction 3 (T2), (T1), Ref. (d)
Basic Concepts of MEMS Design and 3 (T1) (T2)
Fabrication
 Scaling Laws 2 (T1), (T2)
Micro-sensors & Micro-actuators 4 (T2)
Micro-fabrication Processes I 5 (T1), Ref. (b)
Micro-fabrication Processes II 5 (T1), Ref. (b)
Modeling in MEMS 5 (T1), (T2)
Microsystem design 4 (T1), (T2)
Microfluidics 5 (T2)
Meteorology in MEMS 2 Research articles &/or class notes
Advances in MEMS/NANO systems 2 Research articles
MEMS Packaging Self-Study Ch. 11 (T2)
Lab sessions for project Self-Study
Total 40*
* The lectures may be slightly diverged from aforesaid plan based on students ‘background & interest in the topic’, which
may perhaps include special lectures and discussions that would be planned and schedule notified accordingly

Lab Sessions (self-study):

Sr. No. Assignment No. of Lab sessions*
1. Introducing COMSOL** 2
2. Solving practice problems 2
3. Design of MEMS sensor/ actuator 2
*No. of lab sessions may change based on project finalization and software availability.
** If COMSOL is unavailable another software shall be used by students.
Evaluation Scheme (Tentative):
Component Duration Weightage (%) Remarks
Mid semester exam 90 min 30%
Project/assignments/quiz Continuous 30% Project work to be discussed in class
Comprehensive 180 min* 40%

Chamber Consultation Hour (tentative):

Chamber: E-114 Timing: Mon 11.00 am – 12.00 noon or by appointment
Notices: Notices will be kept on quanta/google classroom.

Make-up Policy: For written test, makeup will be granted strictly on medical certificate for severe
medical issue or by approval of instructor-in-charge only.

It shall be the responsibility of the individual student to be regular in maintaining the self-study
schedule for all topics as given in the course handout and announced in class, attend the lectures, and
take all the prescribed evaluation components such as Assignment/Project/Quiz, Mid-Semester Test
and Comprehensive Exam according to the evaluation scheme provided in the handout.

Instructor-in-charge
BITS F415