Driving development of such emerging areas as microfluidics, advanced bio-sensing, capsule endoscopy, and personalized medicine, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are enabling an array of breakthroughs that promise to enhance patient care and outcomes.  Protecting sensitive MEMS products from the harsh conditions both inside the body and out is Parylene conformal coating, which is helping to bring these futuristic technologies to fruition.

Offering sensitivity and performance in a compact package, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) have become increasingly prevalent in U.S. military applications over the last few decades and are enabling significant technological advances. As with all things military, however, robust protection of these sensitive electronics is imperative in order to ensure that they can withstand the harsh conditions often found on the battlefield. Conformal coatings such as Parylene can help MEMS-based military technologies withstand conditions such as extreme temperatures, humidity, dust/dirt, chemicals, and rugged terrain.

WHAT ARE MEMS?

Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) is the technology of very small devices; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems (NEMS) and nanotechnology.  MEMS are made up of components between 1 to 100 micrometres in size (i.e. 0.001 to 0.1 mm), and MEMS devices generally range in size from 20 micrometres (20 millionths of a metre) to a millimetre (i.e. 0.02 to 1.0 mm). They usually consist of a central unit that processes data (the microprocessor) and several components that interact with the outside such as microsensors.