720807Massively Parallel Assembly - A low cost high throughput manufacturing process for MEMS.ClosedGRD Development of PrototypeInnovate UKAccelerometers, gyroscopes and microphones are just some of the everyday applications of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) that are now ubiquitous components in consumer electronic devices. As manufacturers of smart phones and tablets endeavour to shrink their devices ever further, so the wasted space separating components in these devices becomes ever more inhibiting, both in terms of physical size and cost. Separating the manufacturing processes of the MEMS component and the host chip can enable massive space and cost savings to be realised, but only if the process designed to subsequently combine the two is low-cost and high-throughput. NuNano is developing a process of this nature which is capable of addressing 400 MEMS components simultaneously and will demonstrate this by manufacturing probes for atomic force microscopy (AFM). These probes, made from silicon, consist of a cantilever and tip, much akin to a record player cantilever and stylus, but the rest of the silicon area is only used for handling. By separating the fabrication of the high-precision functional part of the probe and the bulk chip material, a much greater density of devices per wafer will be realised.