Introduction

Abstract

Sensors and actuators play an important role in our lives. The most complicated and sophisticated sensors can be found in human beings themselves; however, also man-made transducers can reach a high degree of complexity and address wide range of applications. Sensors are the keystones in industrial process monitoring, medical surveillance, and automotive control. In addition, in consumer products [1–3], one can find more and more inexpensive, intelligent sensor systems, since the transducer fabrication takes advantage of mass production. In particular, the batch fabrication of silicon microsensors, which enables cost effective production for mass applications, will further push the sensor market. Today millions of silicon ink jet print heads, pressure sensors, and accelerometers are already sold per year, which all take advantage of the highly developed silicon integrated circuit (IC) fabrication technology. A market study [4] for production volumes and unit prices forecasts more than a doubling of the microsystem technology (MST) market by the year 2002. The study prognosticates an MST market volume of more than 34 billion dollars by 2002.