Microelectromechanical Systems I.

Introduction Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) are small integrated devices or systems that combine electrical and mechanical components. They range in size from the submicrometer (or sub micron) level to the millimeter level, and there can be any number, from a few to millions, in a particular system. MEMS extend the fabrication techniques developed for the integrated circuit industry to add mechanical elements such as beams, gears, diaphragms, and springs to devices. MEMS are separate and distinct from the hypothetical vision of molecular nanotechnology or molecular electronics. 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.[1] At these size scales, the standard constructs of classical physics are not always useful. Because of the large surface area to volume ratio of MEMS, surface effects such as electrostatics and wettingdominate volume effects such as inertia or thermal mass.

Autonomic Computing Autonomic Computing refers to the self-managing characteristics of distributed computing resources, adapting to unpredictable changes while hiding intrinsic complexity to operators and users. Started by IBM in 2001, this initiative ultimately aims to develop computer systems capable of self-management, to overcome the rapidly growing complexity of computing systems management, and to reduce the barrier that complexity poses to further growth. An autonomic system makes decisions on its own, using high-level policies; it will constantly check and optimize its status and automatically adapt itself to changing conditions. As widely reported in literature, an autonomic computing framework might be seen composed by autonomic components (AC) interacting with each other. An AC can be modeled in terms of two main control loops (local and global) with sensors (for self-monitoring), effectors (for selfadjustment), knowledge and planner/adapter for exploiting policies based on self- and environment awareness. Driven by such vision, a variety of architectural frameworks based on self-regulating autonomic components has been recently proposed. A very similar trend has recently characterized significant research in the area of multi-agent systems. However, most of these approaches are typically conceived with centralized or cluster-based server architectures in mind and mostly address the need of reducing management costs rather than the need of enabling complex software systems or providing innovative services.

Software Radio What is software radio? Software radio is the art and science of building radios using software. Given the constraints of today's technology, there is still some RF hardware involved, but the idea is to get the software as close to the antenna as is feasible. Ultimately, we're turning hardware problems into software problems When you say radio, what do you mean? By radio, I mean any kind of device that intentionally transmits or receives signals in the radio frequency (RF) part of the electromagnetic spectrum. This of course includes our every day AM and FM radios such as those in our homes and cars. TV's are radios that happen to turn the signals they receive into moving pictures and sound. Cell phones and cordless phones are radios. Garage door openers are radios. Car door openers are radios. Wireless internet cards (WiFi / 802.11) are radios. Shortwave, satellite, pagers, GPS, radar, NMR / MRI, the list goes on and on.

Circuits An electrical network is an interconnection of electrical elements such as resistors, inductors, capacitors, transmission lines, voltage sources, current sources and switches. An electrical circuit is a special type of network, one that has a closed loop giving a return path for the current. Electrical networks that consist only of sources (voltage or current), linear lumped elements (resistors, capacitors, inductors), and linear distributed elements (transmission lines) can be analyzed by algebraic and transform methods to determine DC response, AC response, and transient response. An electronic circuit is composed of individual electronic components, such as resistors, transistors, capacitors, inductors and diodes, connected by conductive wires or traces through which electric current can flow. The combination of components and wires allows various simple and complex operations to be performed: signals can be amplified, computations can be performed, and data can be moved from one place to another. Circuits can be constructed of discrete components connected by individual pieces of wire, but today it is much more common to create interconnections by photolithographic techniques on a laminated substrate (a printed circuit board or PCB) and solder the components to these interconnections to create a finished circuit. In an Integrated Circuit or IC, the components and interconnections are formed on the same substrate, typically a semiconductor such as silicon or (less commonly) gallium arsenide.