SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Agilent Technologies Inc.'s R&D arm here is developing what is believed to be one of the world's most advanced devices, based on microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology.
The company's "MEMS micromover" device, called the "nano-stepper," is a miniature moving component that leverages many of the same manufacturing techniques as semiconductors. The "nano-stepper" itself is said to be an atomic-level component that is capable of providing linear, two-dimensional movements of about 15 million steps per second, according to Agilent Laboratories. The Palo Alto-based operations is the R&D arm of Agilent.
Each step taken by the "nano-stepper" measures 1.5-nm or the size of three atoms, according to Agilient Labs. And the MEMS device is also capable of moving in 1 billion possible positions, with an error rate of less than only 5-nm.
To gain another perspective about the company's MEMS device, the "nano-stepper" must take 30,000 steps to traverse width of a human hair and 3 milliseconds to travel between any two points within its range on two perpendicular axes, the company said.
MEMS are geared for several new and emerging applications. The "nano-stepper" could one day be used for atomic resolution storage subsystems, instruments, optical switches, tunable laser components, and other systems, said James Hollenhorst, director of the Electronics Research Laboratory at Aglient Labs, in a presentation.
"The 'nano-stepper' would not be used in packet switches, but in configurable switching applications," he said.
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