Title: Process specification language for management of MEMS device development - a step towards standardisation

Authors: Tetsuhei Nakashima-Paniagua; John Doucette; Walied A. Moussa

Addresses: Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, 4-9 Mechanical Engineering Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G8, Canada ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, 4-9 Mechanical Engineering Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G8, Canada ' Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Alberta, 4-9 Mechanical Engineering Building, Edmonton, AB T6G 2G8, Canada

Abstract: The micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) field has transferred many products from emergent to established technologies in the commercial world. However, many products remain under development for significant lengths of time, facing various challenges along the way. One of the most critical challenges is the lack of standardised terminology for process specification. This paper provides a foundation for formally describing the set of activities related to managing the manufacturing processes used by the MEMS community. First, we develop new taxonomic levels of abstraction for MEMS processes. We then use logic foundations provided in international standard ISO-18621-1 to develop a methodology that allows designers and product developers to remove ambiguities and misconceptions when exchanging information about MEMS manufacturing processes. A case study is presented where our methodology is applied to generate Extensive Markup Language (XML) code to capture the processes' structure and critical information.

Keywords: process specification language; PSL; MEMS process description; MEMS manufacturing optimisation; MEMS standardisation; microelectromechanical systems; MEMS devices; ISO 18621; XML code.

DOI: 10.1504/IJMTM.2016.077804

International Journal of Manufacturing Technology and Management, 2016 Vol.30 No.3/4, pp.143 - 163

Accepted: 16 Mar 2014
Published online: 16 Jul 2016 *

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