Burlington, Massachusetts–Standard MEMs, Inc. and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s Center for Automation Technologies have teamed up to create a joint micropackaging research and development (R&D) program that will focus on developing and prototyping state-of-the-art micromanufacturing technologies.

Explosive growth in the market demand for MEMs devices has created significant need for advanced micropackaging processes that combine high throughput, low cost, and high reliability.

Initial emphasis of the program will be placed on microphotonic and microfluidic systems, because of their key role in the surging growth of the telecommunications and biotechnology industries. The economic impact is expected to be large, as the technical focus is on a niche that addresses immediate market needs in established sectors such as aerospace, automotive, and defense, and also in the rapid and hottest technology growth areas of information technology, telecommunications, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals.