"Small Tech," which is short for "small technology," is the buzz word for Micro electromechanical systems (MEMS), Microsystems, and Nanotechnology. There are small tech analogues for a wide variety of macro-scale systems and components, including optical systems and devices, RF components, mechanical devices, and chemical/biological analysis systems, to name just a few. Members of the firm have extensive experience in Small Tech. Some representative patents on Small Tech that have issued on patent applications that have been filed by the firm are listed below. Many additional Small Tech applications that have been prepared and filed by the firm are pending examination.

MEMS: The applications for MEMS technology are virtually limitless. Forward-thinking companies are developing MEMS solutions for a wide variety of problems in a wide variety of industries. For example, MEMS-based approaches to problems are being studied for industries as diverse as telecommunications, medicine, automotives, aerospace, and proteomics.

Optical MEMS

USP 6,770,882     USP 6,501,589     USP 5,995,688     USP 5,974,207
USP 5,838,484     USP 5,825,528     USP 5,646,772     USP 5,500,761

RF MEMS

USP 6,101,371     USP 6,184,755     USP 6,242,989

MEMS Sensors, Transducers, Actuators & Damping

USP 5,831,262     USP 5,963,367     USP 6,487,001     USP 5,659,418

MEMS Assembly & Fabrication

USP 5,808,781     USP 5,912,094     USP 5,961,767     USP 5,994,159
USP 6,201,631     USP 6,344,417     USP 6,356,689    

Micromachining/Packaging

USP 5,668,023     USP 5,786,925     USP 5,815,616     USP 5,940,558

MicroSystems:

Arrangements of micron-scale devices that interact with or sense the environment and provide a response. One burgeoning area of microsystems is "lab-on-a-chip" in which microfluidics are used to integrate and automate laboratory processes on a single, disposable, millimeter-sized chip.

USP 6,665,167     USP 6,650,527    

NanoTechnology: Nanotechnology usually refers to devices, particles, etc., that are less than about 100 nanometers. Even with MEMS technology, atoms and molecules are manipulated in bulk. But with nanotechnology, individual atoms and molecules are being manipulated with control and precision. Patent applications that have been prepared by the firm in this area have not yet been published nor issued as patents.