Marc Madou has published a excellent book entitled Fundamentals of Microfabrication.  This scholarly book encompasses micromechanics and is well worth owning.

The book starts with a discussion of microfabrication techniques such as lithography, etching, bulk and surface micromachining and LIGA.  In chapter 7 other fabrication techniques such as single point diamond machining, electro-discharge machining (EDM), and laser machining are described and compared.  The important topics of packaging and applications each get their own chapters.  The chapter on scaling describes why microdevices behave differently than the large scale devices we intuitively understand.

This book helps define what a MEMS textbook should be.  The breath and depth of treatment is excellent and the references extensive.  Many web site references are also included.

I encourage Marc Madou to revise this book for the second edition.  The writing in places is contorted and a bit difficult to read.  The illustrations and figures are good, but often take time to understand.  All the illustrations and figures could use clearly written captions.  Chapter 7 might be expanded with more detailed descriptions of the many other fabrication techniques.  It is difficult to find web sites of interest in Appendix B.  A cross reference or rearrangement would make this resource more useful.  The book should also include a biography of the authorís interesting background.

Fundamentals of Microfabrication  is useful both as a text and reference.  I congratulate Marc Madou.

The book is published by the CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, USA, ISBN 0-8493-9451-1, web site http://www.crcpress.com/microfab .

This book was reviewed by William Trimmer.  He started the Micromechanics Section in "Sensors and Actuators," organized and was editor for 6 years of the IEEE / ASME "Journal of Microelectromechanical Systems," and recently published the IEEE Press book "Micromechanics and MEMS, Classical and Seminal Papers to 1990" (PC4390).  His email is william@trimmer.net and web address is http://www.trimmer.net .

Review written for "Micromachine Devices," an excellent journal on micromechanics, microsystem technologies and MEMS, phone 847 635 8800 USA, fax 847 390 2618, email r.cassidy@cahners.com, Editor Sid Marshall, email sid_marshall@email.msn.com  .