Review: MEMS and its applications for flow control

Emerging micromachining technology enables us to fabricate mechanical parts on the order of micron size. It provides us with micro-sensors and micro-actuators which facilitate the exploration of all areas of science. Furthermore, these miniature transducers can be integrated with microelectronics. With an integrated system, it then becomes possible to complete the loop of sensing, information processing and actuation. This type of system enables us to perform real-time control of time varying events which are common in fluid dynamics. In this review paper we will first briefly introduce Micro-Electro-Mechanical-Systems (MEMS) technology. Then, the applications of MEMS to flow control will be discussed.