Masayoshi Esashi
Born in Miyagi Prefecture. Professor Esashi graduated in electronics from Tohoku University in 1976 and received a master’s degree and a doctorate in electronics from the postgraduate course at the University. After several years of experience as a research associate in Tohoku University’s Department of Electronic Engineering, he became an associate professor in 1981 before accepting his current position as full professor in 1990. Professor Esashi was Director of the Venture Business Laboratory (VBL) at Tohoku University from 1995 to 1998. After several years as Professor for the University’s Graduate School of Engineering, in the summer of 2004, he took office as the representative of the MEMS Park Consortium, a new body inaugurated through cooperation between industry, universities, and the government. He received the Japan IBM Science Award in 1983, the SSDM Award in 2001, and the Commendation by the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology in 2004.
In the industrial world, there is an increasing demand for micro electro-mechanical systems (MEMS); the scale of the global MEMS market was estimated to have reached 3.6 trillion yen (approximately 32.7 billion dollars) in 2004. On the other hand, the marketability is not always high because the technology not only requires enormous investments in plant, but is also too complicated to be standardized. The intellectual cluster project team, with Professor Masayoshi Esashi of the New Industry Creation Hatchery Center (NICHe) at Tohoku University as the central figure, has been engaged in research and development of MEMS to find solutions mainly for packaging in cooperation with MEMS CORE Co., Ltd., including the improvement of MEMS functions and productivity.
MEMS are systems into which circuits, fine structures, sensors, and actuators (motion elements) that operate mechanically are integrated by a microprocessing technology called micromachining. In our daily lives, MEMS are used as the key parts in a range of systems, including control systems that stabilize automobile travel, gyrostabilizers that prevent camera shake, acceleration sensors that detect a car crash and inflate the airbags, and medical catheter equipment.
Applications for MEMS are developing at the rate of 20% every year. Highly competitive applications include the DMD (note1) used in video projectors, ink jet print heads with multiple nozzles, and chips in which filters are formed on circuits for mobile communications systems.
2-axes optical scanner which can be used not only for imaging but also for display
(note1) DMD
The DMD (Digital Mirror Device) is a video projector chip on which a multiple movable mirrors and the circuits are integrated.
The byword in Professor Esashi’s Laboratory is "open collaboration," meaning the sharing of as much information as possible. Even outside researchers follow the principle of disclosing their research information obtained in his laboratory. There are many types of MEMS, and they use a range of technologies. Although the lifespan of each MEMS product is longer than that of mass-produced products, it is difficult to recover the investment cost because MEMS products are manufactured in small quantities. Therefore, manufacturing companies and smaller businesses have difficulty commercializing them. In cases where high-tech equipment is used to manufacture MEMS products, it is necessary to use the equipment to the full to produce a range of products and recover the capital investment. Additionally, development of a variety of products should be carried out efficiently over a short period of time. For this, the prompt collection of a wide variety of technical information is necessary to improve the efficiency of product development. That is, the most efficient way to encourage product development is to prepare an environment in which a wide variety of information can be freely shared. This is the rationale behind the open collaboration principle.
Professor Esashi says that the MEMS world should not be closed, because unlike other fields, MEMS is composed of multiple technologies. If one technology is kept secret, another ten technologies cannot be made use of and as a result, product development may stagnate.
In his Laboratory, research workers including those from many outside companies are engaged in joint research and technology transfer. This kind of cooperation between industry and universities seems to suit the Japanese corporate culture. Research workers with advanced technical knowledge do not change their employment frequently, because the lifetime employment system is firmly rooted in Japan. Research workers sent to Professor Esashi’s Laboratory bring technologies that they have mastered back to their companies.
In his Laboratory, fundamental research is conducted in an atmosphere of open collaboration to promote the development of competitive products by companies.
The most effective way is to prepare an open environment where information can be shared freely.
Universities should act as a service industry. One of the characteristics of MEMS is the fact that it is not geographically restricted to Tohoku, and can be developed not only in any part of Japan, but also in overseas countries. However, one of the best places to develop new technologies by combining various technologies and knowledge and generating new ideas is here in the Tohoku region. Basic technologies can be found in Professor Esashi’s Laboratory, which has an atmosphere of open collaboration. Also, there are hints on how to manufacture products that suit market needs in small quantities and gradually develop them into popular products. As a result of active overseas expansion, Japanese industries have hollowed out. However, because MEMS is a knowledge-intensive technology with high value-added, it can be industrialized in the region. The "coin-operated laundry system" (note2) to share equipment is useful for companies to encourage them to develop a wide variety of products.
(note2) "coin-operated laundry system"
The "coin-operated laundry system" refers to a system in which individual companies do not need to purchase their own research equipment, but can easily access equipment belonging to MEMS CORE, a scheme in which Professor Esashi’s Laboratory participates, just as with the washing machines at a coin-operated laundry.
Covered, Dec 2004
URL of Professor Esashi’s Laboratory: "http://www.mems.mech.tohoku.ac.jp/esashilab/top_e.html"