Development of ceramic microsystems in Centre of excellence NAMASTE is designed to be very interdisciplinary: we are combining material science, ceramics technology, sensorics, mechanical constructions, numeric modelling and simulations, electronics and information technology and, depending on the solution, other science and technology fields.

Microsystems can be made from various materials and technologies; silicon being the dominant material and semiconductor technology the dominant technology. These ratios are expected to change by 2020 already. A significant increase in use of organic materials is expected, as well as some other materials. Ceramic materials have high potential, depending on materials and technology development.

Structure complexity can vary greatly; from simple channels to complex systems that integrate different channel block builders; channels, cavities and other thick film functional elements. Various technologies and materials are required for the realization of these complex structures, especially challenging being the following:

• manufacturing technology of cavities with extraordinary geometries, like big horizontal and very small vertical dimension,
• manufacturing technology of large and very thin flat membranes,
• sensors and actuators integration based on piezoelectrics that do not contain lead,
• in cooperation with other Centre of excellence members, as well as external colleagues and institutes, the group is developing various chemical micro-reactors and electro-mechanical micro systems.