A new generation of micromachines is coming to market. So far, commercial versions of tiny sensors and actuators built on silicon chips have performed simple tasks such as switching telecommunication signals on and off or triggering air bag deployment. The next wave of microelectromechanical systems-or MEMS-however, should bring devices that perform a broader range of tasks cheaply and efficiently. MEMX, a spinoff of Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, NM, is commercializing advanced versions of the technology in products that could transform everything from eye surgery to cell-phone reception.

The key to these new applications is a sophisticated yet affordable fabrication process that stacks five layers of 2.5-micrometer-thick films onto chips with tremendous precision. The extra layers of tiny sensors, gears, and electronics-most commercial MEMS devices have only two or three layers-enable not only more complex machines but also more flexibility in product design. "It's utterly amazing what they can build," says Terry Turpin, chief scientist of Columbia, MD-based Essex, a leading optical-communications company. Says Turpin, who has worked on optics for 35 years, "It's the most sophisticated MEMS stuff I have ever seen."