Nano-Opto-Electro-Mechanical Systems (NOEMS) are devices in which electrons, photons (optical waves), and phonons (mechanical vibrations) coexist and interact in the nanoscale. Upon proper engineering, NOEMS may perform functionalities that are essential in ICT systems, in particular, in access networks that are characterized by requiring an interface with optical fibre (to connect with metro as well as core networks) as well as by managing microwave channels (in the GHz regime) in which the information aimed at a certain user is encoded.
In the CHIST-ERA project MUSICIAN, led by NTC professor Alejandro Martínez, a European Consortium (ICN2, Spain; VTT, Finland, IEMN, France) will design and develop low-cost silicon NOEMS – interfaced with optical fibre and microwave electronics – to perform network functionalities such as photonic local oscillators, frequency conversion or electrooptical modulation that could be disruptive in next-generation access networks.
UPV news (in Spanish): http://www.upv.es/noticias-upv/noticia-14019-proyecto-music-es.html
