Innovation of microsystems in Norway

The emergence of the microsystems industry in Norway is a good example of how this has become a rapid growing industrial sector that has emerged during the three last decades. The onset in Norway was mainly a technological spin-off from microelectronics/integrated circuit technology. Silicon micromachining gave the main triggering technology push as a very promising process technology with distinctive features. Sensor applications gave the first market opportunities, and batch organised processing technology adapted from the microelectronics industry the key to high quality at low cost. Today, innovation of Microsystems is following the international trends, where we this is maturing into a separate international industry sector with their own market and manufacturing infrastructure.