These components may incorporate mechanical components such as gears, levers, screws, valves, miniature motors, and pumps, and combine electrical, mechanical and optical functions in unique ways to accomplish specialized tasks.

MEMS devices are commonly packaged in sealed metal or ceramic packages to exclude contaminants and protect delicate, low-mass components, some of which are too small to be seen by the human eye.
Microscopic MEMS elements are subject to phenomena that would be insignificant for larger objects, such as static forces, surface tension, and friction. Surface tension and atomic-level forces can cause MEMS elements to be attracted to one another in an effect known as stiction (interfacial adhesion between contacting crystalline microstructure surfaces).

Mechanical activation forces in a MEMS device may be too weak to overcome this attraction, and stiction effectively disables the mechanism. Developers find that stiction is particularly troublesome for flat, smooth surfaces in MEMS devices that have no rotating components.
One approach to stiction reduction is a plasma treatment technique. While this option provides measurable improvement initially, it appears that the results are not permanent.