Microsystem is the name commonly used in Europe to describe the same technology which goes under the name MEMS

Microelectromechanical systems

Microelectromechanical systems is the technology of very small mechanical devices driven by electricity; it merges at the nano-scale into nanoelectromechanical systems and nanotechnology...

 (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) in the US. In Japan, this field is often termed micromachines.

Microsystems are miniaturized (silicon or polymer) devices which perform non-electronic functions: typically sensing and actuation. Typical microsystems have mechanical parts, like microbridges in RF switches or bending cantilevers in atomic force microscope

Atomic force microscope

Atomic force microscopy or scanning force microscopy is a very high-resolution type of scanning probe microscopy, with demonstrated resolution on the order of fractions of a nanometer, more than 1000 times better than the optical diffraction limit...

s (AFMs); electrical parts like piezoresistors in airbag

Airbag

An Airbag is a vehicle safety device. It is an occupant restraint consisting of a flexible envelope designed to inflate rapidly during an automobile collision, to prevent occupants from striking interior objects such as the steering wheel or a window...

 sensors or capacitors in pressure sensors; or thermal, optical and fluidic structures like heaters and nozzles in inkjet printer

Inkjet printer

An inkjet printer is a type of computer printer that creates a digital image by propelling droplets of ink onto paper. Inkjet printers are the most commonly used type of printer and range from small inexpensive consumer models to very large professional machines that can cost up to thousands of...

 or flow sensors. In biomicrosystems (BioMEMS) cells or microbeads are handled by fluidic streams, magnetic and electric fields, thermal gradients etc. In chemical microsystems operations like sample pretreatment, separation and detection are built on microchips. This field is also known as microfluidics

Microfluidics

Microfluidics deals with the behavior, precise control and manipulation of fluids that are geometrically constrained to a small, typically sub-millimeter, scale.Typically, micro means one of the following features:* small volumes...

 or lab-on-a-chip

Lab-on-a-chip

A lab-on-a-chip is a device that integrates one or several laboratory functions on a single chip of only millimeters to a few square centimeters in size. LOCs deal with the handling of extremely small fluid volumes down to less than pico liters. Lab-on-a-chip devices are a subset of MEMS devices...

.
Today it is possible to build up microsystems without any tooling needed by computer-aided direct parallel batch processing technologies called RMPD Rapid Micro Product Development.

Microsystems with advanced capabilities and own intelligence are commonly referred to as smart system

Smart System

Smart systems are defined as miniaturized devices that incorporate functions of sensing, actuation and control. They are capable of describing and analyzing a situation, and taking decisions based on the available data in a predictive or adaptive manner, thereby performing smart actions...

s.

'Microsystem' is also a term for systems of acupuncture points that are typically not located on the 'meridians' such points tend to cluster on.

Journals

Microsystem Technologies, published by Springer

Books

(2004) Geschke, Klank & Telleman, eds.: Microsystem Engineering of Lab-on-a-chip Devices, 1st ed, John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 3-527-30733-8.

Journal of Micro and Nanotechnique